Ridgeway Sourcing Book a 30-minute call

A research and origination desk

Every company in your buy box, mapped, qualified and originated for you.

For independent sponsors, search funds and small private equity firms. We qualify the best candidates in your buy box and connect you to them.

Book a 30-minute call

Share your buy box criteria on the call and receive a complimentary preliminary report afterward.

1,917 licensed companies in one Texas buy box
22 worth a call
one to approach first

  • A sector verdict in three weeks

    Every company in the box mapped and evaluated against your buy box before any owner is contacted.

  • Origination and outreach

    Owners approached in your firm’s name, every message approved by you, and each willing owner introduced within a business day.

  • A founding guarantee

    70% refunded and a complimentary second Verdict if you are not satisfied.

  • Competitive fixed fees

    Quoted on the call, agreed before you sign. No success fee, and your buy box is yours alone.

How we screen

Sample buy box screening

The screen is the first stage of the work. The full Verdict adds a sourced brief on every company that remains, ownership and succession signals, and an assessment of the box as a whole.

Sector
Fire and life safety
Geography
Texas
Size
$1M to $5M EBITDA
Ownership
Independent, owner-led
  1. 1,917

    The whole market

    Every licensed fire and life safety company in Texas, assembled from state licensing records, Secretary of State filings and trade directories.

  2. 316

    The right size

    Sized from licensed headcount and permit volume. Companies outside the buyer's range are ruled out, each with the reason recorded.

  3. 287

    Still independent

    Ownership checked against filings, press and acquirers' portfolios. Anything already held by a platform, fund or national group is removed.

  4. 102

    A reason to talk

    Owner tenure read from license dates and company history. Succession conversations usually begin with founders who have run a business for decades, so those owners are flagged first.

  5. 22

    Worth calling

    Each remaining company is checked by a person and briefed. The one marked in red is where we would start.

    Book a 30-minute call

Sample buy box screened in October 2026; company names withheld. Sources: state licensing records, Secretary of State filings, permit records, trade directories, local press and calls.

What you receive

A report on every eligible company in your buy box, with every fact sourced and dated

  • A map of the box. Every licensed company, and the reason each one was ruled out.
  • A one-page verdict. Whether the box is worth your time, and the three to call first.
  • Fixed fee, and the box is yours alone. No success fee. Overlaps declared before you sign.

Fire and life safety · TexasEntry 1 of 22

FLS-TX-014Approach first

Sprinkler, alarm and extinguisher contractor

Dallas-Fort Worth · founded 1981

Succession signal, October 10, 2026

Why now

Founder still active after 45 years; a second family member has joined.

State licensing records; local press; call, October 10, 2026

Ownership

Same family since 1981. No platform or private equity owner.

Secretary of State filings; UCC search, October 8, 2026

Estimated size

Revenue
$3.4M to $6.6M
EBITDA
$0.3M to $1.2M
Staff
22 to 30

The estimate straddles the floor of the box; size is confirmed on the first call.

How it works

Three weeks to a verdict. Then, if you want it, the Desk.

  1. Week one

    Map

    Every company in your buy box, from licensing records, filings, permits and trade directories.

  2. Week two

    Screen

    Companies that do not fit are ruled out, each with its reason recorded.

  3. Week three

    Brief and verdict

    A sourced brief on each company that remains, and an assessment of the whole box.

  4. Then, monthly

    The Desk

    Outreach in your firm's name, approved by you. Willing owners handed over within one business day. Three-month minimum.

Our terms

Good enough to put our fee behind it.

  1. Founding guaranteeFor our next five clients: if you are not satisfied, we refund 70% of the fee and deliver a complimentary second Verdict. No questions asked.
  2. Fixed feeQuoted on the call, agreed before you sign. No success fee.
  3. ExclusivityYour buy box is yours alone; we take no other client inside it. Before you sign, we check your criteria against every current engagement and tell you if anything overlaps.
  4. Not a brokerWe do not represent sellers, negotiate terms or take fees tied to a transaction.

Thirty minutes on your buy box.

If we cannot serve it, we say so on the call. If we can, a written scope and a fixed fee follow.

Book a 30-minute call

Share your buy box criteria on the call and receive a complimentary preliminary report afterward.

Questions

What partners ask before they book

What happens on the call?

Thirty minutes on your buy box: sector, geography, size and ownership. If we cannot serve it, we say so on the call. If we can, you receive a complimentary preliminary report on the box, followed by a written scope and a fixed fee. Nothing is agreed until you have both in writing.

How does the founding guarantee work?

If you are not satisfied with the Verdict, for any reason, tell us. We refund 70% of the fee and deliver a complimentary second Verdict. No questions asked; the one condition is that you are among our next five clients.

Is this off-market?

Yes. The screen starts from licensing records and public filings, not from listings or bankers’ books. Where a brief finds a company already with a banker, it says so.

Where does the information come from?

Public registers first: state licensing records, Secretary of State filings, permit records and trade directories, then local press and calls. Every fact in a brief carries its source and the date it was checked.

Do you only cover fire and life safety?

No. The Texas screen is one sample. The method is the same for any trade with a public register: the sources change by sector and state, the steps do not.

Who sees our criteria?

Only the people working your box. We sign your NDA before you share them, never reuse your work for another client, and the map and briefs are yours.

What happens after the verdict?

The map, the briefs and the verdict are yours to keep. If you want the owners approached, the Desk does it monthly in your firm’s name, with every message approved by you before it goes out.

Start with a conversation about your buy box.

A 30-minute conversation to gauge fit and understand your buy box, with a complimentary preliminary report afterward.

Book a 30-minute call or write to hello@ridgeway.group