Buy-side search and private equity

Reach owners open to a conversation before a banker runs a process.

Sam.ai finds the founder-owned companies most likely in-market for a sale or a partner, the decision-makers to reach, and a warm way in through someone they already trust. Then Agent Sam runs the outreach on email and LinkedIn, and nothing goes out until you approve it.

See how many owners are in-market for your thesis, right now. Free.

Put Sam to work FREE See plans and pricing

Free for 7 days. No card required.

Private equity deal sourcing, before the process.

Proprietary deal flow for private equity firms, search funds, independent sponsors, and family offices looking for platforms and add-ons. Sam shows you which owners are most likely open to talk.

Buy-side search and private equity

Platforms and add-on targets whose owners are most likely open to a conversation.

Sam points you to
OwnerFounder and CEOPresidentCFOGeneral manager
A warm way in
An introduction through a shared connection, their advisor, or a leader at one of your portfolio companies.
Your move
Start the conversation before the business is shopped.
Put Sam to work FREECalculate your ROI

Specialties

  • Add-on acquisitionsTargets near your platform companies
  • Platform searchesFounders ready for a partner
  • Search fund deal flowOwners ready for a successor
  • Independent sponsorsDeals before there is a process
  • Roll-upsFragmented markets, one owner at a time

The best deals never reach a process.

Once a banker runs a process, you are one of many bidders. The opening comes earlier, when an owner starts thinking about a partner.

How a proprietary deal unfoldsAn illustration, not a fixed timeline
Something changesGrowth that needs capital, a founder stepping back, or a family planning the next generation.Where you want to be
Open to a conversationThe owner will take a call from someone who understands the business.
A banked processA teaser goes out to every buyer, and the price gets bid up.Where most buyers find deals

What in-market means in your market.

Not a list of every company in your sector. The few owners to reach out to now, the ones for an awareness campaign, and the ones to keep warm.

in-marketadjective

Said of a company that is most likely in the market for your services, because of what is actually happening there: the moves it is making, and what its key decision-makers are doing and saying. A myriad of data points, weighed together by algorithms tuned to your industry. So the timing to reach out is real.

Not the same as intent data

Who browsed?

Intent data infers interest from online behavior: page visits, content downloads, search topics. It shows that someone was curious, often one anonymous visitor, and it reads the same way in every industry.

In-market

What is actually happening?

In-market looks at the company itself: the moves it is making, and what its key decision-makers are doing and saying. It is weighed for your industry, because what signals an office move is not what signals a hiring push.

Why “most likely”? No one can read a buyer’s mind. What Sam can do is show you why, so you can judge every call for yourself.

Sample result

What Sam hands you

An illustrative example for a private equity firm or search fund. The companies and details are made up.

Specialty distribution · 40 to 60 people · Central New Jersey

Named to a regional fastest-growing companies list

Most likely in-market

We’d consider the right partner to help us grow.

The founder, in a trade interview this month

And the data backs it up

Headcount

+18%44 to 52 people

12 months agoNow

Leaders on the team

3Up from 1, a year ago

10 months agoNow

Buyers active in the sector

3 of 4Kinds of buyers circling

  • Private equity
  • Strategic acquirers
  • Search funds
  • Individual buyers

A platform or add-on, ready to talk

A second warehouse a new CFOLast year compared with now

Warehousesa second warehouse opened

Last year1

Now2

Leadership teama CFO and an operations lead joined

Last year1

Now3

Employeesteam up about 18%

Last year44

Now52

The last 12 months

  1. Signed a national customer
  2. Opened a second warehouse
  3. A new CFO joined
  4. Growth outpacing the balance sheet
  5. Peers in the sector partnered with investors
  6. The founder: “We’d consider the right partner to help us grow.”

In-market for

Add-on acquisitions, one of your topics

Decision-makers

Founder and CEOCFOHead of operations

A warm way in

YouA portfolio company leaderThe founder

Your move

Reach out now about a partnership, through the introduction.

Packaging supplier · 30 to 45 people · Edison, NJ

58

Run awarenessWatching for a partner or a sale

3 signs so far

Some of the picture is there. Not enough to call yet.

