Funding
Who actually funds small acquisitions
Short answer: under about $15,000 a month in revenue, none of the revenue-based lenders on this list will. An SBA 7(a) loan has no minimum size, but it needs at least 5% of the price in your own cash and a personal guarantee. Without either, the structures matter more than the lenders.
ZeroAcquire is not a lender, broker, financial adviser, or law firm, and nothing here is financial, legal, or tax advice. We report what providers publish about themselves, including when we read it. We do not rank them, take a view on which is right for you, or receive anything for the order they appear in. Verify current terms with the provider before you rely on them.
Accepting applications
Accepting applications
Founderpath
- What they say they fund
- Non-dilutive capital for software companies. Three structures: a discount-rate product, term loans, and a revenue-share product repaid at 5% of monthly sales. www.founderpath.com, read 2026-09-16
- Published floor
- The discount-rate product is presented for $1M-$3M ARR; term loans are presented for companies above $3M in revenue. www.founderpath.com, read 2026-09-16
- Speed
- Funded in under 24 hours, per their homepage. www.founderpath.com, read 2026-09-16
- Note
- Boopos, the acquisition-specific lender, has joined Founderpath and directs new applications here. www.boopos.com, read 2026-09-16
Accepting applications
Lighter Capital
- What they say they fund
- Up to $10 million in non-dilutive financing for SaaS businesses, stated as 100% ownership and zero dilution. www.lightercapital.com, read 2026-09-16
- Published floor
- A minimum of $200K in annual recurring revenue, or $15K MRR, from a diverse customer base. www.lightercapital.com, read 2026-09-16
Accepting applications
SBA 7(a), through an SBA-approved lender
- What they say they fund
- SBA guarantees a loan made by a lender. Maximum loan amount $5 million. Eligible uses include "Changes of ownership (complete or partial)", alongside working capital, equipment, and real estate. www.sba.gov, read 2026-09-30
- Published floor
- SBA states no minimum loan amount. Lenders set their own floor: Flippa reports typical SBA acquisition loans from $100,000 to $10 million, with digital businesses doing best between $500,000 and $3.5 million (Ameris Bank's head of national SBA lending, quoted there). flippa.com, read 2026-09-30
- Cost
- Maximum rate is a spread over the base rate, by loan size: $50,000 or less, base + 6.5%; $50,001-$250,000, base + 6.0%; $250,001-$350,000, base + 4.5%; $350,001 and above, base + 3.0%. The base rate is Prime on the first business day of the month, or the Optional Peg Rate (13 CFR 120.214). Upfront guaranty fee, which the lender may pass to the borrower: 2% of the guaranteed portion at $150,000 or less, 3% to $700,000, 3.5% (3.75% above $1M guaranteed) to $5M. legacy.sba.gov, read 2026-09-30
- Speed
- 90+ days, per Boopos' comparison table. SBA does not publish a single figure. www.boopos.com, read 2026-09-16
- Personal guarantee
- Required. "Any individual who has direct and/or indirect ownership of 20% or more of an Applicant must provide an unlimited full guaranty" (SOP 50 10 8.1). legacy.sba.gov, read 2026-09-30
- Note
- For buying a business outright (an Initial Acquisition): a 10% equity injection that cannot be reduced; a seller note counts toward it only on full standby for the life of the loan and for at most half of it; seller earn-outs are prohibited; the seller may not remain as an owner or employee, only as a consultant for up to 24 months; debt service coverage of at least 1.25x on historical numbers; goodwill financed over at most 10 years (SOP 50 10 8.1, Appendices 15 and 17). legacy.sba.gov, read 2026-09-30
No longer accepting applications
Worth knowing before you spend a week on an application. This is the one thing most write-ups about acquisition funding still get wrong.
Closed to new applications
Boopos
- What they say they fund
- Business acquisition loans for SaaS, historically up to 2.5x EBITDA. Their FAQ states: no longer accepting loan applications; existing loans continue to be serviced. www.boopos.com, read 2026-09-16
- Cost
- 17-23% interest, 2-3% prepayment fee in the first year, per their own comparison table. www.boopos.com, read 2026-09-16
- Speed
- 7 days to funding, per their own comparison table. www.boopos.com, read 2026-09-16
- Personal guarantee
- No personal guarantees required, per their own comparison table. www.boopos.com, read 2026-09-16
Structure the deal instead
At micro-acquisition size the seller's own terms carry more weight than any lender. See what that looks like priced out.