Custom acquisition research
Named targets and owner dossiers for your buy box, built from public records.
Shortlist is a small research desk that builds custom target lists and owner dossiers for searchers, search funds, independent sponsors and small PE buyers doing SMB acquisitions. You send a buy box. Within three business days once scope is confirmed and the invoice is paid, you get a screened target sheet and a short memo that tells you who to call first and why.
No call required. Email [email protected] and we'll confirm scope in writing. Then we send a secure Stripe invoice, payable by card or ACH bank transfer.
What Shortlist does
Send one buy box. Get a list you can start calling.
Named target sheet
A spreadsheet of real businesses that fit your criteria, screened against your size, geography and ownership filters. Near-misses go to a separate borderline appendix, so the main sheet stays inside the box.
Cover memo, two pages or less
Your buy box restated, the source classes we used, what the public record could not show, and a top-five call-first ranking with the reason for each pick.
Fields on every row
- Company legal name and DBA
- City and state
- Size band (labeled as an estimate)
- Ownership signals (founder, family, succession)
- Owner or principal name(s), where the record supports one
- Best public contact path (company site or main business line)
- Source URLs for the row
- Confidence: high, medium or low
- Screening notes
- Call-first rank for the top five
If the public record doesn't support a field, it stays blank or is labeled soft. We don't fill gaps with guesses.
Proof you can check
Three sample dossiers, built the way we'd build yours
All three are live. See every screened name, the call-first reasoning and how we sourced it, then judge the work yourself. Contact details stay in the paid sheet; each sample has a downloadable PDF with contacts redacted.
Specialty HVAC / mechanical contractors, VA–NC
18 primary contractors in one table, 4 borderline names in an appendix, a top-five call order with reasons and a downloadable PDF.
Read the HVAC sample → Sample 2Owner-operated home health agencies, VA / NC
21 primary agencies (19 VA / 2 NC) from CMS provider data and state licensure lists. NC independents are scarce under certificate-of-need rules, and the sample says so instead of padding.
Read the home health sample → Sample 3Commercial fire & life-safety contractors, VA–NC
18 primary sprinkler, alarm and inspection contractors, 4 borderline names, a top-five call order and a downloadable PDF. Platform-owned brands were checked and screened out.
Read the fire safety sample →What makes Shortlist different
Built to be checked, not taken on faith
Every row cites its sources
Each target carries the public URLs behind it, so you or your analyst can verify any name, owner or license in minutes.
Gaps are stated, not filled
The memo says what the public record could not resolve, such as officer slates behind interactive state portals or true headcount. A blank is better than a guess.
A call order, not a data dump
You get a ranked top five with the reason for each pick, plus confidence ratings and screening notes on every row.
Your buy box, not a generic industry list
Every package is screened against your size, geography, ownership and exclusion criteria. Out-of-box names are moved to an appendix or dropped.
Fixed price, fixed turnaround
$2,000 per buy box, delivered in three business days. There's no subscription, no seat license and no annual contract.
Public data only
No paid people-data scrapes, no login-walled sources, no invented emails or mobile numbers. Contact paths come from the business's own public channels.
Who uses Shortlist
Built for people buying one small company
- Self-funded and traditional searchers building a proprietary pipeline in a specific niche and region
- Search fund principals who want a screened starting list before they put interns or callers on it
- Independent sponsors testing a thesis before they commit time to outreach
- Small PE and holdco deal teams adding add-on targets around a platform
How Shortlist works
Email in, package out, three business days
Send your buy box
Email [email protected] with the industry, geography, size band, ownership preference and any exclusions.
We confirm scope
We reply in writing with what public data can and can't resolve for that box, and confirm the price and timing before any work starts. The three business days start once scope is confirmed and the invoice is paid.
Research
The desk works state registries, licensing boards, federal provider data and company sites, logging a source for every row.
Delivery
Within three business days once scope is confirmed and the invoice is paid, you get the target sheet (Excel or CSV) plus the cover memo (PDF) by email. Questions go to the same inbox.
All communication is by email, at [email protected].
Sources and method
Where the data comes from
Only public records and the public web. The exact mix depends on the industry. These are the source classes used in the samples:
- State licensing boards: contractor boards and health-facility licensure lists, for license numbers, licensees and facility contacts
- Federal provider data: CMS Provider Data Catalog and Medicare Care Compare for certified agencies, ownership type and volume proxies; the NPI registry for authorized officials
- State business-entity registries (Secretary of State or equivalent) for legal names and officers where the portal allows it. When a portal is interactive-only, the memo flags the gap.
