Deal Reads

Deal reads

A read before
you bid.

Send me a listing and you’ll know whether it’s worth your time and what I’d want answered before you go further. I ran a consumer brand for ten years and sold it last year. I’ve read a lot of these. They leave out the same things.

Start a read

See one

Easiest way to judge this is to watch me do it.

Luxury skincare resale · $750K ask, $369K SDE

Wellness brand · $7.6M ask

How it works

Same process either way.

One

Send the deal.

A public listing link for a fast read. The CIM and the financials for the full one.

Two

I confirm it’s workable.

I look at what you sent. If there’s enough to work with, I send a link to pay. The clock starts when payment clears.

Three

I go through it.

Where the revenue actually comes from and what the margins are covering. Then whether the business still runs once the seller is gone.

Four

You get a verdict.

Pursue or pass, and why. Plus the questions I’d send the broker before you do anything else.

What it costs

Depends how far into the deal you are.

Fast read.
$750
per listing

Before you spend a week on something.

You send

A public listing link.
Turnaround

48 hours from payment.
You get

A one-page pursue or pass with the reasons.
For screening deal flow

Start a fast read

Full written read.
$2,500
per deal

Everything I’d want to know before I put money in.

You send

The CIM and the financials.
Turnaround

3 to 5 business days from payment and materials.
You get

A written read on the business and the numbers. What I’d pay and how I’d structure it. The questions to put to the broker before you move. Then a call to walk through all of it.
For a deal you’re serious about

Start a full read

Diligence partner.
Monthly

Ongoing reads while you’ve got deals moving.

You send

Your live deals as they move.
Cadence

Reads and calls through diligence.
You get

A read on every deal and a second set of eyes from LOI to close.
For active buyers with deals in motion

Talk it through

Raising instead of buying? Same $2,500 read, pointed at your deck and your numbers. Investors press on the same things buyers do.

Who this is for

Searchers, independent sponsors, and first-time buyers going after a consumer or e-commerce business.

If a deal is clearly not worth your time, I’ll tell you that in the first read and save you the diligence.

From a buyer

“What Calvin caught in both reads was detail I would have overlooked. The real-world patterns behind the numbers, the why in the line items, and the context to judge whether my offer was competitive or unrealistic. What it takes to stay relevant on Amazon, the cash conversion cycle when you’re selling into retail and trying to grow at the same time, those were mysteries to me, and they weren’t in the CIM or in any conversation with the intermediary. If I’d gotten that deal under contract, having a veteran in my corner would have been vital, from the transaction through managing IP and staff.”
Malcolm Smith · Principal, Amina Grace Co.

To be clear

This is my read on a business. It isn’t investment or legal advice, and I’m not acting as your broker. I’ll tell you what I see and what I’d ask for next. Decision’s yours.

Start a
read.

Send the listing and tell me which read you want. I’ll come back with a start date.

Held in confidence


    I started Scotch Porter at a kitchen table, packing the first orders myself, and ran it for ten years. First formulas, national retail, real partners, and a full sale at the end of 2025. The numbers tell one version of that story. The other version, the one I care about now, is what a decade of building taught me about what a business is actually for.