Acquisition screening service

An MVP, or minimum viable product, is the smallest version that your users can actually work with. It is not a cheap version of the full solution. It is a test, built to answer the questions that decide whether the rest is worth building.

1. Pick the riskiest assumption. Here: will small business acquisition teams use it to solve "initial target research consumes scarce deal team time"?
2. Build only what tests it. One team, one use case, a few core modules. People do the rest by hand for now.
3. Run a paid pilot. Produce a small shortlist and ask the buyer to verify fit independently.
4. Measure, then decide. Track reviewer acceptance and time per screened target. Then expand, change course or stop, with evidence instead of opinions.

MVP scope for this solution. Begin with small business acquisition teams and one recurring use case. Build the first two modules: define investment criteria; collect public indicators. Provide operator assistance for the third module: flag missing data. Deliver target profiles and diligence questions through a manual review queue. Perform other necessary full-scope functions manually during the pilot. Include all applicable access, accuracy and professional-review controls from the start.

After the MVP. After paid pilots establish value, automate the remaining modules: explain fit factors; deduplicate targets; export review packs. Add one validated source integration, reusable customer configuration and recurring delivery. Expand to additional teams, document formats or languages only after testing the new scope.

What the build depends on. Current source information, explicit eligibility rules, entity identity checks and inspectable fit reasoning. Sparse evidence limits match quality.

Pricing to test

Test USD 150-600 monthly for one narrow opportunity feed, or USD 750-2,500 for a bespoke researched shortlist. Price manual verification and custom research explicitly. These are pricing hypotheses.

Message to test

Acquisition screening service for small business acquisition teams. Transparent screening criteria with missing evidence kept visible. Demonstrate the claim through an evidence-backed five-company screening sample.

Where to find buyers

Acquisition entrepreneur communities

Lead magnet

An evidence-backed five-company screening sample

The first 30 days

1. Week 1: interview five prospective buyers in this segment: small business acquisition teams. Ask to see a recent example of the problem and their current process.
2. Week 2: prepare this demonstration using authorized or synthetic material: an evidence-backed five-company screening sample.
3. Week 3: present it through acquisition entrepreneur communities and seek one narrowly scoped paid pilot.
4. Week 4: review reviewer acceptance, time per screened target, total delivery effort and a concrete renewal decision before increasing scope.

Paid pilot

Produce a small shortlist and ask the buyer to verify fit independently. Record why each option is accepted or rejected and whether it leads to a useful next step. Review missed eligible options too. For this solution, use public company records and buyer-defined criteria and evaluate target profiles and diligence questions. Agree success thresholds with the buyer before starting; collect a baseline for reviewer acceptance, time per screened target. A positive signal is payment and repeat use with acceptable quality and delivery cost, not a favorable demo reaction alone.

Success metrics

Reviewer acceptance, time per screened target

Retention and expansion

Refresh opportunity profiles, improve criteria from accepted and rejected matches, and offer deeper verification for shortlisted options.

Why clients would pick it

A maintained niche opportunity dataset and documented relevance feedback, supported by relationships with the intended buyer community. For this solution, build around transparent screening criteria with missing evidence kept visible. This advantage requires execution and accumulated customer trust; the base model alone is not a defensible asset.

Alternatives and positioning

Manual research, directories, generic databases, referrals and existing opportunity marketplaces. Differentiate on this specific proposed advantage: transparent screening criteria with missing evidence kept visible. Test it against the buyer's current method on the same task. Competitor coverage and uniqueness have not been established.

Main delivery costs

Source collection, profile updates, entity resolution, eligibility verification, analyst research and customer feedback review.