This Founder Built The First-Ever AI-Powered Investment Bank

Business Model & AI Application - Off Deal is building the world's first AI investment bank, reimagining the financial institution from first principles with a different org chart, compensation structure, and culture [1][2][3] - The company uses a proprietary data layer of 250 data fields on 2500000 (2.5 million) US businesses to identify potential sellers, leveraging AI to create Wall Street-grade decks for every small business owner [5][6] - AI is used to identify potential buyers, draft personalized outreach messages, manage NDAs, and drive productivity in complex workflows, acting as a "digital coworker" [6][7] Value Proposition - Off Deal focuses on deal certainty, better terms, and faster results for sellers, rather than explicitly pitching AI [9][10] - The company aims to create price discovery for small businesses, a multi-trillion dollar private asset class with wide bid-ask spreads [10] - By creating competitive tension among buyers, Off Deal can achieve higher outcomes for business owners, with one example showing a final offer 40% higher than the initial offer [10] Competitive Advantage & Strategy - The company believes that large banks are more likely to procure AI software than build their own, giving startups a shot at displacing incumbents with an AI-first culture [12] - Off Deal's bankers start talking to clients on day one, developing important skills, unlike the traditional investment banking model [12] - The company has a 1:1 ratio of bankers to engineers, fostering a tight feedback loop and high ROI on automation efforts [12] Financials & Compensation - Off Deal charges 5% of enterprise value on a success-only basis, aligning incentives with the business owner [12] - Most of the company's fees are between 500000 (500k) and 1000000 (1 million) dollars, with some sell-side mandates reaching 2000000 (2 million) or 3000000 (3 million) dollars [12] - Bankers receive 20% of the fee, potentially earning 200000 (200k) dollars per deal, and can make 2000000 (2 million) dollars in bonus if they do 10 deals a year [12] Future Vision - The company is exploring semi-automation for smaller transactions involving subscale small businesses, similar to Tesla's approach of scaling manufacturing capabilities [13] - Off Deal believes that human interaction will remain a core component of important life decisions, focusing on building technology around that constant [13] - The company's pitch to small businesses is that it creates a competitive auction among buyers, increasing the probability of selling the business and achieving the best terms and price [13]