- Company websites: About, team and license pages for ownership history, succession and published license numbers
- BBB profiles, public directories, SBA PPP loan records and trade press, used as secondary signals and size proxies, and always labeled as such
Size bands are estimates from public proxies, and titles like “founder” or “president” are signals, not cap tables. The memo says so wherever it matters.
Pricing
One price per buy box
Same format as the samples, your buy box, $2,000, three business days. We confirm scope by email before work begins, so you know what you're getting before you commit.
$2,000 USD per buy box. Once scope is confirmed by email, we send a secure Stripe invoice, payable by card or ACH bank transfer. Work starts when the invoice is paid, and the refund policy applies.
Delivery is by email: the target sheet as an Excel or CSV file and the cover memo as a PDF. Cancel before work starts for a full refund; after delivery you get one round of revisions to match the confirmed scope. See the refund and cancellation policy.
Per buy box
- Named target sheet, screened to your criteria
- Borderline / screen-out appendix
- Cover memo of two pages or less: sources, gaps, top-five call order
- Source URLs and a confidence rating on every row
- Delivered by email: Excel or CSV sheet plus PDF memo
Key facts
Shortlist at a glance
- Name
- Shortlist
- Legal entity
- Shortlist Memo LLC (Wyoming)
- Type
- Custom acquisition research desk
- Core offering
- Public-data target lists and owner dossiers, built to a client's buy box
- Built for
- Searchers, search funds, independent sponsors, small PE and holdco buyers
- Deliverable
- Named target sheet, borderline appendix and a cover memo of two pages or less
- Pricing
- $2,000 (USD) per buy box
- Payment
- Secure Stripe invoice once scope is confirmed by email, payable by card or ACH bank transfer. Work starts when the invoice is paid.
- Turnaround
- Three business days, starting once scope is confirmed and the invoice is paid
- Delivery
- By email: target sheet (Excel or CSV) and cover memo (PDF)
- Terms
- Fixed price per project. No subscription or annual contract. Terms of service
- Refunds
- Full refund before work starts or if we fail to deliver; one round of scope revisions after delivery. Refund policy
- Data sources
- Public records and public web only, cited per row
- Samples
- HVAC / mechanical, VA–NC · Home health, VA / NC · Fire & life-safety, VA–NC
- Contact
- [email protected] · Contact page
- Mailing address
- 1621 Central Ave, Cheyenne, WY 82001
- Communication
- Website
- shortlistmemo.com
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Who is behind Shortlist?
Shortlist is a small, independent research desk operated by Shortlist Memo LLC, a Wyoming company. We keep the team out of the spotlight and let the work stand on its own: every row cites its public source, so nothing we hand you needs to be taken on trust. Client correspondence is by email at [email protected].
Why should I trust the output?
Check it. The three samples above are live, and every row in a Shortlist sheet carries the URLs it came from. The memo also lists what we couldn't verify, so you know exactly where to double-check before you call.
What counts as a buy box?
An industry or niche, a geography, a size band (employees or revenue) and any ownership preferences or exclusions. If your criteria span several industries or regions, email us and we'll tell you up front whether it's one buy box or more.
How many targets will I get?
As many as genuinely fit. The samples came in at 18, 21 and 18 primary targets, plus borderline names held in an appendix. If the public record only supports a short list, as with NC home health, the memo says so instead of padding it.
How fresh is the data?
It's pulled from public sources during your engagement, not from a stale database export. License status and entity officers can change, so the memo flags which fields to re-verify on the morning you start outreach.
Do you provide owners' personal emails or cell numbers?
No. The contact path is the business's own public channel, usually the company website or main business line. We don't buy people-data or invent contact details.
Is my buy box kept confidential?
Yes. We don't publish or share your buy box or your deliverable with anyone else, and we don't name clients.
Which geographies do you cover?
All three samples are in Virginia and North Carolina, but the method works anywhere in the U.S. with usable public records. State registries and licensing boards differ in what they expose, and the memo notes where coverage was thin.
How do I pay?
$2,000 USD per buy box. Once scope is confirmed by email, we send a secure Stripe invoice, payable by card or ACH bank transfer. Work starts when the invoice is paid, and the refund policy applies.
How do I get started?
Email your buy box to [email protected]. We'll confirm scope, price and timing in writing before any work begins, and the three business days start once scope is confirmed and the invoice is paid. Anything not covered here, just ask.
Send us your buy box
Same format as the samples, your criteria, $2,000, three business days.