$3.3 million in SDE on a $7.8M asking price. A 2.3x multiple on a compliance-first fintech platform with 1,255 active licensees and $12.8M in revenue. On paper, this is the kind of deal that makes buyers move fast. But "on paper" has cost more people more money than bad luck ever has. Let's run the numbers.

Industry: Fintech / SaaS Trading Automation
Location: U.S.-Based, 100% Remote
Asking Price: $7,785,000
Revenue (TTM): $12,810,650
SDE (TTM): $3,391,978
Profitability: 26.4%
Established: 5+ years
Team Size: Under 15

DSCR: 3.24x (Target: 2.0x) - PASS
Purchase Multiple: 2.30x (Target: 3.0x or less) - PASS
Owner Cash Flow: $2,269,390 (Target: $100K+) - PASS
Working Capital: No data provided (Target: 3 months) - INCOMPLETE
Stress Test: 2.59x (Target: 1.5x) - PASS

Bulletproof Score: 4/5 - WORTH A LOOK

Four out of five criteria pass clean. Working capital data is missing from the listing - we need current cash reserves and operating expense detail from the broker before this can score a full 5.

THE 80/10/10 STRUCTURE

Using the 80/10/10 structure - 80% SBA loan, 10% seller note, 10% buyer down - here's what this deal looks like:

Your Cash In: $778,500
Annual Cash Flow After All Debt: $2,269,390
Payback on Your Cash: 4.1 months
DSCR: 3.24x (Bulletproof target: 2.0x)

I ran this through the Bulletproof calculator at DealScore Pro - you can plug in any deal you're looking at and see the full financing breakdown in 60 seconds.

What's Working:

The math on this deal is strong by almost every measure. A 2.30x multiple on $3.3M in SDE is well below the Bulletproof ceiling - you're paying $2.30 for every dollar of earnings, not $3.50 or $4.00 like most fintech listings in this revenue range. The DSCR at 3.24x is more than 60% above the Bulletproof minimum, and even under a 20% revenue stress test, it still clears 2.59x. The revenue model is diversified across SaaS subscriptions, broker rebates, and premium licensing - meaning no single revenue stream carries the entire business. And the 80,000+ segmented leads represent real future value that doesn't show up in the SDE number.

Watch Out For:

This business has been operating for roughly five years. That's not terrible, but not the 10+ year track record that makes banks comfortable and buyers sleep well. The explosive growth is impressive, but it also means we don't know what this business looks like in a down market. Second, the revenue mix matters enormously here. Broker rebates at $3-$7 per lot traded are volume-dependent - if market volatility drops or trading activity slows, that revenue stream compresses fast. We need a breakdown of what percentage of the $12.8M comes from recurring SaaS vs. rebates vs. one-time licensing. Third, the lean team structure means you're acquiring a business where the founders ARE the institutional knowledge. If they walk after transition, what stays? SOPs are mentioned, but documented processes and actually-transferable operations are two different things. Finally, no working capital data was provided. For a $12.8M revenue business, the Bulletproof standard requires $3.2M in working capital reserves. That's a big number - and we need to see it before this deal moves forward.

Here's what 35 years has shown me about deals that look this good on the surface: the multiple and the DSCR tell you whether a deal CAN work. The details tell you whether it WILL work. And the details on this listing raise questions that need answers.

The compliance-first positioning is genuinely valuable. In the fintech space, regulatory risk kills more businesses than bad products do. The fact that this platform doesn't custody assets, doesn't pool funds, and doesn't manage AUM removes entire categories of risk that make other fintech acquisitions dangerous. That's a structural advantage, not a marketing claim.

But here's what most buyers would miss. The listing mentions "explosive growth" and $12.8M in revenue - and that sounds like momentum. Smart buyers ask a different question: what does the revenue retention look like? With 1,255 active licensees generating $12.8M, the average revenue per user is over $10,000 annually. That's high for a SaaS product. Is that sustainable, or are you looking at a cohort of early adopters who traded heavily during a bull market? I ran scenarios at DealScore Pro - if the rebate revenue drops 30% and the SaaS holds flat, the SDE compresses to roughly $2.5M. Still workable. But a very different deal than the one advertised.

The founders saying they're "ready for their next venture" at a $7.8M asking price is reasonable - they're young, they built something real, and the exit math makes sense for them. But the offer to stay on in an advisory role tells you something important: this business still needs their involvement. Any buyer walking into this needs to budget 12-18 months of founder transition and plan for a key-person risk mitigation strategy from day one.

The bones of this deal are strong - the multiple is right, the DSCR is excellent, and the cash flow numbers are real. But three things need to land on my desk before this moves from "interesting" to "actionable": (1) a revenue breakdown showing recurring SaaS vs. rebate vs. licensing income as separate line items, (2) working capital reserves and monthly operating cost detail, and (3) cohort retention data on the active licensees - how many of the 1,255 have been paying for 12+ months? Get those answers and this deal could score a full Bulletproof 5/5. Without them, you're buying a story instead of a business.

Want to learn how to evaluate deals like this yourself? I break down the entire Bulletproof method - the same criteria I just used on this deal - in a free 28-minute masterclass.

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