The Buy-Side Readiness Engine

Best in class companies grow through acquisition –
I will show you how to do the same.

For businesses past $10M in revenue that plan to grow through acquisition and want the groundwork done before the first serious conversation.

 
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3-minute application. We reply within 2 business days.

Three engagements in 2027. Now accepting applications.

The problem

Whether a deal pays off is mostly decided before it is signed.

Start with the target and the seller's banker anchors your price, your lender sets your capacity, and your integration plan gets written after the money has moved. The Buy-Side Readiness Engine settles what you can fund, what will break, the most to pay and what to buy first.

Three phases of a successful acquisition

One Team.
Three Phases.
Owned End-to-End.

The Engine is Phase 1. Phases 2 and 3 are scoped separately when you are ready to buy.

Phase 1
Pre-acquisition

What you can fund, what will break, the most to pay, what to buy.

Phase 2
Sourcing & execution

Which target, at what price, on what terms.

Phase 3
Integration

Whether the deal delivers the value you paid for.

1Pre-acquisition 2Sourcing & execution 3Integration
Who you hire Fractional CFO, operations consultant, investment bank Investment bank, with CFO support Integration consultant, with CFO support
Where it falls short Three firms, three formats. The forecast, diagnosis and valuation aren't built to reconcile. The bank prices targets without your cash forecast or operating limits in front of it. The integrator usually arrives after close, working from a plan that isn't tied to the price you paid.
Time 20–30 weeksacross three separate hires 6–9 monthsplus re-briefing a new team 6–12 monthsplus 3–6 weeks to hire
Fees $85K–$210K $80K–$150K retainer+ 2–4% success fee $100K–$250K
ScepterFees scoped per engagement. One engagement, within 90 to 120 days. All four deliverables built on one set of numbers. Same team, no re-brief. Sourcing starts from your ranked list, negotiation stops at your walk-away price. Integration planning starts before signing, with our integration partner. Built from the Phase 1 diagnosis and tied to the synergy case in the valuation.
Scepter estimates based on typical lower mid-market fee ranges.

Why phase one comes first

The numbers that decide Phases 2 and 3 are set in Phase 1: what you can fund, what you can absorb and the most you should pay.

The Timeline

Know what to buy and when.

Each deliverable builds on the one before it, so the order is deliberate. Cash comes first because every other decision depends on what you can fund. The roadmap comes last because it is measured against the other three. Here is when each one lands.

Day 1 Kickoff
  1. Day 14You know how much you can spend on a deal
  2. Day 77You know what will break, and what to fix first
  3. Day 98You know what a target is worth to you
  4. Day 120You know what to buy, and when
Week

Buffer week for information request delays Build weeks

Rolling weekly cash flow forecast

Weeks 1-2 · By day 14
You receive

A 13-week rolling forecast built from your receivables, payroll, renewals and vendor payments, a deal overlay for purchase price funding and integration costs, and a weekly update process your finance team owns.

See the format: download the weekly cash flow forecast template →

Why it comes first

Every later decision depends on what you can fund, and when. The diagnosis, the valuation and the roadmap all lean on this number.

Operational diagnosis

Weeks 3-11 · By day 77
You receive

A function-by-function review of finance and accounting, and sales and marketing. Each area is rated ready, at risk, or breaks under a deal, with a prioritized fix list.

Why it comes second

The valuation has to account for what needs fixing and what it costs. The cash picture sizes what you can afford to fix before you buy.

Intrinsic valuation

Weeks 12-14 · By day 98
You receive

An integrated three-statement model and DCF valuation of your company, your acquisition capacity, and the return hurdle every deal has to clear.

Why it comes third

A valuation built on a forecast you trust and operations you have diagnosed is a number you can defend in the room.

M&A roadmap

Weeks 15-17 · By day 120
You receive

An acquisition thesis, target criteria and a ranked candidate list, a sequenced plan for which targets to pursue and when, and a walk-away price for each priority target.

Why it comes last

It is measured against the other three: what you can fund, what you can absorb and what you can afford. Built any earlier, it is guesswork.

Every phase opens with one buffer week for information request delays, because financials, contracts and team interviews rarely arrive on schedule. If the information arrives early, the work starts early. Either way, everything is delivered within 90 to 120 days, provided delays stay within the buffer week.

Why the four together

Bought separately, it takes three firms.

Provider Deliverable Fees Elapsed time
Fractional CFO Rolling weekly cash flow forecast $20K–$40K 3–4 weeks to build(+2–4 weeks to hire)
Operations consultant Operational diagnosis $20K–$50K 6–10 weeks to build(+3–6 weeks to hire)
Investment banksmaller boutique Intrinsic valuation + M&A roadmap $45K–$120K 8–12 weeks to build(+3–6 weeks to hire)
Total $85K–$210K* 20–30 weeks
Scepter estimates from published fee ranges.* Comparable Big 4 scope estimated at $400K+

Three timelines, three formats, nothing that reconciles

One engagement, one fee, scoped to your business. Built in 120 days instead of 20–30 weeks across three firms.

The Engagement

Four deliverables. 120 days. Two senior people.

Duration Within 120 Days One-on-one, with weekly working sessions.

Three engagements per year. Each one gets our full attention.

  • A rolling weekly cash flow forecast, so you know what you can fund
  • An operational diagnosis, so you know what breaks before it breaks
  • An intrinsic valuation, so you know your walk-away price
  • An M&A roadmap, so you know what to buy and when
  • Built by the two of us directly, never handed to an associate
Guarantee

All four deliverables within 120 days of signing, or your full fee back.

Applies when information delays stay within each phase's buffer week and scheduled interviews with your team go ahead.

