Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition
The searcher's map to buying a small business.
A stage-by-stage roadmap through the entire search — with the best current tools, communities, lenders, and guides at every step. Verified, dated, and kept current.
Thorough
Every resource is evaluated the same way — what it does, current pricing, who it's for, pros and cons — with sources listed.
Current
Every recommendation carries a verified date. Pricing comes from primary sources and gets re-checked quarterly.
Practical
Organized around how searches actually run — eight stages from first curiosity to your first 100 days as an owner.
The roadmap
Eight stages. Each one explains what matters, the questions to answer, the mistakes that cost searchers months — and the best current resources for the job.
Stage 1
Decide if ETA is for you
Buying a business means running a business. Make sure that's the job you want.
Stage 2
Choose your path
Self-funded, investor-backed, or deal-by-deal — the money model shapes everything downstream.
Stage 3
Set up & fund the search
Entity, runway, tools, and your deal bench — the boring setup that determines whether you last long enough to close.
Stage 4
Define your thesis
Industry × geography × size. The filter that turns a firehose of listings into a manageable funnel.
Stage 5
Source deals
On-market coverage plus off-market outreach, run as a weekly discipline — sourcing is a pipeline, not a browsing habit.
Stage 6
Screen & value
Kill fast, scrutinize add-backs, anchor value to financeability — and move decisively on the real ones.
Stage 7
Diligence & financing
QoE, legal, lenders, and structure — the 60–120 day gauntlet between LOI and keys.
Stage 8
Close & transition
Wire the money, win the room, and spend the first 100 days learning before changing.
Be first into the directory
Every notable ETA tool, community, lender, and program — reviewed with current pricing — is being verified right now. Leave an email and get the directory the day it opens.