Your move

Sam adds them to your awareness campaign, so you are the one they know when the time comes.

Industrial supply company · 25 to 40 people · Newark, NJ

20

ICP fitFits your ideal client persona

Fits on

  • Industry
  • Size
  • Location

Nothing says they are in the market yet.

Your move

Keep warm. Sam moves them up the moment they are in-market.

See who is most likely in-market in your market, and why.

Put Sam to work FREEOr calculate your ROI
Free for 7 days · No card required

Every in-market owner comes with a way in.

Owners are private, and they hear from buyers and brokers every week. Sam looks for the people they already trust who can open the door.

A warm way in: Sam looks for a path to the person through people you already know.

Who owners listen to
  • Their CPA
  • Their attorney
  • Their wealth manager
  • Leaders at your portfolio companies
  • Fellow owners

So the first touch is an introduction, never a cold sale pitch. When there is no path, Sam drafts a discreet note in your voice about what changed at their company.

Then Sam runs your Playbook.

Keep your tools and let Sam hand you who to call. Or run your whole GTM/Sales Playbook on Sam.

It writes

  • Your Playbook: the owners you serve, your deal sizes, how you sound
  • Each message written for one owner, about their business
  • Email and LinkedIn in one sequence

It follows up

  • Follow-ups that adapt until they reply
  • Nothing reaches a prospect until you approve it
  • Meetings land on your calendar

It hands them to you

  • A call-ready list, ranked by engagement
  • One-click dialer with transcripts
  • Every touch on one record, in your CRM or ours
Warm introsInbound repliesOwner meetings booked

Three plans. Pick yours.

Month to month, or annual for 17% less, with your in-market companies not shared with your competitors.

Prospecting Agent

Agent Sam finds your ideal clients and runs the outreach.

  • $195 a month, or $162 billed annually
  • 500 ideal client contacts each month
  • 2,000 messages delivered each month

In-Market Agent

See who is most likely in-market, and why.

  • $495 a month, or $411 billed annually
  • Up to 30 in-market contacts each month, at up to 10 companies
  • Send them to your CRM, or let Agent Sam reach out

Scale Enterprise

Every market you cover, scanned every day.

  • Let’s talk
  • For regional and national brands
  • Office nodes, roll-up reporting, and SSO

Not sure which one pays off? Run your own numbers in about a minute.

Calculate your ROISee plans and pricing

Questions buyers ask.

“Is in-market the same as intent data?”
No. Intent data infers interest from online behavior, like page visits, downloads, and searches. It shows that someone was curious, not that a company is getting ready to buy. In-market looks at what is actually happening: the moves a company is making, and what its key decision-makers are doing and saying. Sam weighs a myriad of these data points with algorithms tuned to your industry, then shows you why each company is most likely in-market, so you can judge for yourself.
“Can Sam work to my investment thesis?”
Yes. You set the industries, sizes, and geographies that fit your thesis or your platform companies, and Sam shows you which owners are most likely open to a conversation, and why.
“Will owners feel pitched to sell?”
No. Sam looks for a warm way in through someone the owner already trusts, like their CPA or attorney, and Agent Sam writes about what changed at their business, never a blanket sale pitch. Nothing goes out until you approve it.
“Do my competitors see the same companies?”
On an annual plan, your in-market companies are not shared with your competitors. On a monthly plan, they can be shared with others in your market.
“What counts as a market?”
A market is one service in one city, for example sell-side M&A on Long Island. Two services in one city is two markets, and so is one service in two cities. In-Market Agent includes one market, and you can add more anytime.
“What will I see in the free trial?”
How many companies are in-market for what you sell right now, and in which industries. Pick a plan and Sam shows you who they are and the decision-makers to reach.

Put Sam to work in your market.
Free for 7 days.

See how many owners are in-market for your thesis right now, and in which industries.

Put Sam to work
No card required for the free trial.

99.98% Up-time

Always on. Always reliable. Your pipeline never sleeps.

10 Years of Sales AI

Building sales AI since 2016.

All-Covered Support

Real humans, every plan, from day one.