Business Acquisition Associate & Analyst – Internship
The Leaf Group of NY is hiring 1-3 ambitious summer interns. By the end of the internship, you’ll have gained valuable experience that’ll give you a highly competitive edge in today’s employment market. You’ll be able to demonstrate to employers that you’re organized, determined, and resourceful.
This is an excellent opportunity for anyone who’s interested in:
- outbound sales
- marketing
- private equity
- small-to-medium businesses
- business valuation and analysis
- entrepreneurship through acquisition
As the Business Acquisition Associate Intern, you’ll play a role in Leaf Group’s expansion of its portfolio. Depending on the composition of the team, duties may vary. Working in a remote team environment, you’ll be interacting with 3 to 5 other team members, including the Managing Partner.
Your primary responsibility is to identify and contact business owners, leading them to make an appointment with the Managing Partner for further discussion. You’ll also be involved with efforts revolving around the securing of funding for the acquisition, as well the financial and market analysis of a business with an eye towards its viability for acquisition.
During this process, you’ll be exposed to and be a part of a proprietary acquisition methodology. All training will be provided. You will emerge from the internship capable of making an acquisition of your own or aiding other companies in acquisitions. You’ll also learn valuable skills in sales, business valuation, negotiation, business development, and more.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Identify businesses in a specific geographical area
- Identify business owners in specific geographical areas through various means
- Conduct owner outreach over the phone and email to qualify them for acquisition
- Schedule appointments with owners to speak with Managing Partner
- Assist in the evaluation of businesses by processing financial statements (P&Ls and balance sheets)
- Provide input into site selection by sharing your expertise about your geographical area
- Research and assist the securing of funding/capital
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the program, you’ll have learned the process of acquiring a business on your own using varying levels of capital.
You’ll learn the following skills:
- Effective and persuasive communication with business owners
- Outbound phone calls
- Lead qualification
- Appointment setting
Qualifications
- Basic understanding or ability to learn basic business terminology, such as gross revenue, net profits, EBITDA, SDE, etc.
- Well-spoken on the phone
- Comfortable cold-calling
- Laptop or computer
- Stable internet connection
- Basic knowledge of Google Suite
Preferred Traits
- Outgoing. You’ll be reaching out to business owners and will need to enjoy doing that work.
- Persuasive and professional. You’ll need to be able to reach the owner of a business, build trust and rapport, and secure an appointment to speak about selling his or her business.
- Organized. You should be able to follow an organized system of work and keep basic records updated.
Scheduling and Availability
The schedule is flexible. You should be available approximately 2-4 hours a day, with a total of 10-15 hours a week. You may, however, choose to work as many as 30 hours if you wish. We’ll have weekly phone calls or Zoom meetings, and potentially ad-hoc meetings on a flexible schedule (we’re reasonable people). The internship will begin in mid-June and will end in mid-August. You must commit to the entire duration of the internship.
Compensation
This is an unpaid position. However, a small stipend may become available. There will be the possibility of being considered for a future paid position, either in the newly acquired business, in the business of a future acquisition, or as a part of the holding company. We’ll happily provide stellar references for you for the entirety of your career.