M&A Origination Associate at HOATalent

TL;DR: We’re a family of companies looking for a forward-thinking, entrepreneurial M&A Origination Associate who wants to own the process of finding prospective companies to acquire, “spreading the good news” of our mission, and closing deals across the nation. As our first true business development hire, you’ll have the broad opportunity to shape our accelerating company in one of our most critical areas: growth through acquisition. There is a long-term career path and we hope you’ll one day head our business development team.

What do we do?

We acquire and operate Homeowners’ Association Management companies (read: the folks who make sure your neighbors pay their HOA dues, hire the landscaper, and keep your condo building beautiful and structurally sound).

What would you do?

We’re looking for an M&A Origination Associate who can build upon our current outreach machine. That means finding and connecting with business owners and building industry relationships. You will own and drive these relationships forward through phone calls, emails, and attending conferences. You will interface with business owners, industry “river guides,” and brokers on a daily basis. You will be responsible for finding and qualifying leads, and screening the company for preliminary information and fit with The CAM Collective. You will work closely with our co-founders to ultimately negotiate, sign, and close deals.

Why a “family of companies?”

We acquire small businesses, usually from their founders. They sell to us and not the big, national firms because they want to protect what made them special: their people, culture, and deep connections to the local community. So we honor that: no layoffs, no rebranding, limited integration, and decentralized decision-making. Because we believe if you offer smart, empowered people big-company resources, they’ll take advantage and grow just as fast as any top-down organization (and feel a lot more fulfilled in the process).

Show me the money!

You can’t offer founders an exit plan without a hefty bank account — so we raised over $50M in committed capital to enable our ambitious growth vision (and those of our Member Companies). Our group of investors is led by Taubman Capital, which represents a family that spent the better part of a century building their own business. (Press Release).

What about geography?

We’re based in Chicago, but our Member Companies are also in D.C., Florida, Maryland, Texas, and Virginia. The role is remote, but proximity to one of our Companies and a willingness to be a regular face in that office is a big plus. This role will also involve travel to meet with business owners, and attending conferences.

One curveball

We’re big believers in automation and AI-enabled tools. In particular, automation and AI allows us to connect with thousands of HOA management companies a year and stay in active communications with over one hundred business owners on a given day. That means comfort and fluency with modern sales tools and a desire to use them is a must. A “continuous improvement” spirit to better our model is a big plus!

Will we get along?

If you believe in these things, probably!

(1) When you have a problem or face an obstacle, “figure it out and get it done!”

(2) Employees first, customers second, bottom line third. Because great employees make for happy customers who take care of the bottom line.

(3) “Are we having fun yet?” is the most important question we ask each day. Life’s too short to take yourself seriously!

So far so good? Here are some details on what you’d do:

• Day-to-day new prospect outreach
  • Manage our data sourcing team to find and enrich business owner contact info
  • Contact business owners via phone, email and in-person visits
  • Build and curate our database of target information
• Conduct introductory meetings with new prospective sellers
  • Speak confidently to business owners and senior management about TCC
  • Update our materials to best convey our story and mission to prospects
  • Collect essential information to determine if the company is actionable today
  • Analyze opportunities and determine if target is a fit (today or in the future)
• Manage relationships with “not yet ready” prospects and industry “river guides”
  • Attend conferences to build relationships with our key vendor partners
  • Conduct regularly scheduled check-in calls with business brokers
  • Regularly meet with actionable prospects who are not yet ready to sell
  • Arrange local gatherings with prospects and our Member Company leaders
• Negotiate the deal and shepherd prospects to a close
  • Work directly with co-founder to structure transactions
  • Negotiate directly with the seller to sign a letter of intent

What you have (the basics):

• Bachelor’s degree. An MBA is ideal.
• Track record of academic and extracurricular performance (think: sports team)
• 2-4 years of experience in a role with development goals or sales quotas
• Comfort with outbound cold-calling

What you have (hard skills):

• Experience creating compelling visual presentations (PowerPoint, Google Slides, etc.)
• Experience managing customer and activity data in a CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, etc.)
• Experience arranging intro meetings virtually and in-person at industry conferences
• Experience in building and managing an outsourced team is preferred

What you have (soft traits):

• Strong servant-leadership qualities - you are not afraid to jump in and help wherever help is needed with an ample dose of humility (i.e., no task is beneath you).
• Excellent communication skills – you effectively inspire and energize both reports who you mentor and leaders who you support. You create clarity out of complexity.
• High horsepower – You have a demonstrated history of outworking your peers.
• Continuous improvement mindset – You know things can be better, have the analytical chops to figure out how, and can rally cross-functional teams around making it happen.
• A team-building mentality – you are committed to working as a member of the team and building a successful organization. You can quickly gain the trust, confidence, and respect of colleagues, customers, and other stakeholders.
• An entrepreneurial spirit – you are comfortable in a dynamic work environment and possess a proven ability to deliver without direct oversight. You’re a self-starter and thrive in an evolving, changing environment.
• Unflinching ethics – you do the right thing, always.

What we have to offer:

• Competitive pay
• Excellent benefits package - Health, Dental, Vision, 401(k) match
• Unlimited PTO

Don’t be shy!

We encourage you to apply even if you feel that you do not meet all of the above qualifications. Frequently cited statistics show that women and underrepresented groups apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. The CAM Collective encourages you to break that statistic and to apply. No one ever meets 100% of the requirements. We look forward to your application!