The search starts. So does the execution risk.
Whether you're self-funded with SBA or running a traditional funded search, buying a $1M to $5M EBITDA business carries the same execution risk. Five Experts is the coordinated system for the whole journey, from first outreach through Phase 5: the right expert at the right phase, and a command center that runs your entire search.
Free to join. Expert support unlocks with full membership at $295/month.
Meet the system where your search is.
6 to 12 months out
Start in the Phase 01 community, free, with the readiness guide and people at the same starting line.
Join the Phase 01 community, free → Actively searchingDeals in motion
Your pipeline, outreach, and funnel in one command center, so you always know where deals stand and where the funnel is leaking.
See the command center → Under LOIBefore you sign
Diligence checklists, expert LOI and deal review with written feedback, and connections to SBA lenders and M&A attorneys.
How deal review works → Post-closeYear 1 starts now
The 100-day plan, coordinated experts, and peers in Year 1 with you. The seller is leaving; the knowledge doesn't have to.
See the first 100 days →A thousand owners contacted. One deal closed. Know where you stand at every step.
A search is a funnel: identified, contacted, NDA, LOI, close. Most searchers run it from spreadsheets and memory, and can't see where it leaks until months are gone.
The command center instruments every stage: a seller-outreach CRM with follow-ups and response rates, a broker CRM, and conversion metrics that show exactly which leak to fix.
Representative view with sample data.
You don't have to figure out who you need next. That's our job.
A directory gives you names. A marketplace gives you options. Five Experts gives you a recommendation, based on your deal, your phase, and what's actually at stake.
After your intake call, we match the right expert to your phase and your deal. When the phase changes, we make the next introduction before you ask.
I came in knowing finance. What I didn't know was how much I didn't know about operations, HR, and keeping the team together through a transition. Five Experts put the right people around me at exactly the right moment. Priya S., ETA searcher, post-close, $2.2M professional services firm
Know you're financeable before you're at the LOI.
"Will this deal finance?" is the question underneath the whole search. The command center keeps the answer in front of you.
The capital stack tracker lays out equity, SBA, seller note, and any gap. The 14-point SBA readiness checklist shows where you stand before a lender asks. And we connect you to SBA lenders and M&A attorneys who work at your deal size.
- Personal financial statement
- Credit review
- Resume & management plan
- Collateral summary
- Debt schedule
Representative view with sample data.
Experts have done it. Peers are running the same play.
A curated room of searchers and operators at your exact phase, candid and high-signal. Joining is free, and the room is organized by phase.
It all works as one system. Organized around your deal.
Everything in Five Experts pulls in one direction: the right support, at the right phase, coordinated so you are never piecing it together alone.
Run the whole search in one place
The operating system for your acquisition, organized by phase so nothing falls through the cracks.
- Deal pipeline
- Search funnel & conversion metrics
- Task board
- Broker CRM
- Proprietary seller-outreach CRM
- Document vault
- Capital stack & SBA readiness tracker
The right expert at the right phase
You don't browse a list. We learn your deal and tell you who you need, then coordinate the engagement.
- Coordinated matching
- Booking in your dashboard
- In-platform chat
- Integrated Zoom
- Connections to SBA lenders & M&A attorneys
- LOI & deal review with written feedback (expert engagement)
A room of people at your exact phase
A curated room of searchers and operators living the same deal you are, grouped by where you stand.
- Phase 01 space, free & open
- Phase cohorts
- Operator peer matching
- Members-only discussions
Learn together, by phase
Live sessions with operators at your stage, learning from each other and from experts.
- Group sessions
- Expert office hours, all domains
- Phase cohort sessions
- Expert AMA (ask me anything)
The methodology, mapped to your phase
The repeatable system, with written feedback on the decisions that matter most.
- 100-day plan review
- Value creation playbooks
- Readiness & evaluation frameworks
- Performance vs your own plan
- Exit readiness tracking
Free to start. Full membership supports the whole search.
