Generates defensible valuation memos for small-business M&A using pooled closed-deal comparables; priced at $199/mo per firm targeting CPAs, brokers, and fractional CFOs. · small business valuation
DEAD SLOW · CAUTIOUS
6.0 ShipScore / 10
Productized memos free operator time; demand unproven as tracked rivals stall near $1k MRR.
Condition: Must secure 500+ closed-deal comps through contributor pooling and get 10 firms paying $199/mo before scaling.
Part I — The Verdict what the instruments read
01 — The ShipScore breakdown
Control
6
Owned SaaS, but the comps supply may depend on licensed or partner data.
Entry barriers
6
Lane is open, with Main Street Wealth $1k and Appraise $0k; pooled deal data offers a moat.
Need
5
Established paid category, but tracked rivals stall and there are zero Reddit signals.
Time-freedom
8
Automated memo generation is subscription income; data curation adds some manual load.
Scale
5
Niche professional buyer base of CPAs, brokers and fCFOs, mostly US Main Street.
What the five commandments measure
C — Control
Do you own the customer, or does a gatekeeper stand between you and revenue?
E — Entry
How hard is this to copy once it works? A rival's existence isn't the question — the durability of their advantage is.
N — Need
Is demand proven with money rather than vibes?
T — Time
Can income detach from your hours, or did you buy yourself a job?
S — Scale
How far does it reach without linear cost?
Scored on the evidence below, against CENTS as we've adapted it plus a Buffett-style moat reading of every rival — the same referee for every idea, including the ones we generate ourselves. The verdict follows the arithmetic: we never relabel a score to make it read better, and the weakest commandment is always named. The exact rubric stays in-house so the scale can't be written for.
02 — The pace test — $1M/yr
At $199/mo (assumed category price), you need 419 subscribers for a $1M/yr pace.
Nearest tracked rivals on that curve:
Main Street Wealth
$1k 1%
Appraise Software
$0k 0%
Part II — The Evidence the receipts, good and bad
03 — Rival scan — corpus tracks 2 similar, 2 stalled under $2k MRR
Main Street Wealth — Same small-business valuation lane with verified revenue, though stalled at $1k MRR.
Appraise Software — Direct valuation-software alternative, showing $0k verified MRR; it signals a weak category pull.
TrustMRR — Publishes real micro-SaaS exit multiples (0.2–1.1x revenue) for free, which undercuts paid comps.
04 — Demand evidence
Only 2 tracked products, both verified under $2k MRR (Main Street Wealth $1k, Appraise $0k).
No Reddit demand signals found for these keywords.
X chatter is directional only: buyers distrust revenue multiples and want cash-flow/EBITDA proof, which fits defensible comps memos.
X shows active small-deal flow, e.g. a ~$140k SDE / $800k ask listing and frequent TrustMRR exits.
05 — Risks
Cold-start problem: pooled comps are worthless until enough firms contribute closed deals.
Brokers and CPAs may already rely on entrenched comps databases and resist switching.
Memos may not meet credentialed valuation standards, limiting their use in lending or litigation.
Tracked rivals' stall suggests low willingness to pay at the small-firm tier.
06 — Kill switches — what kills this with one decision
Third-party comps data licensor — If seed comps are licensed, pulling the license or repricing guts the product's core input.
Lender/SBA acceptance of memos — If SBA lenders reject non-credentialed valuations, the main use case for brokers disappears.
Part III — The Plan if you insist on proceeding
07 — What this scan can't tell you
Cannot see whether CPAs and brokers would contribute proprietary closed-deal data to a shared pool.
Cannot see the revenue of established untracked comps databases that serve this buyer.
Cannot tell whether a $199/mo price fits low-volume fractional CFOs versus per-memo pricing.
Scores judge the market and business model — not your ability to execute. Verified MRR = independently tracked revenue; reviews/upvotes = platform-reported. Judged 2026-10-13.
08 — The wedge & the next step
Give-to-get pooled comps: brokers contribute closed deals to get free memos, building a proprietary SDE-multiple dataset.
Cheapest next step: Interview 15 business brokers this week, asking what they pay for comps today and whether they'd contribute deals for access.
Not quite it? Spin the model
Business-model variations of this idea, engineered to beat 6.0 — different vertical, audience, model, or wedge. Same harsh scale. Pro feature.
One evidence-backed gap a day, free
Close — but conditional. Every morning the engine files one mined gap, scored on the same harsh scale as this one. Free at 7am AEST, unedited.
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