A real product opportunity
Something customers can understand and buy, with a credible reason to choose it over alternatives.
The opportunity can be early. It cannot be imaginary.
Revenue is useful evidence, but it is not the only evidence. A pre-revenue business may still be interesting where there is a tangible product, real stock, credible suppliers, customer validation or strong sector knowledge.
Economics with room to breathe
Margins need to support fulfilment, returns, acquisition and overhead — or have a realistic route to doing so.
A founder we can work with
Transparent, commercially realistic, open to challenge and prepared to remain accountable for agreed responsibilities.
Channel opportunity
Potential to improve direct commerce, Amazon, eBay, specialist marketplaces or a deliberate combination.
Meaningful digital upside
Technology, data, automation, marketplaces or conversion improvements can materially change performance.
Genuine partnership mindset
Open to discussing ownership, governance, shared decisions and a structure aligned to each side’s contribution.
Businesses we are less likely to pursue
Selectivity protects both sides. We are unlikely to proceed where the founder wants us to perform all the work while remaining passive, where the product economics are structurally weak, or where substantial undisclosed liabilities make the opportunity impossible to evaluate cleanly.
Typical red flags
- Very low contribution margins with no credible path to improvement.
- Large quantities of slow or obsolete stock being treated as if historical cost equals current business value.
- Shareholders who are not aligned on bringing in a partner.
- Dependence on repeated cash injections without evidence that execution changes the economics.
- Unclear intellectual property, ownership disputes or material liabilities that are not transparently disclosed.
- A founder primarily seeking free services rather than a long-term co-owner.
Size matters less than fit.
Our initial focus is on smaller businesses where a hands-on partner can make a disproportionately large difference. That can mean pre-revenue through to an established owner-managed company that has reached a plateau.