HoldCo Builders How to Build Proprietary Deal Flow? (15 Off-Market Acquisitions)
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Oct 16, 2025 Grant Hensel, an operator and investor with Entrepreneurial Capital, shares insights from Peter Lang's advanced M&A masterclass. He highlights the importance of practical tactics like a 128-question pre-LOI audit, effective first-call bonding, and using LinkedIn for outreach. Grant discusses setting ambitious goals for scaling his fund and the math behind achieving 5× returns. He emphasizes M&A as a problem-solving tool and introduces innovative strategies for off-market acquisitions, aiming to help searchers generate proprietary deal flow.
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Build 5x Returns With Conservative Assumptions
- Model conservative growth (5% revenue CAGR) with no multiple expansion to test whether 3–5x entry deals can still deliver 5x MOIC.
- Use low entry multiples, modest growth, and sensible leverage to underpin ambitious fund targets.
Prefer Fewer Excellent Bets Over Many Mediocre Ones
- High selectivity matters: Grant sees ~1 deal per day and chooses roughly six a year to maintain quality.
- For larger funds, double down on winners via add-ons rather than simply increasing deal volume.
Use LinkedIn DMs For Proprietary Outreach
- Use LinkedIn DMs as a primary outreach channel instead of blasting emails.
- Craft personalized messages and you can book meetings the same day, even with cold outreach.