If I was building a business brokerage today…I wouldn’t start with brokers.
I’d start with buyers.
And I definitely wouldn’t copy what exists today, because the current SMB brokerage landscape is terrible.
Let’s be honest:
The average business broker today is either:
— A retired accountant who thinks they understand dealmaking because they did a few taxes
— An attorney who’s bored of redlines and wants a taste of M&A
— Or someone who took a “Become a Business Broker in 30 Days!” course on LinkedIn and now charges retainers upfront
And the result?
- Sellers get charged $10K+ before a buyer even sees the deal
- CIMs look like a GCSE PowerPoint presentation
- There’s no process, just chaos
- And sellers walk away thinking their business is worth 9x EBITDA because “Bob the Broker” said so
This is not a functioning marketplace. It’s a flea market run by part-timers.
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If you’re building a real business brokerage in 2025.........
1. Start With Buyers
Build a database of serious, funded acquirers:
• Micro-PE funds
• Searchers
• Strategics
• HoldCos
• Family offices
Understand what they want before you take a single listing.
If you control the buy-side, sellers will come.
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2. Zero Fees Until Close
It’s wild this even needs saying.
Sellers shouldn’t pay a penny unless there’s a transaction.
No upfront “marketing packages.” No “valuation fees.”
No retainers for uploading to BizBuySell and crossing your fingers.
You wouldn’t pay a real estate agent just to list your house.
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3. Raise the Standard of Materials
Most CIMs are a joke.
No positioning, no clarity, no understanding of the buyer journey.
Just 30 pages of P&L screenshots and random facts.
Want to stand out?
Create investor-grade materials.
Tell the story. Show the upside.
Make the buyer feel like they’re getting a strategic asset, not a glorified job.
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4. Run a Process, Not a Hoping Exercise
Real buyers want a clean, structured path:
• Pre-qualified deals
• Transparent data rooms
• Deadlines
• Clear communication
• No time-wasters
If you can’t run a basic sell-side process, you’re not a broker. You’re a listing agent with a Gmail address.
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5. Own the Platform, Not Just the Deal
Once you have the buy-side, the sell-side, and the playbook, you can do more than just broker deals.
You can build a business model with:
• Recurring buyer access fees
• Premium sourcing services
• Post-close advisory
• Analytics and benchmarking
• Buy-side mandates
The real value is in building infrastructure.
Right now, that doesn’t exist in SMB M&A.
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So no, I wouldn’t build a business brokerage like the ones we have today.
I’d build something that actually works.