Recruiting Business Valuation: Is 3x SDE a Good Deal?

In this episode the hosts analyze a niche executive recruiting firm serving the printing, packaging, and paper industries, debating whether its deep relationships and proprietary network create a durable moat—or a dangerous key-man dependency.Special thanks to Tighe Burke with SRCH for joining us on today's pod! Check out more here: https://www.srchpartners.com/Business Listing – http://bizbuysell.com/business-opportunity/reputable-high-margin-executive-recruiting-company/2446959/Welcome to Acquisitions Anonymous – the #1 podcast for small business M&A. Every week, we break down businesses for sale and talk about buying, operating, and growing them.Looking to build a professional website in minutes? Try Wix: https://wix.pxf.io/c/6898629/3115214/25616?trafcat=templateHubSpot is the backbone for how businesses scale without chaos. Try them out here: https://go.try-hubspot.com/OeG9VrSubscribe for more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@AcquisitionsAnonymousPodcast?sub_confirmation=1Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.acquanon.com/newsletter💰 Sponsored by:CapitalPad is a private equity co-investment group for lower middle market deals. Accredited investors invest in searcher and independent sponsor transactions on a deal-by-deal basis, with minimums starting at $25K. Acquisition entrepreneurs with a deal under LOI can raise equity through CapitalPad's single-SPV structure, closing with one partner and one wire. Raise capital or invest at https://capitalpad.comAcquisition Lab – Your fast-track to business ownership. Get hands-on support, world-class resources, and join a top-tier community of acquisition entrepreneurs. Schedule your free consultation at https://www.acquisitionlab.com and mention Acquisitions Anonymous!The hosts break down a niche executive recruiting business focused on the printing, packaging, and paper industries. The company generates approximately $1.1M in annual revenue with $365K in seller discretionary earnings and is listed for roughly 3x SDE. What initially looks like a straightforward recruiting agency quickly turns into a fascinating discussion about retained vs. contingent search, proprietary databases, and the true value of industry-specific relationships.Key Highlights:- Executive recruiting firm focused exclusively on printing, packaging, and paper industries with ~$365K SDE on ~$1.1M revenue- Hosts debate retained vs. contingent recruiting economics and why the split is unusual in executive search- Major diligence concern: founder generates 60% of client engagements and key recruiters may hold most relationship value- Discussion on whether the company’s 200,000-profile CRM database is truly proprietary or just scraped public data- Deep dive into how AI tools may improve recruiting efficiency but still struggle with nuanced executive sourcingSubscribe to  weekly our Newsletter and get curated deals in your inboxAdvertise with us by clicking hereDo you love Acquanon and want to see our smiling faces? Subscribe to our Youtube channel.Do you enjoy our content? Rate our show!Follow us on Twitter @acquanon Learnings about small business acquisitions and operations.For inquiries or suggestions, email us at [email protected]