Every investor-buyer I know needs financing to close. The current wave of buyer-operator training programs all point to SBA financing as the answer. That advice is right, but it's incomplete.
The pages below are the providers I trust for the specific financing structures that actually get IT-services deals to closing. If you're a buyer, use this page as a shortcut. If you're a seller reading this book, use this page to understand what your buyer is putting together across the table.
ROBS + SBA
Guidant Financial
Retirement-funded business acquisitions and SBA stacked financing. The most sophisticated capital structure available for a mid-market IT services acquisition, especially for buyers moving from a corporate W2 role into ownership.
Best fit
A buyer with meaningful retirement savings from prior W2 employment (an old 401(k) or IRA of $50K+) who wants to acquire an IT services business. Retirement funds fund equity through the ROBS structure. SBA financing stacks on top. No new personal debt, no early-withdrawal penalties, no tax on the rolled-over amount.
- Over 35,000 transactions completed since 2003
- Lifetime Audit Protection: Guidant hires and pays qualified ERISA counsel if the IRS or DOL ever audits your 401(k) plan
- In-house legal team and plan administration (not outsourced)
- Fluent in both ROBS and SBA financing. One advisor, not two who don't talk to each other
- My primary contact: Jordan Stefnik, National Business Development
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Book Time with Jordan
WORKING CAPITAL + GROWTH
Term Loan Solutions & Brand Builder Creatives
Working-capital lending paired with growth marketing. For owners who already own the business and need capital to grow it, or need to make the revenue side compound before it does. Capital fuels growth. Marketing turns that growth into profit. Most owners chase these two separately and lose ground on both. This pairing solves for both under one roof.
Best fit
An existing business owner who needs working capital, an SBA loan, or a term loan to fund growth, inventory, equipment, or an add-on acquisition. Or an owner who just closed on a deal (including a Guidant-funded ROBS + SBA deal above) and needs the marketing engine to turn that capital into real revenue instead of interest expense.
- 25+ years placing business lending across a national panel of lenders
- 10+ years of growth marketing built specifically for owner-operators
- Free digital marketing audit with no obligation, structured to find where revenue is quietly leaking
- Lending and marketing under one roof so the two decisions inform each other
- My primary contacts: Ryan Patient (Owner, Term Loan Solutions) and Ashley LaManna (Business Lending & Marketing Professional)
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Request a Free Marketing Audit
Important disclosure. Dave Lieske is not a CPA, tax attorney, or licensed financial advisor. Content about ROBS, SBA financing, working capital, and related structures is educational. Not tax, legal, or financial advice. ROBS transactions in particular carry meaningful tax and ERISA compliance requirements. Consult a qualified CPA, tax advisor, ERISA attorney, or licensed financial professional before initiating any financing structure discussed on this page.