When Edgehill Management launched as a self-funded investment firm in New York, founders Daniel Khazzam and Ben Rapaport had a clear mission: acquire a small, promising business in the Eastern US. Yet, like many first-time acquirers, they faced a significant challenge: how to identify the right company amidst a sea of possibilities.
Finding Focus in a Crowded Market
Starting with time-tested industries that often appeal to search funds — such as HVAC, environmental, and testing services — Daniel and Ben quickly ran into a major obstacle: competition.
“Every owner we spoke to had been approached so often,” Ben explained. “It became clear we needed to deepen our strategy.”
This intense competition, combined with high valuation expectations from business owners, pushed Daniel and Ben to rethink their approach. They realized they needed more than manual research methods to succeed.
Determined to efficiently expand their options, they began exploring deal sourcing platforms to help them identify and evaluate high-potential targets. One thing was clear: they were committed to move beyond spending excessive time and resources on categories that had already been over-contacted.
Why Inven Was the Right Choice
After testing several popular deal sourcing platforms, Daniel and Ben found that Inven stood out for its practicality and functionality.
“From the demo, it was clear this was something we could get our heads around,” Ben explained.
The platform’s intuitive interface, combined with features like finding similar companies through a URL, proved invaluable in their search for the right business to acquire. It allowed them to uncover opportunities they might have otherwise missed.
“We realized how easy it was to very, very quickly generate a high-quality target list in a given sector,” Ben continued.
By avoiding over-contacted companies and expanding into niches that competitors weren’t reaching, Daniel and Ben were able to stay ahead in their search. And this was exactly what they needed to move forward.
Iterating from HVAC to Life Sciences: How Inven Sped up the Search
Daniel and Ben quickly discovered how Inven made their search process faster. They could instantly find companies that they hadn’t even considered before.
Over six months, they used Inven to go through an impressive 25,000 companies, narrowing the list to 5,000 promising targets — and contacting most of them.
“Inven really takes you from zero to fifty or beyond,” Ben explained. “Even if you’re not sure what you’re looking for, the platform helps you start somewhere and refine your approach.”
The flexibility of Inven allowed them to adjust their strategy as they went. If one search didn’t yield the right results, they could easily iterate.
“Inven reduced our barrier to exploring niche industries,” Ben noted. “You can type in something vague, like ‘medical services,’ and immediately have a useful starting point.”
"A feature we used a lot is finding similar companies from a given company URL that we input. That was incredibly helpful,” Daniel added.
The Result: A (Truly) Transformative Deal
With Inven, Edgehill Management identified their first acquisition: Life Science Connect (LSC), a digital media and B2B network serving the life sciences industry. The business was larger than they initially planned for, shifting their strategy from a traditional search fund to an independent sponsor model.
“We really enjoyed using Inven,” Daniel emphasized. “The business we acquired came directly from the platform.”
What stood out most to Ben was the unique opportunities Inven uncovered.
“I don't know what the secret sauce is, but there are definitely names that showed up on Inven that didn't show up on other deal sourcing platforms.”
“Inven is a very rich channel and will continue to be a pillar of our sourcing strategy”, Daniel concludes.
