For founder-led operators
“It’s the closest thing to running on your own, but you have a team of professionals to help you take it to the next level.”
Discover what it is like to run your company inside Alliance, and learn how the process begins.
What Alliance is
An operating partnership of founder-led companies.
Alliance is a group of founder-led vending, micro market, and breakroom companies. The Alliance platform owns the companies and runs them as one group. Each one is still operated by the person who built it and in their own markets. The group carries the capital, the purchasing, the technology, and the back office that a single operator cannot fund alone. It holds itself to five values we call S.E.R.V.E.: service, excellence, responsibility, value, and entrepreneurship. That last one is why founders keep running their companies here. Alliance is backed by Shore Capital Partners, a Chicago firm that invests in microcap businesses, and by an independent board.
- Founder-led companies, each under its own name
- Every founder holds a stake in the whole group
- Backed by Shore Capital Partners and an independent board
The group today
Runway
There is still runway in your market.
Larger accounts ask for more sites, more equipment, and payment terms a single company cannot carry. The group can. Capital for machines, market builds, and vehicles comes without your house behind it. A national sales team works the accounts that were too big or too far to chase alone, and centralized purchasing runs against the volume of every operator in the group. The accounts you used to pass on are back in reach.
- Capital for machines, market builds, and vehicles
- A sales team on the accounts that were too big or too far
- Purchasing against the volume of the whole group
The operators
Dozens of operators, all still tinkering.
Every operator in the group is on the same call each week. Between them they have more than 150 years of running these businesses, and all of it is on that call. Somebody is always testing something. A new kiosk, a tighter route, a pricing change in a micro market, a product that moved in one city and might move in yours. Nobody in the group thinks the business is finished, and nobody is working on it alone. “I like the Tuesday meeting, hearing how good or bad things are going and what is in the works.”
- Weekly operator calls focused on sharing what's working
- Over 150 years of combined operating experience to draw on
- A team focused on supporting each other's wins
- A test that works in one market gets run in the rest
Back-end support
The back office runs behind you.
Accounting, finance, payroll, accounts payable, HR and benefits, recruiting, procurement, technology, sales, and marketing each get a team behind them. Month end close, pay runs, and vendor payments stop landing on your desk. Your managers get an HR team to call. When you need a driver, a technician, or a route manager, a recruiting team posts the role, screens the candidates, and sends you the short list. You make the hire.
- Payroll, accounts payable, and month end close run by the group’s teams
- A national benefits program with a 401(k), and earned seniority carries over
- Recruiting that posts, screens, and sends you the short list. You make the hire.
- Growth engine ready to go on day one
In their words
From the owners in the group.
“I thought no way I would sell my business. I was 50 years old and had spent 18 years building it. After talking several times it was truly eye opening. We are still doing the day to day, with help from great people who are way better at their jobs than our business could ever afford before. We didn't really sell our business. They believed in what we built and made it stronger.”
“I would do the deal 100 times over again. Nothing much has changed, and if it has, it is for the better.”
“He wasn't really selling us. He just talked and got to know us and told us about Alliance. The next time he reached out and wanted to stop by the warehouse, it was easy to say yes.”
“This is the realization of a dream my family has had since the very beginning, to share what we do with likeminded people across the country. We are grateful for the chance to grow, to reach more people, and to keep doing what we love alongside a team that shares our vision.”
“You need to hear them out. What they offer is unique. If it fits what is best for you, you have a great option. If not, it doesn't cost you anything and you get to meet a few good people.”
How it starts
Three steps, and you can stop after any one of them.
Diligence is thorough and it takes time, because we are buying the company and you are taking equity in the group. Both sides need the number to be right.
- Step one
The first call
Thirty minutes on what you built and what you want next. No documents, and no obligation to have a second one.
- Step two
A number in writing
We both sign an NDA, we come see your operation in person, and you get a valuation and a non-binding offer with our reasonings included.
- Step three
Close
Diligence, the purchase agreement, and a written plan for what happens after. Take all of it to your advisors and your family.
If you are stepping away
Some owners want out. That is a different deal.
If you're looking for a clean exit at close, we can also go down that path. We have a structured 90-day handoff with our team so the business transitions smoothly. Say so on the first call and we will start there.
Ready to talk?
Start the conversation.
Thirty minutes. We ask about your business and your people. You ask us anything. No documents, and no obligation to have a second call. If you would rather hear it from an operator in the group first, say so and we will set that up.
- Thirty minutes on the first call, and nothing to prepare.
- Confidential both ways, and nothing is binding until you sign.
- Ask to speak with an operator in the group. We will set it up.
By phone
Would you rather just talk?
Call the office and ask for the M&A team. A person picks up.
Straight answers
The questions owners ask first.
What size operators do you work with?
Businesses running roughly $500,000 to $50 million in annual revenue. If you are anywhere in that range, the conversation is worth having.
Are you Canteen, Sodexo, or Aramark?
No. Alliance is not owned by, funded by, or affiliated with Canteen, Sodexo, Aramark, or any national foodservice company. Alliance is a group of founder-led vending, micro market, and breakroom operators, owned together and backed by Shore Capital Partners, a Chicago firm that invests in microcap businesses. The operators in the group compete with the nationals for accounts every week, under their own names, in their own markets.
What is your track record?
Every company that has joined the group is still open. We do not publish how many there are. Ask on the first call and we will tell you, and we will put you in front of one of the owners so you can hear it from them.
How do you value a business like mine?
We value your business on a combination of growth, profitability, and the quality of your customers and assets. We pay at or above market rates at close.
Do you buy the whole company or a stake?
The whole company. You come in holding rollover equity in the group.
What is rollover equity, in plain language?
You sell the whole company and you are paid at close. Part of the price comes as cash. Part comes as shares in Alliance, the company that owns every operator in the group. That second part is the rollover. Your shares are worth more when the group is worth more, so you hold a stake in what every other operator does next, and they hold one in what you do. The split between cash and shares is worked out with you before anything is signed.
Can I keep growing after I join?
That is most of the point. When an owner near you steps away, their accounts land with the operator already running that market. Growth capital for machines, market builds, and vehicles is part of what the group provides. What any specific deal looks like gets worked out with you.
What happens to my team?
Your team and your local managers are why the business works. The specifics get worked through with you. On benefits, everyone who comes over keeps earned seniority and moves onto a national benefits program that includes a 401(k).
What happens to my building, my trucks, and my equipment?
Everything stays with the business.
What will you not promise me?
Systems, reporting, and cadence all change. We will not tell you nothing changes. Where roles overlap we work it through case by case rather than guarantee headcount, and margin expectations get agreed on together. If you ask us something we do not know, we will say so and find the person who does.
Is the process confidential?
Yes, and it runs both ways. We both sign, so we are bound the same way you are. During the process we do not contact your customers, your competitors, or your employees.
Will I sign a non-compete?
Yes, and so will we. The non-compete is executed by both sides, so Alliance is bound the same way you are.
How long does it take, and what will you need to see?
From a signed letter of intent to closing runs about 90 days. Before that we talk, sign a mutual NDA, and come see your operation. Diligence needs financial statements, tax returns, and account level detail on your routes. Records at this size are rarely audit ready, and that affects the timeline more than it affects the outcome.
Can I talk to an operator who already joined?
Yes. Ask on the first call and we will set it up.
I am not ready to sell yet. Is it too early to talk?
No. Many owners talk to us a year or two ahead. Starting early gives you time to understand the structure and get your records in order.