Business Development / Deal Sourcing Role

Overview

You source acquisition opportunities for Chartwell Investments, an 8-person private equity firm that invests in lower middle market, founder-owned businesses. Your job is to identify companies that fit their criteria (profitable, niche leaders, $2-20M EBITDA range typically) and get owners interested in a conversation about partnership or exit. Most owners aren't actively shopping their business, so you're doing true cold outreach.

Role Snapshot

Company Context

Stage: Established PE firm (exact fund size unknown, but lower middle market focus suggests sub-$500M AUM)

Size: 8 employees total - very lean team

Growth: Actively hiring for BD, suggesting they want to increase deal flow

Market Position: Small player in a crowded PE landscape - competing against thousands of other firms for the same pool of quality businesses

GTM Reality

Pipeline Sources:

• 70-80% Cold outreach - you're identifying targets through databases (PitchBook, CapIQ, industry research) and reaching out cold
• 10-20% Warm intros - through brokers, intermediaries, professional networks
• 10% Inbound - business owners who find Chartwell's website or get referrals

Support Structure: At an 8-person firm, you likely ARE the BD function. Maybe one partner helps, but this is probably a solo role or small team.

Broker Relationships: You'll also work with investment bankers and M&A advisors who are running processes, trying to get Chartwell an invite to pitch.

Competitive Landscape

Main Competitors: Literally thousands of other PE firms chasing similar deals - other lower middle market funds, family offices, strategic buyers, competitor PE firms

How They Differentiate: "Flexible, entrepreneur-friendly capital" and "customized structures" - positioning as founder-friendly vs. typical PE stereotypes

Common Objections:

• "I'm not ready to sell" (most common - you're calling too early)
• "I've heard PE firms strip companies for parts"
• "I want my employees/legacy protected"
• "Your fund is too small for what we're trying to do"
• "We're talking to [bigger, more established firm]"

Win Themes: Relationship-first approach, flexibility on deal structure, letting founders stay involved

What You'll Actually Do

Time Breakdown

Research & List Building (25%) | Outreach (40%) | Meetings & Follow-up (20%) | Internal (15%)

Key Activities

• Target identification: You use databases and industry research to build lists of companies that fit Chartwell's criteria (profitable, founder-owned, specific industries, revenue/EBITDA range). You're looking for businesses most people haven't heard of that are quietly dominant in their niche.

• Cold outreach: You call, email, and LinkedIn message business owners who aren't expecting to hear from you. Most don't respond. You're trying to get 15 minutes on their calendar to understand their situation and plant the seed about partnership/liquidity options. Your pitch has to be soft - these aren't active sellers.

• Qualification conversations: When someone bites, you're doing discovery - understanding their financials, growth trajectory, why they might consider a transaction, timeline, what they care about in a partner. You're figuring out if this is a real opportunity or a tire-kicker.

• Internal coordination: You brief partners on promising targets, coordinate diligence requests, schedule management meetings. You're the point person keeping deals moving through early stages.

• Broker relationship management: You stay in touch with intermediaries running M&A processes, trying to get Chartwell onto short lists when good deals hit the market.

The Honest Reality

What's Hard

• Most business owners you contact aren't interested, don't respond, or are offended you're calling. Your response rates are low (2-5% is typical for cold PE outreach).

• The sales cycle is incredibly long. You might have a great conversation in January and the owner isn't ready to transact until 18 months later. Deals fall apart constantly - owner gets cold feet, family disagrees, financing doesn't work, something changes.

• You're fighting Chartwell's small size and limited brand. Owners often want to talk to KKR or Blackstone (even though those firms are way too big for these deals). You have to sell them on why smaller/flexible is actually better.

• Internal frustration when partners pass on deals you worked hard to source, or when they take forever to make decisions and you lose the opportunity.

• These are deeply emotional decisions for owners - it's their life's work. Conversations can be sensitive and slow-moving.

Who You're Selling To

Primary Buyers:

• Founder/CEOs (age 50-70 typically) of founder-owned businesses
• Second-generation family business owners
• Occasionally CFOs/boards who are exploring options

What They Care About:

• "Will this firm respect what I built?"
• "Can I get liquidity but stay involved?"
• "What happens to my employees?"
• "Is this the right time/valuation?"
• Trust and chemistry - they're picking a partner, not just taking the highest bid

Requirements

• Experience in investment banking, PE, corporate development, or similar deal-focused role - you need to understand financial statements and M&A basics
• Comfort with high-volume cold outreach and rejection - most of your contacts go nowhere
• Ability to have sophisticated business conversations with seasoned owners and not sound like a junior person reading a script
• Research skills to identify good targets that others might miss
• Patience for extremely long sales cycles and deals that often don't happen
• Thick skin for when owners tell you to get lost or accuse PE of being "vultures"