Stop fighting over picked-over listings. Mainferret ferrets out the owners who are ready to sell but haven't told anyone — and proves which businesses are actually worth buying, from 2.17 million real SBA loan outcomes.
Figures computed from the official SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA dataset (data.sba.gov), files as of March 2026. Flagged = score ≥ 90 on our v0 model, 8.1% of businesses. Methodology.
Owners who took an SBA loan 16–26 years ago are now at prime exit age — and many bought the business with that loan, so they already know the playbook. We own that signal nationwide, fused with the one dataset that reveals which businesses actually survive.
Query any geography × industry × size × loan-vintage. Get exit-age owners with mailing addresses, ranked by sell-readiness — before they list.
Real default rates by industry and owner profile from 2.17M outcomes. Know the safe sectors from the landmines before you spend a dollar.
Tell us your skills, geography, and risk tolerance. We rank where you add the most value for the most reward — personalized and explainable.
BUY VS BUILD
The SBA's loan record says how every loan ended and what the borrower was doing. Loans that bought an existing business charged off at 5.4%. Loans that opened a brand-new one charged off at 14.6%. Same lenders, same programs, same economy.
Computed from the official SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA dataset (data.sba.gov), files as of March 2026. Resolved loans only: paid in full or charged off. Cancelled and still-active loans excluded.
THE FULL LIFECYCLE
SBA-data succession signal + enrichment → ranked off-market targets and a direct-mail list.
Survival truth by industry and owner profile. Acquisitions fail at a third of the startup rate.
Ingest your edges and interests → personalized theses, sectors, and a next-move origination plan.
One-click company + owner dossier: registration, licenses, litigation, reviews, news — with AI risk flags.
Seller uploads files once, encrypted. AI normalizes SDE, flags concentration, drafts a QoE-lite report.
After you buy: benchmarked dashboards, covenant monitoring, and AI tools — on a plan that grows with you.
THE MOAT
SBA outcomes are the success/failure label. We layer on owner identity, distress, demand, and — where public — real financials, to score every business on sell-readiness, acquirability, and estimated performance.
SBA FOIA · Census survival data · Medicare cost reports · USAspending · state registration & licenses · UCC/liens/litigation · Google/Yelp trends · web & ad signals.
THE FIRST DELIVERABLE
One metro at a time, we pull every SBA borrower at prime exit age and score them on sell-readiness. You get the owners, the scores, and the reasons. Before a broker ever gets the call.
The library is live: 103 free reports across 12 metros and 9 industries, starting with plumbing and HVAC contractors in the Phoenix metro. Waitlist members pick which markets come next.
PRICING
Enterprise sourcing tools cost $20–100k/yr. Mainferret starts free.
We're in our founding-pilot phase. The tiers below open after the first cohort. Five pilot seats: 100 scored targets for $1,000, and the founding rate for life.
Book a pilot callKnow the market first.
Run a real off-market search.
For sponsors & holdcos.
White-label & data feeds.
"We're running our own search on it — environmental & permitting firms across the Mid-Atlantic. It finds the owners brokers never see."
You're on the list.
The first Succession-Gap Report goes to this group before anyone else. We'll email you when it's ready.
Free to start · no card required