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Public marketplaces show only a fraction of the businesses that are actually available, and the most attractive companies are frequently sold before they ever appear online. A proactive, off-market search reaches owners directly — often before they've engaged a broker, or even decided whether to sell.
Without an auction, you can evaluate and negotiate based on the company's real value, not a price driven up by other buyers.
Off-market businesses haven't been shopped and passed over. You assess them on their fundamentals, not their listing history.
Owners who know and trust you are more open to seller financing, a flexible transition, and reasonable terms.
Industry, geography, revenue and earnings ranges, and the characteristics that matter most to you.
We research and build a target list using public records, industry data, and our local network.
We approach owners directly and professionally, on your behalf and in confidence.
We assess interest, fit, and seriousness before your time is invested in a meeting.
We guide you through valuation, negotiation, due diligence, and deal structure to a successful close.
FFBA was built with you in mind. Serious individual buyers, generally with $500,000 or more in financing capacity, have rarely had access to the kind of proactive, off-market search that institutional investors run in-house. We bring that same caliber of research and direct outreach to your search.
Capital in hand and a mandate to find off-market deal flow.
Companies growing by acquisition and looking for the right fit.
Patient capital seeking quality over quantity.
Your investment funds the search itself — the outreach that finds the right owners. FFBA is compensated when a transaction closes, so our interests are aligned with your success from the very start.
Ohio's industrial, service, and trade sectors are home to a large number of privately held businesses with strong cash flow and loyal customers — many owned by a generation now approaching retirement. Most will never be publicly listed. For prepared buyers, the opportunity is significant.
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Ben Calkins has advised on hundreds of M&A transactions across the Great Lakes region over four decades. He leads every FFBA engagement personally, from first conversation through closing.
Center for Free Enterprise
North Coast Angel Fund
Ohio Venture Association
Martindale-Hubbell Client Distinction
Identification begins within weeks of defining your criteria, and outreach follows immediately. Time to a first serious conversation depends on how specific your criteria are and how active owners are in your target sectors.
No. The advisory relationship fills the transaction-specific gaps — from first outreach through diligence and closing. You bring the business judgment; we bring the process.
That is the reason this service exists. Public marketplaces show only a fraction of what is available, and the strongest companies rarely appear on them. A proactive search reaches those owners directly.
If you're ready to acquire a business, the first step is a confidential, no-obligation conversation.
Fast Forward Business Advisors
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© 2026 Fast Forward Business Advisors. All Rights Reserved.
Northeast Ohio M&A advisory for buyers and sellers.