Think Big, Buy Small
Latest Business Ideas
Subscription Platform for Niche Repair Shops
The guest and hosts discuss that parts-and-repair businesses (his hydraulic breaker parts/repair shop) are naturally recurring in demand and could be converted to contracted recurring revenue—though his customers weren't initially interested. This idea is a vertical SaaS / marketplace that enables niche repair shops and specialized equipment parts sellers to offer subscription maintenance contracts (tiered SLAs), recurring billing, spare-part inventory forecasting, and emergency fulfillment (fast-shipping + local partner network). Implementation: build a lightweight SaaS for small repair shops to create subscription plans (annual maintenance, emergency response SLA, parts bundles), manage recurring billing, and track entitlements. Add a marketplace layer to let operators buy standby inventory on consignment or tap a regional fulfillment network for same-day parts. Provide customer portal for fleet operators to book service and view entitlements. Problem solved: converts one-off emergency sales into predictable MRR, reduces customer downtime, and helps small shops differentiate on availability. The episode cites HVAC as an analog and explicitly raises the converting-to-subscription idea, and also notes customer resistance—indicating the need for simple value communication and trial offers.
From: The Self-Funded Journey From Searcher To Seller
Geo-focused Deal Discovery SaaS
The episode explicitly describes a geographically constrained, broker-and-listings-driven search strategy and calls out BizBuySell, broker mailing lists, and the potential for web scraping / AI to make targeted deal discovery easier. This idea is a SaaS product that aggregates, deduplicates, and ranks small-business-for-sale signals inside a defined geographic radius (listings, broker postings, public business records, company websites, and scraped classifieds). The product would provide tailored daily/weekly deal alerts, broker contact capture, owner outreach templates, and a simple CRM for outreach workflows aimed at acquisition entrepreneurs doing a tight-radius search. Implementation: build a scraper + ingestion pipeline for BizBuySell, regional broker listings, public registries and Google results; normalize listings, tag by industry and commute time, and surface “high-probability” seller signals. Add broker/mailing-list integration, email templates, and alerts via email or Slack. Monetize via subscription tiers (solo searcher vs. team) and a white-label option for brokers. Key problems solved: reduces time-intensive manual hunting, centralizes dealflow for geographically limited searchers, and increases hit-rate on committed sellers. Tools/strategies mentioned in episode: BizBuySell, broker mailing lists, focused geographic radius, and use of AI / web scraping to scale coverage.
From: The Self-Funded Journey From Searcher To Seller
Automated Proof-of-Cash Due-Diligence Service
The hosts and guest highlight 'proof of cash' as a lightweight, high-value due-diligence step for small acquisitions: reconciling bank deposits to claimed revenue and checking cash outflows to estimate true earnings. This idea is a paid, digitally-delivered due-diligence service (or hybrid SaaS + expert review) that automates importing bank statements, flags discrepancies, produces a reconciliation report (year-by-year deposits = revenue proxy), and outputs a buyer-friendly summary that can be used to validate seller claims early in diligence. Implementation: offer a turnkey service where buyers upload redacted bank statements (or connect via secure bank aggregation), the system parses deposits/withdrawals, categorizes flows, and generates a proof-of-cash report and variance commentary. Optionally pair the automated output with an expert accountant review as a higher-tier deliverable. Revenue model: fixed-fee engagements for single-LOI diligence and a subscription for frequent searchers/brokers. Problem solved: gives buyers a quick, inexpensive reality check before expensive diligence and reduces information asymmetry. Episode evidence: hosts walk listeners through the exact proof-of-cash steps and recommend doing it early after an LOI.
From: The Self-Funded Journey From Searcher To Seller
Recent Episodes
The Self-Funded Journey From Searcher To Seller
Host: Royce Yudkoff & Rick Ruback
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