Monthly, or annual at $2,950/yr with two months free.
Get oriented, meet the room, and see how Five Experts works.
- The Phase 01 (Aspiration & Preparation) community space, free & open
- Invitations to curated group sessions
- 100-day plan template
- Diligence checklist
- Resource library
- One free expert intake call
- Dashboard access
The full operating system for your acquisition, organized around your phase. Not everything applies to where you are today, and that's the point. What matters most changes as your deal evolves.
The command center
- Deal pipeline: every active deal tracked through stages, from sourcing to NDA, LOI, diligence, and close
- Task board and broker CRM
- Search metrics: a full acquisition funnel from companies identified through close, with outreach logging and conversion rates that show where your funnel is leaking
- Seller outreach: a proprietary sourcing CRM to track every owner you contact directly, with status, follow-ups, notes, response rates, and bulk CSV import
- Document vault
- Financing: a live capital stack tracker and a 14-point SBA readiness checklist
Experts, coordinated
- Coordinated expert matching, booking, and in-platform chat
- Connections to SBA lenders and M&A attorneys, plus guidance on structuring your capital stack
- LOI and deal review with written feedback (an expert engagement, billed at the expert’s rate)
Peers & community
- Members-only community spaces for every phase
- Phase cohorts, small peer groups at your stage
- Operator peer matching, running the same play as you
Live sessions
- Group sessions for the whole network
- Expert office hours across all domains
- Phase cohort sessions
- Expert AMA (ask me anything) sessions
Playbook & content
- 100-day plan review with written feedback
- Value creation playbooks, saved in your dashboard
- Acquisition readiness guide and deal evaluation framework
- Performance tracking against your own plan
- Exit readiness tracking
Join free
Resources, templates, diligence checklist, the Phase 01 community, and one free expert intake call. No credit card.
Share your deal
Tell us your stage, business type, and what you are working through. Context drives better matching.
Upgrade
$295/month unlocks the full command center, expert matching, the deal war room, and 100-day plan review.
We match you
The right expert for your phase, in your dashboard. Message directly and schedule Zoom sessions.
What operators say about having support post-close.
The seller left on Day 30. By Day 45 I had discovered three things that weren't in the financials, two vendor relationships that were personal to him, and a process only one employee knew how to run, and she was thinking about leaving.
I thought I was ready. I had done the diligence, I had the financing, I had a plan. What I didn't have was anyone who had actually been through it. Five Experts changed that on Day 1.
I came in knowing finance. What I didn't know was how much I didn't know about operations, HR, and keeping the team together through a transition. Five Experts put the right people around me at the right moment.
I've done three acquisitions. This is the first time I had a coordinated system around me instead of stitching together advisors on my own. The deal war room alone saved me from two decisions I would have regretted.
Questions before you join.
When is the right time to join?
As early as possible, but whenever you are ready. Members who join in Phase 1 or 2 go into diligence and close with a coordinated support structure already in place. Members who join post-LOI or post-close get the right experts around them immediately. We always recommend coming in early, but if you are already in the deal, now is still the right time.
How does expert matching work?
Once you upgrade, we schedule a 30-minute call to understand your deal stage, business type, and what you are working through, then make a purposeful introduction with context on both sides. A curated match, made by people who know your deal.
How is Five Experts different from a coach or advisor?
A coach gives you frameworks. An advisor gives you opinions. Five Experts is a coordinated system: vetted operators who have done exactly what you are doing, matched to your phase, and coordinated so knowledge transfers between experts as your deal evolves.
What does the free expert intake call cover?
A 30-minute call with a member of the Five Experts team. You tell us where you are, search stage, deal type, what you are working through. We tell you which experts would be most valuable, at what phase, and what to focus on first. It's a diagnostic, not a sales call.
The right expert. At the right moment.
Five Experts coordinates vetted experts around your deal, matched to your phase, available when you need them. Join free and upgrade when the search gets serious.