Hire the Best Mergers & Acquisitions Specialists

A poor valuation doesn’t just cost you thousands—it can cost you millions $$$, along with wasted time and stress. I help searchers, private equity groups, and business owners value private small to midsize businesses for investment, partner buyouts, tax, and litigation purposes. Unlike many finance freelancers on Upwork, I’ve personally invested in, operated, bought & sold, made and lost money on private acquisitions and investments. That real-world risk taught me the stakes of an inaccurate valuation. For the past 15 years, I’ve analyzed thousands of startups and small- and mid-sized businesses and have become certified across multiple SME appraisal and finance bodies. I am certified by the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA) and the International Society of Business Appraisers (ISBA). I follow a structured process that documents every step, explains conclusions, and ensures credibility. Services Include: 🤝 Partner Buyouts - deliver certified, accurate and defensible valuations when an owner is considering selling to a business partner or related party. 📑 Business Acquisition Investment Review & LBO Analysis – get value of a private business you are considering acquiring or investing in. 🧾 Tax & Estate Valuation – independent certified business valuations for estate and gift tax reporting as required by the IRS. ⚖️ Litigation Valuation – lost profits and economic damage reports based on court-tested techniques that deliver accurate estimates of SME private business value. 🚀 Startup & Venture Capital Valuation – get an accurate and defensible pre-money value for your startup or investment. 📈 Strategic Planning – provides owners, leadership teams, and investors with a clear view of business value to guide growth strategies. 🚚 Equipment Valuation – Certified desktop appraisals for machinery, vehicles, and other equipment assets. 🧮 Quality of Earnings - assess the quality of reported EBITDA adjustments and discretionary earnings of the business 💵 Proof of Cash – our best defender against fraud and manipulation of financial statements 🔄 Working Capital – create accurate estimates for operating working capital needs and target PEG for negotiations. 💼 Acquisition CFO – support from post-acquisition accounting integration and cash flow forecasting. Why Work With Me: ✔️ Authoritative knowledge: thousands of businesses analyzed ✔️ Certified across multiple Institutes (CVA®, BCA®, CMEA®, FMVA®, and more) ✔️ Proven structured process that documents every step for credibility ✔️ Deliver fast turnaround (24–48 hours) when deadlines are tight ✔️ Top Rated on Upwork with 100% job satisfaction rating What Upwork Clients Say: 💬 “Josh is exceptional at what he does and provided the exact skills I needed for a potential business acquisition. Accountants might be able to review financials, but Josh knows exactly what to look for. 💬 "Josh is hands down one of the best consultants I’ve worked with on up work. He is perhaps the most professional person I’ve worked with, as well as the most talented business valuation expert I’ve ever worked with." 💬"Working with Josh has been one of the best decisions we've made. We're happy to recommend him to anyone looking to understand the value of their company." About Me: I’m Josh and 15 years ago when I got out of the military I wanted to buy a business. When I got the numbers from the business I wanted to buy, despite having a degree in finance, I could not come up with how they put the numbers together. I outsourced the analysis to different financial professionals but got conflicting information on the business’s value. The pressure mounted as I was about to put up a significant amount of my net worth, and I could not sleep. From that moment, I vowed to never be put in this position again and have been on a quest to know how these companies are valued. This past decade I’ve analyzed thousands of these businesses along with gaining multiple business appraisal institute certifications. To go along with my degrees and certifications, I have read over 400 books on private business valuation and transaction analysis. My credentials include: ✸ Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA)® ✸ Business Certified Appraiser (BCA)® ✸ Certified Machinery & Equipment Appraiser (CMEA)® ✸ Financial Modeling and Valuation Analyst (FMVA)® ✸ Professional Bookkeeper (PB)® ✸ QuickBooks Specialist (QS)® ✸ Profit and Growth Expert (PGE)® ✸ Certified Turnaround Analyst (CTA)® ✸ Accredited Small Business Consultant (ASBC)® ✸ M.S. in Applied Economics (MSAE) – Johns Hopkins University ✸ M.S. in Finance (MSF) – George Washington University ✸ B.B.A. in Finance—Radford University ✸ Certificate in Forecasting in Organizations—Johns Hopkins University ✸ Certificate in Real Estate Finance and Investment—New York University I’m new to Upwork and offering introductory pricing to build client relationships here. I offer a free consultation, so send me a message.

