The Hard Part with Evan McCann Ori Eldarov from OffDeal
Jan 21, 2025
Ori Eldarov, Co-founder and CEO of OffDeal, builds an AI-native investment bank to streamline SMB buy-sell processes. He recounts his path from banking to HBS and founding OffDeal. Conversation covers how generative AI inspired a finance OS, marketplace limits for SMB M&A, the blend of human advisors with AI automation, and strategies for scaling and building trust in a fragmented market.
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How Cooking Oil Deals Sparked OffDeal
- Ori Eldarov moved from RBC investment banking and an attempted small-business acquisition thesis into Harvard and discovered generative AI, which reshaped his focus into building an AI-native investment bank.
- His first acquisition attempts (laundromat, crematorium, cooking oil collection) taught him SMB deal realities and inspired OffDeal's mission.
Competitive Outreach Unlocks SMB Value
- OffDeal finds hundreds of potential buyers for any SMB by using technology to surface and engage them, rather than relying on owner-limited networks.
- Data shows one-to-one direct sales close at 20–30% lower prices than auctioned, highlighting the value of competitive price discovery.
Why Marketplaces Fail For SMB M&A
- Pure marketplaces struggle in SMB M&A because extreme heterogeneity and low liquidity make matching unlikely at scale.
- OffDeal pairs human advisors with backend AI (an "AI mullet") to deliver trust and scale where marketplaces fall short.