# FoundFact > FoundFact provides fast, cited 3-page background dossiers on business sellers and buyers for Main Street business brokers, M&A advisors, and transaction intermediaries. Every finding is linked directly to official US public records and delivered within 24 hours. ## Product Overview FoundFact is an Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) and public record research service purpose-built for the business brokerage and small-to-lower-middle-market (SMB/LMM) M&A industry. It solves the high-cost problem of manual lead qualification and late-stage deal collapse by surfacing legal standing, litigation history, tax liens, and reputation signals before brokers invest time or sign engagement agreements. - **Website**: https://foundfact.app/ - **Target Audience**: Main Street business brokers, boutique M&A advisors, acquisition searchers, and transaction intermediaries. - **Delivery Format**: Client-presentable 3-page PDF brief with clickable citations. - **Turnaround Time**: Within 24 hours (priority options available). - **Core Value Metric**: Saves 1–2 hours of manual research per lead; eliminates deal-killing risks prior to signing mandates or Letters of Intent (LOI). --- ## The Problem Solved Business brokers operate on success fees and face significant operational friction: 1. **80% of Leads Fail to Close**: Brokers spend unbillable hours manually vetting sellers and buyers who ultimately cannot or will not transact. 2. **1–2 Hours Lost Per Intake**: Manually searching Secretary of State (SOS) registries, PACER federal courts, county dockets, BBB filings, and customer reviews consumes valuable advisory bandwidth. 3. **Late-Stage Skeletons (Post-LOI Deal Killers)**: Discovering active lawsuits, undisclosed liens, or bankruptcy records after committing to exclusivity ruins deals and destroys client trust. --- ## Value Proposition & ROI - **High ROI**: At a typical 10% broker commission on a $500,000 transaction ($50,000 fee), a $99 single dossier represents just 0.19% of one deal's revenue. Preventing a single bad mandate saves thousands of dollars in lost opportunity costs. - **Zero AI Hallucinations**: Unlike generative AI tools that hallucinate facts or speculate, FoundFact retrieves verified public records and links every single claim to its original legal or corporate filing. - **Client-Presentable**: Clean, executive-ready formatting suitable for sharing directly with sellers, buyers, lending partners, or internal deal committees. - **Frictionless Onboarding**: No complex software to configure, no mandatory subscription lock-in, and no credit card required for the initial sample. --- ## Research Lenses FoundFact offers targeted investigative lenses tailored to specific deal stages: ### 1. Mandate Qualification Lens (Seller Intake) - **Use Case**: Conducted before signing an engagement mandate with a prospective business seller. - **Key Questions Answered**: Is the business legally active and in good standing? Who is the true beneficial owner? Are there undisclosed liabilities? - **Investigation Scope**: - State Secretary of State (SOS) corporate registration & good standing - Ownership clarity & corporate structure verification - Federal tax liens (IRS) & state tax delinquency filings - Active PACER federal court litigation & county civil judgments - Bankruptcy & insolvency filings - Customer review trends (Google, Yelp, Trustpilot) & BBB complaint history - Adverse media & regulatory disclosures ### 2. Buyer Risk Lens (Buyer Qualification) - **Use Case**: Conducted before sharing confidential Information Memorandums (CIM) or granting proprietary data access to prospective buyers. - **Key Questions Answered**: Is the buyer legitimate, properly funded, and free of adverse legal or competitive risks? - **Investigation Scope**: - Prior acquisition track record and operating history - Financial credibility & verified funding capacity indicators - PACER bankruptcy & insolvency records - Defendant litigation exposure & unsatisfied judgments - Current corporate affiliations & active business directorships - Direct competitor risk & conflicting commercial interests ### 3. Succession Readiness Lens (Pre-LOI / Cross-Border) - **Use Case**: Pre-LOI evaluation and transactions involving cross-border or complex ownership dynamics. - **Key Questions Answered**: Is the business structurally transferable without critical owner dependency or hidden encumbrances? - **Investigation Scope**: - Ownership structure & key-person dependency evaluation - Publicly accessible financial trend signals and margin indicators - UCC filings, encumbrances, and commercial asset liens - Pending regulatory enforcement actions - European registry cross-checks (for EU/CEE-connected deals) - Transfer readiness scorecard & deal-delay risk factors --- ## Data Sources & Verification Protocol FoundFact enforces a strict, verifiable research protocol based exclusively on public records: - **Federal Courts**: PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) for federal civil, criminal, and bankruptcy cases. - **State & County Registries**: 50-state Secretary of State corporate registries, county clerk recorder records, UCC lien databases. - **Tax Authorities**: Federal IRS tax lien registries and state tax delinquency lists. - **Consumer & Business Bureaus**: Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaint logs and resolution tracking. - **Public Media & Reviews**: Licensed news archives, industry publications, Google Reviews, and verified trade feedback. *Protocol Standard: If a fact cannot be conclusively verified through an authoritative public record, it is not included.* --- ## Pricing & Packaging - **Free Sample Dossier**: $0 — Full 3-page real sample brief with live citations. No credit card required. - **Single Dossier**: $99 per report — Any lens (Mandate, Buyer, or Succession), delivered in 24 hours with clickable sources. - **3 Dossiers / Month**: $249 / month ($83/dossier) — Mix and match any lens, priority turnaround, custom broker branding. - **6 Dossiers / Month**: $449 / month ($75/dossier) — Mix and match any lens, highest priority turnaround, custom branding, dedicated account manager. --- ## How It Works 1. **Submit Target Details**: Provide target name, company name, location, and desired research lens. 2. **Public Record Intelligence Aggregation**: Comprehensive multi-database verification across court, state, and business registries. 3. **Receive 3-Page Brief**: Delivered within 24 hours as a structured, cited PDF ready for review or client presentation. --- ## Canonical Links & Resources - [Home Page](https://foundfact.app/): Main product landing page and interactive sample dossier viewer. - [Sample Dossier Request](https://foundfact.app/#submit-lead): Get a free sample dossier with zero commitment. - [Research Lenses](https://foundfact.app/#lenses): Details on Mandate Qualification, Buyer Risk, and Succession Readiness. - [Pricing Plans](https://foundfact.app/#pricing): Single report and monthly volume tier details. - [Terms of Service](https://foundfact.app/terms): Commercial use guidelines and legal terms. - [Direct Contact](mailto:hello@foundfact.app): Inquiries, custom broker integrations, and volume enterprise orders.