As Managing Partner at Analog Consulting, I lead a team of vertical specialists across Finance, Marketing, and Operations. On the finance side, we make companies investor-ready - building dynamic financial models, cleaning cap tables, and structuring legal and compliance frameworks. This approach has supported multimillion-dollar raises, including a $5M cross-border round for Ranlytics, a £250k raise for Atenai London, and an ongoing $1M raise for a global healthcare brand. On the business development side, we design GTM systems that scale without extra headcount. By leveraging AI-driven data tools and no-code automation platforms like Clay, Make.com, and n8n, we enrich prospect data, automate personalized outreach, and integrate custom CRMs. The result: predictable pipelines, leaner sales teams, and significantly lower acquisition costs. In short, Analog Consulting delivers both the financial foundations and automated growth engines companies need to scale with confidence!

If you're a founder preparing for a raise, an operator running scenario planning, or a deal team underwriting an acquisition, you already know the model has to be right. Imprecise assumptions and poorly structured outputs don't just slow things down, they cost you credibility at the worst possible moment. I build financial models that founders can put in front of investors, operators can make real decisions from, and deal teams can defend in a room. Every model is assumption-driven, stress-tested, and built so you can update inputs and see the impact instantly without touching a formula. WHAT I BUILD: - Startup and growth models for seed through Series B raises - 3-statement integrated financial models and forecasts - Acquisition and buy-side underwriting models - Unit economics, cohort analysis, and LTV:CAC modeling - Rolling forecasts and cash runway models - KPI dashboards and executive reporting WHO I WORK WITH: Founders preparing for investor conversations, operators running growth and scenario planning, CFOs needing overflow modeling support, and deal teams underwriting acquisitions. I've supported numerous businesses across a wide range of industries but primarily specialize in AI, SaaS, D2C, services, and franchise verticals. HOW I WORK: I operate like an embedded finance partner: fast-moving, strategic, and data-driven. I return clean, client-ready deliverables on a tight timeline. Most engagements are up and running within 24 hours of scope confirmation and are ready for review within 72 hours. If your model needs to hold up in front of an investor, a board, or a buyer, let's talk.

$80M+ in transactions closed. If you need institutional-grade investment banking or equity research - pitch decks that raise real capital, financial models built to Wall Street standards, M&A advisory, or institutional research - you're in the right place. I'm a CFA Charterholder and FRM with 12+ years running RedeFin Capital, a boutique investment banking and equity research firm. I previously served as Director of Capital Markets at one of South India's largest real estate developers. My work has been used by hedge funds, asset managers, and institutional investors across the US, Europe, and Asia - not produced for templates, but for live transactions. I also run Kedge Research, the proprietary institutional equity research arm of RedeFin Capital, delivering initiating coverage, M&A screening, sector notes, and blue books to global fund managers. WHAT I DELIVER: 📊 Pitch Decks & Investor Presentations - battle-tested decks used in actual fundraising rounds from seed to Series D 📐 Financial Models - 3-statement, DCF, LBO, SOTP, merger models built to institutional standards 🔍 Equity Research & Blue Books - initiating coverage, sector notes, and M&A target screening for hedge funds and asset managers 🤝 M&A Advisory - deal structuring, CIMs, teasers, valuation, and negotiation support 💼 Fundraising Strategy - investor targeting, outreach, and mandate management across equity, debt, and structured finance 📋 Business Plans & Feasibility Studies - for startups and growth-stage companies seeking bank or investor approval SECTOR COVERAGE: Technology, Real Estate, Energy & Utilities, Healthcare, Industrials, Consumer, Financial Services, SaaS, D2C, AgriTech PROOF: ✅ $80M+ closed across equity, debt, and structured transactions ✅ $500M+ active pipeline across current mandates ✅ 200+ pitch decks, financial models, and equity research reports delivered ✅ Client engagements with Piper Jaffray, Lake Street Capital Markets, and institutional investors globally ✅ CFA Charterholder | FRM | IIM Lucknow (MBA) | IIT Madras (B.Eng) | Bloomberg Champions Program ✅ International speaker at capital markets forums Scroll down to see portfolio case studies with real deliverables - actual transaction documents and research reports, not mock-ups. Message me with a brief description of your transaction, research, or project and I'll respond within a few hours. Let's move your deal forward.

