Privately held companies rarely get the strategic rigor, structure and preparation that larger transactions take for granted. Whether you need equity, debt or both, for a single deal or the holding company, we prepare you to raise it with the strategy, materials and documents serious investors and lenders expect.
Few good businesses can be bought at a good price with no money down. You will usually need some of your own money, or you'll need to raise it from investors.
"Use other people's money" is some of the most repeated advice in acquisition education, and some of the least explained. Asking colleagues, contacts and friends to put money into your deal is generally a securities offering. It has rules about who you can ask and how, what you have to tell them, which exemption you rely on and what gets filed. And it has a standard: the strategy, terms, materials and documents a serious investor expects to see before writing a check.
A course gives you the idea. We do the preparation with you: the raise is built around your deal or holding company, securities counsel reviews the documents, and you rehearse the hard questions before anyone hears your pitch. You run the raise and keep every relationship. Our fee is fixed, with no success fees and no equity.
Acquisition entrepreneurs usually raise from their own network first: former colleagues, business contacts, friends who have done well. Those conversations rarely get a second chance. Investors and lenders want to see a clear deal, a credible capital structure, sensible terms and documents that protect everyone. Walk in without them and you burn the relationships you'll need for the next deal too.
We make sure you're ready before the first conversation, whether you're raising for a single acquisition, a special purpose vehicle that buys one company, or the holding company itself.
Preparation moves the number more than the size of your network does. One founder expected less than $1 million from the people he knew. After preparation he raised more than $3 million.
Financing takes longer than almost everyone expects. Start raising once a seller has signed a letter of intent and you're negotiating against the clock, and the deal can slip away while investors make up their minds.
For a first acquisition, we recommend raising first: once you've formed the company and set your thesis, as you start your search. Investors back you and your plan, and you search as a buyer with money behind you.
If you've already found a deal, we can still help you raise for it. And for a second or third acquisition the picture changes: you have a track record, cash flow and results investors can check.
Investors can't say what they're buying, why it matters, or why now. If they can't repeat it, they can't say yes to it.
The deck, the financial model and the use of funds tell three different stories, and serious investors notice in minutes.
A long list of contacts with no order, no sequence and no way to turn interest into commitments. Who you ask matters as much as how much you ask for.
One founder set out to raise $6 million. He raised $1 million in two days and never raised another dollar. Raise what the next milestone needs, at a valuation you can support, then raise again.
The fee depends on how much you're raising, from whom, and the documents the raise needs.
Up to $1 million from accredited investors who know you, under Rule 506(b), or 506(c) if you want to advertise. Two strategy sessions, the investor deck and executive summary, return scenarios, offering documents reviewed by securities counsel, a data room, a mock investor meeting and 90 days of support. About four weeks to prepare.
Up to $10 million for a revenue-stage holding company or acquisition. Everything in the Network Raise, plus a diligence review of your financials, cap table and prior financings, a critique of your financial model, valuation positioning, a diligence Q&A book and two mock investor sessions with your team. About four weeks to prepare.
When the raise includes non-accredited investors, such as customers and your community, through a funding portal. Strategy on the security, valuation and perks, portal selection, a Form C reviewed by securities counsel, campaign content and a launch plan. About six weeks to launch, depending on your accountant and the portal.
Add-ons: advertising a network raise under 506(c), $5,000. A private placement memorandum, $5,000. Adding a Reg CF round to a network raise, $15,000. A non-US company raising from US investors, $10,000. State filing fees, funding-portal fees and any required CPA review or audit are paid directly by you.
How much to raise, from whom, whether equity or debt, on what terms, and how it fits with the bank loan, seller note and earnout in the deal.
The investment thesis, investor deck, executive summary and return scenarios for the deal or the platform.
Term sheet, subscription agreement, investor questionnaire, risk factors and the federal filing, reviewed by securities counsel.
A data room investors can work through, set up before you need it, with a raise playbook and an investor tracker.
A rehearsal with the hard questions, so the real conversations aren't the first time you hear them.
Working sessions and direct access while you run the raise, through to the first closes.
The raise strategy and terms, the investment thesis, investor materials and the financial story, coordinating the offering documents, the data room, rehearsal, and 90 days of support while you raise. We don't contact investors, sell securities or take a fee based on what you raise.
Reviews the offering documents, advises on securities law and the exemption you rely on, and reviews the federal filing. Counsel review is included; state filing fees are paid by you. If you already have a securities lawyer, we work alongside them.
Decide the terms, make the introductions, have the conversations and close the money. You keep every investor relationship.
If you haven't settled how to structure and fund your acquisitions yet, start with the Holding Company Playbook. If the plan is clear and you need the capital, start here.
Tell us about your plan, or the deal you've found, and the capital you need. The first conversation is free.
Meraki Dealmakers is a service of Meraki Partners, LLC.
Meraki Partners, LLC is an advisory firm. It is not a broker-dealer, investment adviser, business broker, law firm or accounting firm, and does not solicit investors or receive compensation based on capital raised.
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