Everything you need to know about how HSM Strategic works, in one place.
Eight reasons deal teams bring HSM Strategic in alongside, or instead of, a full-time analyst hire.
Built on direct experience underwriting vertical market software deals inside the Constellation Software ecosystem, not a generalist research background applied after the fact.
You work directly with the person doing the analysis, not a rotating bench of junior staff.
Screen and evaluate more targets in the same window, without waiting on internal bandwidth.
A fixed-fee engagement costs a fraction of a fully loaded analyst salary, and there’s nothing to pay when deal flow slows down.
Research, models, and diligence materials built to the standard your investment committee expects.
Scale support up for a live mandate, scale it back to zero when you don’t need it: no severance, no idle payroll.
We don’t originate for our own account and don’t carry in your deals, so our read on a target stays yours to trust.
NDA in place before any information changes hands.
| In-House Analyst | HSM Strategic | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost Structure | Fixed salary + benefits, year-round | Fixed fee, per engagement |
| Ramp-Up | Weeks to months before productive | Live on a defined workstream within days |
| Idle Cost Between Deals | Full salary continues | Zero |
| Commitment | Full-time hire | Start with one pilot workstream |
Pilot engagements start at a fixed fee, delivered in one to two weeks. See how the math compares to your next hire.
We work as an extension of your deal team, handling the research, modeling, and diligence work that consumes internal bandwidth, so you can focus on strategy, negotiation, and closing.
From deal sourcing to due diligence, we support every stage of the transaction, not just isolated tasks.
Research, models, and diligence materials built to the standard your investment committee expects.
Scale support up or down with deal flow, without the cost or delay of a full-time hire.
Engagements start small by design. A short scoping call, a single pilot workstream, and a track record you can see before anything scales.
A focused 30-minute conversation covering your current deal flow, where your team is stretched thinnest, and the specific research, modeling, or diligence work slowing you down. You walk away with a clear recommendation on the workstream most worth starting with, no generic capabilities pitch.
One defined workstream, delivered in one to two weeks for a fixed fee. We sign an NDA before any information changes hands, so you carry no exposure before deciding to continue.
Once the pilot proves the fit, we scale into an on-demand extension of your deal team.
We work across five deal-team profiles, adapting scope and pace to how each one actually runs a transaction.
Sell-side and buy-side support for deal teams running multiple live mandates at once: CIM analysis, buyer/seller lists, and comps built to keep pace with a busy pipeline.
Research and modeling support sized for a lean team without in-house analyst bandwidth, from initial screening through the diligence package needed to bring capital partners to the table.
Origination, screening, and diligence support for lower middle-market funds, scaled to deal flow rather than carried as fixed headcount.
Market sizing, competitive landscape, and diligence support for early- and growth-stage investment decisions.
Target screening and market research for teams evaluating acquisitions alongside their core operating responsibilities.
Mustafa Bin Tariq, founder of HSM Strategic, spent five years underwriting vertical market software deals, including time inside the Constellation Software ecosystem. That direct exposure to the operating philosophy of a firm that treats this category as its entire thesis built the judgment behind every engagement HSM Strategic takes on, not a generalist research background applied after the fact.
Every deliverable reflects that standard: built to your process, formatted for your investment committee, and grounded in the same diligence lens that catches what a horizontal SaaS playbook misses. Read more on how that experience shapes our approach to due diligence in our latest Insight, or get in touch directly.
What actually happens between your first message and delivery.
Response to a first message is typically within one business day.
Confidentiality means we can't show you a live deal. No one in this business can, but that's not a reason to show nothing. Below are three fictional, fully sanitized samples built for the same imaginary company and deal, with the structure, rigor, and modeling technique of a real engagement intact. No client, company, deal, or figure below is real.
Reported EBITDA walked to adjusted EBITDA with five documented addbacks and two deductions, every line sourced, every addback held to the same ~25-30% scrutiny threshold we'd apply on a live IC memo.
Sample OutputA five-company peer set, screened and multiplied out to an implied enterprise value range, cross-checked two ways (revenue and EBITDA multiples) for the same target company as the bridge above.
Sample OutputThe deal thesis, financial summary, diligence findings, and risks & mitigants for the same target company, written the way it would actually reach a committee, not as a generic template.
All three samples are illustrative only: fictional company, fictional deal, fictional figures. They don't constitute financial, investment, accounting, or legal advice. Want to see what this looks like built around your actual deal? Let's talk →
Let’s talk about which workstream is costing your team the most bandwidth right now, and what it would look like to hand it off for a fixed, defined fee.
Get in Touch