Four flat fees, each paid in advance
Owner Universe is an outsourced deal origination service for private equity firms, growth funds, family offices and the companies they own.
Four options. Start with the Proof Sprint on one metro area. If it works for you, continue by the quarter, for 6 months or for a year.
The four options
Proof Sprint
$7,500CA$10,500
30 days. One metro area. One per client, never repeated.
Thirty days of proof in one metro area. We map every owner in your niche, reach them in your name from your mailbox, and book the ones who want to talk straight onto your calendar.
GuaranteeAt least three qualified owner conversations in 30 days, or we keep working at no charge.
Quarterly
$30,000CA$42,000
Per quarter, paid in advance.
One metro area for a full quarter. At least three qualified owner conversations on your calendar every 30 days, booked by us, or we keep working at no charge. Every conversation past three is included. The niche and metro are yours alone for the term. Full Guarantee terms below.
Six months
$54,000CA$76,000
Paid in advance.
Two metro areas, one per quarter. At least three qualified owner conversations on your calendar every 30 days, booked by us, or we keep working at no charge. Every conversation past three is included. Both metros are yours alone for the term and your Proof Sprint fee is credited in full. Full Guarantee terms below.
Annual
$96,000CA$136,000
Paid in advance.
Four metro areas, one per quarter. At least three qualified owner conversations on your calendar every 30 days, booked by us, or we keep working at no charge. Every conversation past three is included. Four exclusive metros, first right to keep each at renewal, and year 2 at the year 1 price. Full Guarantee terms below.
One client per niche and metro.
We do not run owner outreach for 2 clients in the same niche and the same metro at the same time. The public-record research itself is not exclusive.
The fine print.
Every option is paid in advance and includes a written report every week. A Proof Sprint fee is not credited against a Quarterly; on Six months and Annual it is credited in full if you sign within 10 business days of the sprint’s end. The two metro areas of a Six months run one per quarter, both at once only by written agreement. Annual: year 2 at the year 1 price if you renew before the term ends, and no automatic renewal.
The Proof Sprint guarantee, in full
At least three qualified owner conversations every 30 days. Or we keep working at no charge until they are delivered.
The extra work ends with the third conversation, or earlier if you stop it, or if every reachable owner has had the full sequence and you decline a wider metro or wider criteria. Ten business days without an answer counts as declining.
A conversation counts when the owner, or someone with authority to sell, has said they are open to a sale or an investment, the company fits your written criteria, and the call takes place. A no-show counts once it is rebooked within 10 business days and held.
The 30 days start with the first message to an owner, sent after the kickoff call and your approval of the list and the wording. The same guarantee runs through every term.
What the fee includes
Included
- The full universe of privately owned companies in your niche and region, from public records.
- Companies already acquired, marked with the acquirer, the date and the source. The public Nashville sample has not had this pass yet.
- Outreach to the remaining owners in your name, from a mailbox on your domain, with wording you approve.
- Owner conversations booked onto your calendar.
- A report every week.
Never included
- A success fee, or any other fee tied to a transaction.
- Negotiation on your behalf.
- Valuation or advice on deal terms.
- Representation of sellers.
Why flat fees
-
Our interest stops at the conversation
Our fee is fixed before the work starts and does not change with the outcome of a negotiation. We have no reason to push an owner toward a sale or an investment, or you toward a price.
-
Owners hear from you
The owner talks to the buyer or investor directly, and our fee is the same whatever the outcome.
-
You know the cost before you start
The price on this page is the whole price. You know what you pay on the day you sign.
Questions buyers and investors ask first
How much does outsourced deal origination cost?
The Proof Sprint is $7,500 USD or CA$10,500 CAD for 30 days in one metro area. Quarterly is $30,000 USD or CA$42,000 CAD per quarter. Six months is $54,000 USD or CA$76,000 CAD. Annual is $96,000 USD or CA$136,000 CAD. Every plan is paid in advance.
Do you charge a success fee?
No. The fees on this page are the only fees.
Can we pay monthly?
No. Every term is prepaid.
We already pay a sourcing firm, and our analysts call owners. Why add you?
Run the Proof Sprint beside them on one metro area. Before we start, send us the owners your firm and your analysts already talk to. They go on our do-not-contact list. Each weekly report shows who was contacted and what came back. On day 30 the close-out report counts the qualified conversations against your written criteria. Set that count next to what your firm delivered in the same 30 days. Guarantee terms
What happens after the sprint?
The sprint is a test of the method on one metro area. After it, the work runs quarterly, for 6 months or for a year. If you stop, we hand over your data, we disconnect from your mailbox and your IT contact revokes our access.
What do you need from us?
Written acquisition or investment criteria, a mailbox on your domain that we can send from, and a booking link so owners can book calls on your calendar.
Who answers an owner’s reply?
Replies go out in your name, in wording you approved before day 1. Anything an owner asks about price, terms or your firm is passed to you, not answered for you.
We are a platform company’s sponsor. Whose name goes on the messages?
The name and title you choose, usually the platform’s leader, from a mailbox on that company’s domain. Owner calls land on the calendar you give us.
Can two of our platforms run at once?
Yes. One client per niche and metro is the rule, so two platforms in two niches or two metros are two engagements.
What stays confidential?
Your criteria, your acquisition plans, your list and every reply, under the agreement’s confidentiality clause. If your firm needs its own NDA signed first, send it with the first call.
How is our sending domain protected?
Every message goes out from a mailbox on your domain that is set up for this work, and you approve the three messages before day 1. Each message carries one line that lets an owner say stop; one word back and that owner is never written to again. We handle every reply within one business day. Nothing is sent in a state or province where owner outreach is on hold.
Start with one metro area
Before you decide, read the sample universe and the sprint week by week.
In several of the outlined states, introducing a company to a buyer is licensed broker work; in the others the rules are still being read. We send nothing there until counsel clears them. We serve buyers in the United States and Canada on the same terms. Canadian dollar prices are fixed list prices, not conversions, and you pick the currency when you sign.
Owner outreach is on hold in AK, AR, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, LA, ME, MI, MN, MO, NE, NH, NV, OR, SD, TX, UT and WI, and in every Canadian province other than Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec.
Owner Universe is run by Louis-Joseph Arbour, based in Laval, Quebec. He takes every first call himself. Before this he spent years finding owner-run companies for an acquirer and taking the first call with their owners.
Bookings are open
Pick a time for a first call. We will walk through the sample, your criteria and the metro area you want to test.