A successor for the business you built.
One business. One owner. For the long term.
Dovetail is acquiring one well-run, founder-led company in Ontario and the surrounding region. Not a portfolio. Not a flip. An owner in the building who keeps your team, your name, and your customers, and has the capital behind him to close.
Taylor Miller
Founder & Operator
I started Dovetail because I want to own and run one business, not advise on them or manage a portfolio of them. After the acquisition, I move into the business full time as its day-to-day leader.
I spent the better part of a decade at Bain & Company helping investors and companies decide which businesses to buy and how to make them stronger afterwards. I then moved inside operating companies: chief of staff to the leadership of a mid-sized manufacturer, and supporting the leadership team of a large software company through a period of change. Both taught me the difference between a plan on paper and one that works on the floor.
What happens to your business depends on who buys it.
Three kinds of buyers show up for a company like yours. Dovetail is a search fund: one operator, backed by experienced investors, buying one business to run it. Here is how the three tend to differ.
| Private equity | Strategic acquirer | Dovetail | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who runs it after close | A hired CEO, reporting to a board that owns many companies | Absorbed into a division of a larger company | Taylor, full time, in the building |
| Your team | Often restructured to hit a plan | Roles merged or cut where they overlap | Stays. The team is what we are buying |
| Your name and brand | Usually kept, sometimes rolled up | Usually retired | Kept |
| Time horizon | 3–5 years, then sold again | Permanent, as part of something else | Long-term hold, no fund clock |
| Process | Auction, deadlines, many parties | Slow, committee-driven | One decision-maker, 4–6 months, at your pace |
| Your role afterward | Set by the fund | Set by the acquirer | Your call: full exit, advisory, or staying on |
Four steps. Four to six months. Your pace.
Nothing here is an auction. Every step is confidential, and you can stop at any point. Most owners we speak with are a year or more from a decision, and that is fine.
A confidential call about your business, your timeline, and what matters to you in a transition. No deck, no agenda.
Whenever you're readyA mutual NDA before any financial detail. Your employees, customers, and competitors will not hear about this from us.
Weeks 1–4A clean letter of intent with flexible structure, then organized diligence designed to keep disruption to your team minimal.
30–45 days of diligenceTaylor joins full time. The first six months are stabilize-and-learn: knowledge transfer, warm introductions, no big changes.
Month 4–6, then yearsWhat we are looking for
These are guidelines. If your business is exceptional and sits outside the range, we still want to hear from you.
Ontario first. Actively sourcing in British Columbia, Alberta, and the US Northeast and Midwest.
Different questions, depending on where you sit.
Each group that finds this site wants something different answered. Pick yours.
Know an owner who is thinking about what comes next?
Most of the businesses we meet come through an accountant, lawyer, wealth manager, or broker who knows the owner well. A short email is enough to start; we keep every introduction in confidence.
Let's talk, whenever the timing is right.
Most owners we speak with are one to three years from a decision. A first conversation costs nothing, commits you to nothing, and is held in confidence.
Thank you. Your note is on its way.
Taylor will reply within a few business days. If you don't hear back, email Taylor.Miller@dovetailgp.ca directly.