The questions every owner
asks us first.

Fair question, and we would rather you ask it than wonder. Salt Creek is new. The experience behind it is not: our partners trained at Brown Gibbons Lang, worked inside private equity at Blue Wolf and Kingfish, and spent three years on the buyer’s side of more than 40 transactions at Cadence Education. Here is what that means for you: we know exactly how buyers think because we have been the buyers. And because we are new, you get something no big bank will give you: both principals on every call, total focus on your deal, and a fee structure where we earn nothing unless you win. Get us on the phone, ask us anything, and judge for yourself.

It depends on your earnings, your industry, your growth, and how much of the business runs without you. Anyone who quotes you a number before understanding those things is guessing. What we can tell you: the range of outcomes is wide, and the single biggest driver of where you land in that range is whether buyers are competing for your business. Our valuation tool will give you a starting range in about two minutes. For a real number, get us on the phone. There is too much a calculator cannot see, and that conversation is free.

Maybe. Some unsolicited offers are genuinely fair, and if yours is, we will tell you so and shake your hand. But understand what an unsolicited offer is: a number designed to work for the buyer, delivered before you had a chance to create competition. Buyers approach owners directly precisely because it is cheaper than winning an auction. Before you sign anything, benchmark it. One call with us costs you nothing, and either you walk away confident the offer is strong, or you find out what leverage looks like.

Earlier than you think, and earlier than most owners do. The best outcomes happen when an owner starts the conversation two or three years before they want to be done. That gives time to fix the things buyers will discount and to choose your moment instead of having it chosen for you. That said, if you have an offer in hand or a timeline forced on you, call us today. We move fast when we need to.

A well-run process typically takes six to nine months from engagement to close. We aim to have first offers on the table within 30 days of going to market, because speed creates leverage. The longest part is usually diligence and documentation after a buyer is chosen, and that is where having an advisor managing the timeline matters most.

Nothing upfront. No retainers, no monthly fees. We are 100% success-fee based, which means we get paid a percentage of the transaction when your deal closes, and not before. If your deal does not close, you owe us nothing. We structured it that way on purpose: our incentives should look exactly like yours.

Not always, and most banks will never say that out loud. If you have one obvious buyer, a simple deal, and experienced M&A counsel, you might do fine without us. Where an advisor earns the fee many times over: creating real competition, running diligence so the business does not suffer while you sell it, and negotiating terms most owners do not know are negotiable, including working capital, earnouts, indemnification, and rollover equity. Tell us your situation on a call and we will tell you which case you are. If the honest answer is that you do not need us, you will hear that too.

Then we will not push you into one. For owners who prefer a quieter path, we can work exclusively with a select buyer we trust, and in that arrangement the buyer pays our fee entirely. You pay nothing. We will be honest that a competitive process usually produces a better number, but the right answer depends on what you want: speed, confidentiality, a specific successor, or top dollar. We listen first, then recommend.

This is the question owners actually lose sleep over, and it deserves a straight answer: it depends on the buyer you choose, which means it is a choice. Some buyers consolidate and cut. Others, especially long-hold buyers and holding companies, keep management, the name on the building, and the culture intact, because that is their whole model. If continuity matters to you, we make it a requirement of the process, not a hope. Price is one term of a deal. It is not the only one we negotiate.

Not from us. Confidentiality is built into every step: blind marketing materials, NDAs before any name is shared, and buyer lists you approve before anyone is contacted. Most processes close without employees, customers, or competitors ever knowing one was run. How and when to tell your team is your call, and we will help you plan it.

If you are a private equity firm, family office, holding company, or strategic acquirer working in our sectors, yes, let’s talk. We take buy-side mandates, we source proprietary opportunities through our network and our podcast, and we work closely with acquirers like Springdale Industries. The owners we represent always come first, but good buyers are how good outcomes happen. Start on our For Investors page.

Because the best part of this work is the people who build things. The Making Of Hosted By Jack Pitts is where Jack sits down with founders, operators, and investors to talk about how businesses actually get built, bought, and sold. It keeps us close to builders, it sharpens how we think, and it gives you something no pitch deck can: a chance to hear exactly who you would be working with before you ever pick up the phone. Give it a listen.

We are based in Chicago, Illinois, and we work with business owners nationally. That said, the Midwest is where we know the terrain best: manufacturing and industrials businesses built over decades by one family, business services companies that grew by reputation and referral, and early childhood education operators navigating a fast-consolidating industry. If you are a Midwest owner, we likely already understand your buyer landscape. If you are not, deal size and sector fit matter more to us than geography.