Acquiring and operating an enduring business for the long term
Lake Crossing Company is a privately-funded business buyer and operator, seeking a profitable small business in the Cleveland area to build into the future.
SEARCH CRITERIA
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
TARGET SIZE
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$600k to $1M SDE/EBITDA
GEOGRAPHY
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Cleveland Area or remotely operable
REVENUE MODEL
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Track Record of Consistent Revenues and Profitability
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Recurring or Contracted Revenue Preferred
SELLER PROFILE
INDUSTRIES
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B2B Services with Sticky Customer Base
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Essential or Compliance-Driven Services
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Not Sensitive to AI or Regulatory Risk
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No retail, no restaurants, no gas stations
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Sellers Seeking Liquidity and to Reduce Day-to-Day Involvement
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Sellers who value full-committed, buyers to grow their legacies
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Sellers wanting a hands-on buyer that values the "fit" with their people and organization
PEOPLE
DEAL TEAM
Lake Crossing Company is led by an entrepreneur, Steve Marks, searching for a business to manage and grow. Steve is advised by a group of entrepreneurs and executives who have bought and successfully operated companies in many industries. Importantly, his deal team is best-in-class, to provide certainty of execution upon acceptable terms.
SBA FINANCING
LEGAL
QUALITY OF EARNINGS
INSURANCE
TAX ADVISORY
POTENTIAL EQUITY PARTNERS
STEVE MARKS
Steve owned and operated a residential real estate brokerage in downtown Chicago for six years, along with a lead generation and automation firm. Those years taught him what running a small business actually takes: managing people, making payroll every two weeks, and growing a company without a corporate safety net.
More recently, he spent eight years in operating roles at Apple, Twilio and Adwerx. As Partner Operations Lead for Apple Pay's eCommerce business, he managed the Stripe relationship at over $2.5B in monthly volume. Earlier in his career he worked at BerkshireHathaway HomeServices, Aon, and Sony Music.
He holds a Master's of Science in Technology Commercialization from UT Austin's McCombs School of Business and a BS from New York University. Steve and his family are relocating to the Cleveland area. He's looking to buy one business and run it for the long run.
Why "Lake Crossing Company"? Some of Steve's best memories are of crossing Lake Michigan by boat with his dad. The name is about a passage itself: a business changing hands from the person who built it to the person who'll carry it forward.
ABOUT LCC
WHAT WE DO
Lake Crossing Company is a privately-funded business buyer and operator seeking a profitable Cleveland-area small business to continue building into the future. We work with business owners to transition their legacies into the next generation. Our goal is to maintain and grow a business, and the business owner's legacy, for the long term.
We are NOT a private equity firm or strategic.
Private Equity
Competitor
Your Legacy
100% of our time and effort to grow the company
One of many businesses; little time or attention
Absorbed as just another subsidiary or division
Timeline
LCC is in it for the long term
3-5 year strict timeline
Depends on competitor
Day-1,
Post Closing
We operate day-to-day, alongside employees
Company strategy dictated by PE firm to maximize profit
Company gets integrated and likely goes away
Equity Funding
Entrepreneur with controlling ownership equity
PE Firm controlling ownership with CEO for hire
Competitor's balance sheet and credit line
Goal
Maintain company's legacy and grow the business
Slash expenses, add debt, position company for re-sale
Integrate company into competitor
Seller
Involvement
Consulting transition period
Full time commitment
None