I have built, valued, and modeled over 1,000 companies across all 50 US states, every Canadian province, and 50+ countries. CFA charterholder. 10 published books, all rated 5.0 on Amazon. $200K+ earned on Upwork with 100% Job Success. Top Rated Plus. Ranked #1 Financial Modeling in Canada and #2 Investment Banking globally on Upwork. When a founder sends me their financial model, I already know the three questions their investors will ask, because I spent years reviewing deals from the investor side as a fund fiduciary. That perspective separates my work from everyone else in your inbox. I wrote 10 books on this. Literally. My Amazon series, A Founder's Conversations with a Fractional CFO, covers every financial decision a founder faces: CFO Versus Accountant, Pitch Decks, 409A Valuations, Financial Modeling, Business Plans, KPIs and Dashboards, Private Company Stock Options, Fundraising Mechanics, Real Estate Financial Modeling, and SBA Loans. WHAT I DELIVER: Financial Modeling: Three-statement models, revenue models, SaaS models, startup financial projections, scenario analysis, sensitivity analysis, unit economics, breakeven analysis, cash flow forecasting, pro forma financials, budget models, and investor-ready models built in Excel. Published on Bloomberg, Reuters, FactSet, and S&P Global terminals. Business Valuations: DCF analysis, comparable company analysis, precedent transactions, startup valuations, fair market value, certified business valuations, and 409A valuations for fundraising, M&A, tax compliance, equity compensation, and internal planning. Business Plans: Investor business plans, SBA lender business plans, immigration business plans (EB-2, EB-5, USCIS), startup plans, feasibility studies, market analysis, competitive analysis, go-to-market strategy, and executive summaries for banks, investors, and regulatory bodies. Pitch Decks: Seed decks, Series A decks, fundraising decks, investor presentations, and data room preparation. Helped raise hundreds of millions in capital across angel, seed, Series A, and Series B rounds. Cap Tables and Equity: Cap table modeling, stock option plans (ISOs, NSOs, RSAs), SAFE and convertible note modeling, option pool sizing, dilution analysis, waterfall analysis, pre-money and post-money calculations, vesting schedules, 83(b) elections, and 409A compliance. Fundraising: Term sheet analysis, SAFE structuring, convertible note terms, liquidation preferences, closing mechanics, investor negotiation, due diligence preparation, and capital raising advisory from pre-seed through Series B. Fractional CFO: Financial strategy, KPI dashboards, OKR tracking, board reporting, investor reporting, cash flow management, burn rate analysis, runway modeling, and startup growth consulting. As former CEO of SentimenTrader and founder of ExemptAnalyst (acquired by Pinnacle), I have been on your side of the table. Real Estate Financial Modeling: Acquisition models, development pro formas, NOI and cap rate analysis, rent roll analysis, construction draws, lease-up modeling, waterfall distributions, LP/GP splits, DSCR, and sensitivity analysis for commercial, multifamily, and value-add deals. SBA Loans: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan modeling, lender packages, debt service coverage, seller note structuring, business acquisition models, and goodwill analysis. Due Diligence and Investment Banking: M&A due diligence, credit analysis, investment memos, structured finance, SPV structuring, and institutional-grade research. Ghostwriting: 10 published books on Amazon (all 5.0). Available for personal finance and business book ghostwriting. BACKGROUND: 25+ years in capital markets. Former CEO of SentimenTrader. Founded ExemptAnalyst (largest private research firm in Canada, acquired by Pinnacle). Director at Eiffel Peak Capital. MD at Pinnacle Wealth Brokers. VP at IA Clarington. Advised on $79M Wes-tower acquisition. Co-Host of The Dales Report (40K YouTube). Finance Instructor, University of Toronto. CFA, CFP, CIM, FCSI Fellow. My schedule fills up fast. If my status shows available, reach out now for a quick call to scope your project.

RBC mid-market banker with 30+ executed deals ($15M–$300M). I build financial models, investor decks, and due-diligence materials that that help you raise capital and close deals. Rotman MBA. Banker-quality work, freelancer speed. Prior to finance, I was a chemical engineer and worked in different engineering and operational capacities in manufacturing.