The complete deal platform for independent searchers

847 companies fit your thesis. None of them are listed for sale. That's the point.

Define your acquisition thesis. FirmOptic's agentic swarm surfaces private companies that fit, researches each one through the lens of your questions, and walks them from first signal to signed LOI.

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app.firmoptic.com / thesis / hvac-southeast ● Live

Thesis matches

Sorted by fit · 3m ago
Researching for HVAC · Southeast US · $2–8M EBITDA · owner 55+
Acme Mechanical Services
Charlotte, NC · ~$5.2M EBITDA
94
Strong
Peachtree Mechanical
Atlanta, GA · ~$7.6M EBITDA
96
Strong
Piedmont Climate Systems
Greenville, SC · ~$3.8M EBITDA
88
Strong
Southern Air & Refrigeration
Birmingham, AL · ~$6.1M EBITDA
82
Strong
Blue Ridge Heating Co.
Asheville, NC · ~$2.4M EBITDA
71
Review
~15 min
From thesis to a sourced, cited dossier per company.
10–100×
Less than PitchBook, Grata, or ZoomInfo.
27 sources
Cited per dossier on average. Nothing unsourced.

Every searcher is refreshing the same broker listings. The best companies aren't on them.

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We'll build a cited dossier answering your thesis questions in about 15 minutes.

Acme Mechanical Services

◉ Charlotte, NCEst. 198732 FTEacme-mechanical.com
94
Thesis fit
Ownership
FounderTom Branson, 61¹
Since1987²
SuccessionNone visible³
PE on capNone detected
Financials (est.)
Revenue~$14.2M
EBITDA$4.8–5.6M
CAGR 3yr~6%
Recurring~62%
Operations
Headcount32 FTE
Service mixCommercial 78%
Top REITs3 of 5
DispatchModernized '22
Thesis fit
Industry✓ Perfect
Geography✓ SE US
Size✓ $5.2M
Owner age✓ 61
27 sources cited · refreshed 4m ago · confidence HIGH Research your own company →
The workflow

From thesis to a call you actually feel ready to make. One workflow.

Most searchers spend 80% of their time on work that doesn't survive a second read. FirmOptic takes the hardest parts, from finding targets to walking into the first call, and turns them into one connected system.

0The problem

The way we research is broken.

We inconsistently search for different terms, overlook others, and end up comparing apples to oranges. Broker listings every other buyer sees. Spreadsheets that grow 40 columns and die. FirmOptic standardizes your search and keeps you focused on what actually matters to your thesis.

◉ Before FirmOptic
Broker listings every other buyer sees.
4–8 hours tab-juggling per company.
Cold emails that sound like every other one.
A CRM, a spreadsheet, and Slack threads nobody owns.
◉ With FirmOptic
Private companies that haven't engaged a broker.
15 minutes to a cited dossier per company.
Warm context to skip the small talk on the first call.
Research, outreach, and pipeline in one view.
1Define

Write your thesis the way you'd explain it to a partner.

Industry, geography, size, ownership profile, and the soft signals you actually look for. The sharper the thesis, the sharper every downstream result.

IndustryHVAC / commercial mechanical
GeographySoutheast US (NC, SC, GA, AL, TN)
Size$2M – $8M EBITDA
OwnershipFounder-owned, 55+
SignalsRecurring serviceNo PE20+ FTECommercial mix
2Swarm

A custom-trained agentic swarm researches every fit in parallel.

Not a database lookup. Purpose-built agents work through the lens of your specific thesis: ownership, financial proxies, operations, market context, risk. Every finding cited to a source you can verify.

Researching: Acme Mechanical
OwnershipFounder, 61, sole since '8701:12
FinancialEst. $5.2M EBITDA02:44
Operations32 FTE, 4 truckslive
MarketCharlotte metro · +4.2%live
SignalsNo PE · recurring book03:11
Risk2 litigations (contract scope)live
6 agents · 4 categories72%
3Call

Walk into the first call with a warm read, not a cold script.

You don't get a memo. You get enough business context to skip the small talk: the operator's story, the soft spots, the likely objection. The goal is the call, not the document.

Operator story
Founder with a 35-year book, concentrated commercial. Son chose medicine. No succession plan. Likely open.
Opening angle
Lead with the commercial concentration. Rare in region, hard to replicate.
Likely objection
"We've talked to brokers." Counter: you're not one.
Confidence
Every claim sourced. 27 citations live in the dossier.
The core differentiator

Your thesis, auto-evaluated.

The same company looks completely different to two searchers. FirmOptic's agents research through your lens, not a generic one. Both of these reads are correct.

S

Shopify Plus Implementation Partner, LLC

Austin, TX · Services · ~$3.4M revenue · est. 2016
Same company, two thesis fits
Searcher A · thesis
"Durable, owner-operated SMBs with recurring revenue and 15+ years of history."
34Weak fit
  • Only 8 years operating. Below durability threshold.
  • Revenue is project-based, not recurring.
  • Shopify ecosystem dependency is existential risk.
  • Two active founders. Ownership transition unclear.
Searcher B · thesis
"Vertical SaaS-adjacent services with high growth and category tailwinds."
91Strong fit
  • Shopify top-10 partner tier. Proven demand.
  • 34% YoY revenue growth over 3 years.
  • Recurring retainers now 40% of revenue, climbing.
  • Founders open to roll-ups (public AMA, 2025).
Both analyses cite their sources. Neither is wrong.
Research → Outreach → Pipeline

The FirmOptic Deal Pipeline

Because great companies don't fall through the cracks. Researched targets flow into outreach, conversation, and LOI. All in one view. This replaces your spreadsheet and your CRM.

