What the record shows, before the letter of intent.
Research notes on the lower middle market in vertical software: where the deals are, why the signed ones die, what it costs to originate one, and what a buyer’s diligence will find. Every figure on these pages is sourced, and the sources are listed under it.
Read the notesThe market, and what it costs to see it.
2,784 SaaS transactions in twelve months, more than half of them vertical software, and the median private equity firm saw fewer than one in five of the deals inside its own stated market.
Read the note →Why deals breakA quarter broke on a finding outside the earnings work.Seventy-five signed letters of intent that collapsed in 2025, what ended them, and what the same findings cost after closing.
Read the note →What origination costsCoverage is not a data problem. It is a time problem.What one buy-side team spends to get from a filtered list to a signed letter, and what a dead letter wastes, with a calculator for your own figures.
Read the note →New revenue linesWhat we look for when a software company adds AI features or embedded payments.Two revenue lines buyers now ask about. For each, four things we trace in the records before a letter of intent.
Read the note →Dead Deal NotesWhy signed deals die, from the public record.Ten deals that were signed and then died, or were cut in price before closing, told from court opinions, filings and announcements.
Read the note →What a buyer will find, and what the first offer is worth.
Compare control, liquidity and your next role, with an illustrative proceeds calculator and a founder worksheet.
Explore the guide →What a buyer findsWhat a buyer’s diligence finds, and what it does to the price.The findings that recur in founder-owned software and services companies, what each one does to price and terms, and how to find them first.
Read the note →The first offerThe price follows whoever has tested the market.For vertical software founders with an inbound offer: what the evidence says about selling to one buyer or running a process, what changes under exclusivity, and the terms behind the price.
Read the note →Quality of earningsWhat a quality of earnings report is, and why a lender will not take yours.The definition, the professional standard it is performed under, the new SBA rule at $3 million, and why software alone cannot sign one.
Read the note →The rules behind an acquisition loan, and the lender’s view of software.
The loan limit, the equity injection, the seller note, the valuation, the quality of earnings at $3 million, the fees, and what a seller can and cannot agree to.
Read the note →For lendersA software borrower’s revenue is its customers’ credit.A software borrower’s revenue is its customers’ credit. Where the risk has moved, and the evidence a borrower can assemble before the credit committee asks.
Read the note →Acquisition financingFinancing for acquisitions, ownership transitions and growth.Introductions to financing providers, with the business story read first. The provider handles its application, underwriting and credit decision.
Read the note →Put your criteria on file.
See the rest of your market.
Capital Row helps buyers see more of their own market, with the financials traced to source before the letter of intent.
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