Proof

What clients of Scepter and The Extra 20 say.

Scepter Capital has been instrumental in providing us key resources to support us on our growth journey. Highly recommend.

Shea Darlison Co-founder, Tartan App

They took the time to understand our people, our business, and our vision. … We now have better alignment, clearer priorities, and stronger momentum across the company.

Abaze Grozdinac Owner, Tiger Machining

Who builds it

The deal seat and
the operator's seat.

Readiness is not one discipline. The cash, the roadmap and the valuation come from a career spent on the buy-side. The operational read comes from someone who has spent his working life inside the businesses themselves. You get both.

The deal seat

Alex Balca

Partner, Scepter Capital

  • Rolling weekly cash flow forecast
  • Intrinsic valuation
  • M&A roadmap

Screened 50+ acquisition targets, evaluated $400M+ of transactions by enterprise value, built 15+ intrinsic valuations.

Alex has done this work from inside the buyer, in corporate development at a publicly traded software company reporting to the CFO, and as an outside advisor to lower-middle-market software companies.

He ran a rolling weekly cash flow forecast across 11 entities and 4 currencies, screened 50+ acquisition targets, evaluated more than $400M of transactions by enterprise value, and built over 15 intrinsic valuations that set offer and walk-away prices.

His forecast gave management a weekly view of which key suppliers to pay, which customers to collect from first, and how much headroom remained above the company's minimum cash balance. He also worked with lenders to refinance the company's credit facility.

Steve Krushelniski The operator's seat

Steve Krushelniski

Founder, The Extra 20

  • Operational diagnosis

Ensures deals that look good on paper turn into businesses that perform.

Steve has been part of three software startups and now works inside mid-market companies in software, manufacturing and construction as founder of The Extra 20. He started on drilling rigs and power plants, so he reads a business from the floor up. He digs into their leadership, processes, systems and people to find what's actually driving growth and what's blocking it.

In this partnership, Steve leads the operational diagnosis. Before you buy, he tells you what's deal-ready, what isn't, and what has to be fixed first. When it's time to integrate, he can stay on to make it stick.

Apply

Get ready to buy
before the right target shows up.

This approach comes from sitting in the M&A seat, from the lower middle market to the public markets, and watching readiness decide whether a deal paid off. If you plan to make an acquisition in the next 12 to 24 months, apply now. Readiness takes 120 days, and the best targets don't wait.

Apply Now

Not ready to apply? Take the 5-minute Buy-Side Readiness Scorecard and see where you stand.

Three engagements in 2027. Now accepting applications.

Apply

By application, three per year.

Every engagement starts with a short application, about three minutes. We review each one ourselves. Where there is a fit, we invite you to a 30-minute evaluation meeting at no charge to work out whether readiness is actually your gap.

Start your application

FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

Who is the Buy-Side Readiness Engine for?

Owner-led and leadership-run companies with acquisitions on the agenda, typically $10M+ in revenue, in the technology and software industry.

We don't have a target yet. Is it too early?

No, that's the right time. The Engine is built to be finished before the right target shows up, so you can move when it does.

What do we have at the end?

Four deliverables built on your own numbers: a rolling weekly cash flow forecast, a documented operational diagnosis, an intrinsic valuation you can defend in the room, and an M&A roadmap sequenced to your capacity.

We already have a CFO and a banker. Why do we need this?

Your CFO runs the business and your banker markets you deals. The Engine ties cash, operations, and value into one cohesive strategy informed by numbers before the deal work starts.

What if we decide not to acquire?

You still keep a weekly forecast, an operational diagnosis and a defensible valuation, which are useful whether you buy, raise or eventually sell.

How much of my team's time does it take?
  • Rolling weekly cash flow forecast: 1 hour from your finance lead in the first week, then about 30 minutes a week for your accounting team to update the file.
  • Operational diagnosis: depending on the size of the organization, 5 to 8 hours per week for up to 3 weeks per business function (finance and accounting, and sales and marketing).
  • Intrinsic valuation: a maximum of 4 hours from accounting and finance for information requests.
  • M&A roadmap: 2 to 3 hours per week for up to 3 weeks with your leadership team.
What if our information is slow to arrive?

Each phase includes one buffer week for information delays. If delays run past it, the guarantee no longer applies, but we keep working until all four deliverables are delivered.

What does it cost?

Fees are scoped per engagement and set out in writing following an evaluation meeting, before you commit to anything.

What if you don't deliver?

If all four deliverables are not delivered within 120 days of signing, your fee is refunded in full. This applies as long as information delays stay within each phase's buffer week and scheduled interviews with your team go ahead.

Do you stay on for the acquisition itself?

Yes, as a separate engagement scoped after the readiness work. Alex stays on for Phase 2, sourcing and execution. He refines the ranked target list from Phase 1, values each target that reaches serious discussion, and holds the walk-away price through negotiation and closing. Steve Krushelniski of The Extra 20 comes back for Phase 3 to lead integration, starting from the operational diagnosis he built.

How is our information kept confidential?

Scepter and The Extra 20 both sign an NDA before receiving any confidential information. Your numbers are not shared outside the engagement without your written consent.

Why only three engagements a year?

Every engagement is built by the two of us directly, never handed to an associate. We are selective about the businesses we accept into the engagement because we want a mutual commitment to the goal of growing the business through acquisition.

What happens after I apply?

We review every application ourselves and reply within 2 business days either way. If there's a fit, we'll invite you to a free 30-minute evaluation meeting to see whether readiness is really the gap.

Not ready to apply? Take the 5-minute Buy-Side Readiness Scorecard and see where you stand.