◉ Workspace · HVAC Southeast 70 active · updated 3m ago
Researched42
Acme Mechanical
CHARLOTTE, NC · $5.2M
94Pro call
Piedmont Climate
GREENVILLE, SC · $3.8M
88Owner 58
Southern Air & Refrig.
BIRMINGHAM, AL · $6.1M
82Est '81
Coastal Comfort HVAC
SAVANNAH, GA · $4.9M
86Recurring
Contacted18
Valley Mechanical
KNOXVILLE, TN · $4.1M
91Email sent
Carolina Climate Co.
COLUMBIA, SC · $3.2M
85LinkedIn
Mountain Mech Works
ASHEVILLE, NC · $2.7M
78Warm intro
Conversation7
Gulf Coast HVAC
MOBILE, AL · $5.8M
922nd call
Capital Comfort Group
RALEIGH, NC · $4.4M
89NDA signed
LOI2
Peachtree Mechanical
ATLANTA, GA · $7.6M
96LOI sent
Built Different

Built different from everything else.

Traditional tools give you data. FirmOptic gives you intelligence.

Capability
ZoomInfo / PitchBook
BizBuySell / Axial
Clay / Apollo
FirmOptic
Surfaces off-platform private companiesCompanies not yet engaged with a broker
✕ Database filters
✕ Listed only
✕ Sales enrichment
✓ Agentic swarm
Thesis-lens researchAnswers your questions, not generic
✓ Custom-trained
Every claim cited to sourceVerifiable, not fabricated
✕ Database fields
✕ Seller claims
✕ Scraped
✓ Full citations
Pipeline + outreach built-inOne workflow, not three tools
✕ Marketplace only
Partial
✓ Full Kanban
Price for the person doing the workSolo searcher, not enterprise
$20K+/yr
Listing fees
$6K+/yr
From $0
What searchers say

Built for people who do deals, not decks.

I stopped opening BizBuySell. The best deals I've seen all year came from FirmOptic surfacing owner-operated companies nobody had on a list yet.

MK
Matt K.Independent Searcher · Charlotte

The thesis scoring is the real trick. My partner and I each have our own read on a target. FirmOptic tells us which of us is right about which thesis.

SR
Sasha R.Independent Sponsor · Austin

Went from 6 hours of tab-juggling per company to walking into a founder call with a printed dossier I actually trust. First call felt warm.

JT
Jordan T.Search Fund Principal · Boston
Pricing

Simple. Transparent. No sales call required.

10–100× less than PitchBook, Grata, or ZoomInfo. Built for the person actually doing the work.

Starter

$40.83/ mo
$49/ mo
$490 billed annually. 2 months free.
10 companies per month
  • Everything in Free
  • Pipeline & outreach tracking
  • Saved thesis slots
  • CSV export
  • Top-up: from $2.50
Choose Starter
Most popular

Growth

$82.50/ mo
$99/ mo
$990 billed annually. 2 months free.
25 companies per month
  • Everything in Starter
  • Multi-thesis workspace
  • Advanced scoring weights
  • Priority swarm queue
Choose Growth

Scale

$165.83/ mo
$199/ mo
$1,990 billed annually. 2 months free.
75 companies per month
  • Everything in Growth
  • Team seats (up to 3)
  • Deal room exports
  • Dedicated onboarding
Choose Scale
Kick the tires. 3 companies per month, full thesis builder, and complete research dossiers. Pipeline and outreach tracking are reserved for paid plans. Top up at $5 per company.

Free

$0/ mo
Start for free

Paid plans include pipeline, outreach tracking, citations, and the same agentic swarm. Annual plans get 2 months free. Monthly billing cancels anytime.

FAQ

Common questions.

How accurate is the research?
Every claim in a FirmOptic dossier is cited back to the source it came from: public filings, LinkedIn, D&B, state registries, news, podcasts, and review sites. For estimated values (like EBITDA bands), we show ranges and triangulation signals. You can verify anything in a click. We never fabricate numbers or present unsourced claims as facts.
How is this different from PitchBook, ZoomInfo, or Grata?
Those are databases. You filter records and get contact info. FirmOptic's agentic swarm actually researches each company through the lens of your specific thesis. The output is a narrative dossier, not a row. It also costs 10 to 100 times less because we're not selling to enterprise sales teams.
How does thesis scoring actually work?
You define the thesis: industry, geography, size, ownership, soft signals. Each agent in the swarm answers the specific questions your thesis implies for that company. The score reflects how strongly the evidence supports your criteria, not a generic "quality" rank. Two theses evaluating the same company will typically produce two different scores, and both can be correct.
Is this just for search funds?
No. FirmOptic is used by independent searchers, independent sponsors, private equity deal teams, and family offices. Anyone hunting off-platform private companies through a specific thesis benefits. We just built the product with the solo searcher's workflow in mind first.
Are these companies really "off-market"?
We surface private companies that haven't engaged publicly with a broker and don't appear on common listing marketplaces. We can't verify whether an owner is privately planning to sell, so we don't claim certainty. What we can say is that most of the companies in FirmOptic aren't being shopped to the same buyers you're competing with elsewhere.
What if I need more than 50 companies per month?
Every plan supports top-up credits from $2.50 per additional company. If you're consistently running over, reach out and we'll set up a custom volume plan. No sales call required.
Do you offer a free trial?
Yes. The Free plan gives you 3 full research dossiers per month, no credit card, cancel anytime. Use it to kick the tires. If you need pipeline tracking or more dossiers, upgrade from $40.83/month on annual billing (or $49 month-to-month). Monthly plans cancel anytime; annual plans get 2 months free.
One last thing

The companies that fit your thesis are out there. Most of them will never be listed for sale. That's what makes them worth finding first.

Start for free. No credit card required.
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