Garrison, New York
We acquire established businesses from the people who built them — and operate them with the discipline, integrity, and long-term commitment they deserve.
You didn’t spend years building a business to watch it disappear.
The kids have their own lives. The offers haven’t felt right.
The thought of the name going dark, the crew scattering, the customers moving on —
That’s not the ending your legacy deserves.
You didn’t spend years building a business
to watch it disappear.
The kids have their own lives.
The offers haven’t felt right.
The thought of the name going dark,
the crew scattering, the customers moving on —
That’s not the ending your legacy deserves.
Ready to talk?
90 seconds. Six questions. Matt responds personally to every qualified inquiry.
Or keep scrolling to learn more first.
What brings you here?
Selecting one takes you directly to the full intake below.
Garrison Acquisitions was built on a straightforward belief: that the businesses keeping local economies alive deserve buyers who will actually run them well — not extract from them, not flip them, and not hand them to a management team that never met the person who built them.
“These owners didn’t get into business to exit gracefully. They got in because they had something to prove, or a family to feed, or simply because they had no other choice — and somewhere along the way they built something that outlasted all of those original reasons. That business deserves more than a transaction. It deserves someone who understands what it actually took — and who steps into the role with enough respect to know they’re not the first person to care deeply about what happens inside those walls.”
— Matt Monroe, Founder · Managing Director
When we acquire a business, we inherit a responsibility that goes well beyond the balance sheet. The people who show up every day, the customers who have relied on that business for years, the reputation earned one job at a time — none of that gets discarded in the transaction. The fruits of what an owner builds belong to them, to their family, and to the community around them. We are here to protect that — and to make sure it keeps growing long after the closing.
Most sellers have never done this before. The process can feel opaque, the timeline uncertain, the outcome unclear. We built our process specifically to change that. Here is exactly what happens after you reach out — every step, every timeline, nothing hidden.
20 minutes, at your convenience — by phone, video, or in person. No agenda other than mutual honesty. We learn about your business. You learn about us. Two parties deciding whether it’s worth going further.
Day 1
Before we go any further, both parties sign a mutual confidentiality agreement. Mutual means exactly that — everything shared in both directions stays between us. Your financials, your customers, your operations. Our process, our structure, our intentions. Digital, plain language, 60 seconds on your phone. Then we can speak openly.
Same day
You share three years of financials — the industry standard, and enough to tell the real story of a business. Our team reviews everything independently and thoroughly. Not to look for problems, but to understand exactly what you’ve built so we can make you an offer that reflects it accurately. Then we sit down together and walk through what we found. No spin. No lowball setup. Just an honest read of the numbers.
30 days
At the end of that 30 days, you receive a written Letter of Intent — our formal offer, in plain language, covering price, structure, and terms. It is not a contract. Signing it does not commit you to anything final. It simply means both parties agree it’s worth going to the next level. No buried conditions, no pressure, no clock running. You take the time you need to review it, talk to your advisors, and ask every question you have.
By day 30
If we get to a deal that works for both of us — and only then — we close on a timeline that respects that. No artificial urgency, no pressure to move faster than you’re comfortable with. Every deal includes a structured transition period — built into the agreement, compensated, and designed around your knowledge and your team’s. We work to identify the people who make your business run, retain them, and give them real reasons to stay and thrive under new ownership. No one understands your business like the people who built it from the inside — and we don’t pretend otherwise. The most valuable thing you can hand us isn’t in the financials…
60–120 days
We buy from owners who built something real and are ready for what comes next. Fair price, honest process, no games — and we mean that literally. Every step is documented, every conversation remembered. No surprises, no fine print, nothing that wasn’t said out loud.
We bring modern systems, streamlined processes, and technology-driven infrastructure to businesses that never had the bandwidth to implement them while they were busy actually running one. We build it on top of the knowledge that already lives inside the owner and the team that never left. Their expertise meets ours — and the business becomes something neither could have built alone.
We are long-term owners. We do not flip. The relationship with the seller doesn’t end at the closing table — structured deals keep us connected for years, with regular payments flowing back to the person who built it. And in the right circumstances, if the business grows, you share in that growth. The better we do, the better you do. That’s not just good business. That’s the right way to do it.
Most sellers focus entirely on the sale price. The smarter question is: how much do you actually keep, and how does it land in your life?
A structured exit — where you carry a portion of the sale as a note — often nets significantly more after taxes, while also providing steady monthly income through retirement.
This calculator shows you what both paths actually look like with your numbers. It is not financial advice. It is a starting point for a real conversation.
Estimates only. Assumes 6% interest on seller note over 7 years. Does not account for business basis, depreciation recapture, or state-specific tax treatment. Consult a qualified CPA before making any decisions.
We know the businesses we are built for. Essential services. Recurring revenue. Customers who have been showing up for years. An owner who ran it right but never had the time or bandwidth to modernize it. When we find that combination, we move.
We are particularly drawn to businesses where the gap between current performance and potential is wide — not because the business is struggling, but because it was built by a craftsperson, not a systems operator. That gap is where we work.
A note on structure: many of the owners we speak with are heading into retirement without a guaranteed monthly income. We think about that. For the right seller, the way a deal is structured can be just as valuable as the price itself — providing steady, reliable income for years after the sale, with meaningful tax advantages along the way. We do not treat creative deal structure as a last resort. We treat it as a way to make sure the person who built something real actually gets to enjoy what comes next.
Target IndustriesRevenue
Typically between $500,000 and $3,000,000 annually — substantial enough to matter, focused enough to run well
Profitability
A business that has proven it works — strong margins that reflect sound fundamentals and real staying power. We do our homework thoroughly and move decisively when the numbers and the story line up.
Track Record
Ten or more years in operation. Longevity means the business has earned its place in the market
Loyal Revenue Base
Customers who keep coming back — contracts, established routes, or relationships built over years
Customer Concentration
No single customer carrying more than 20% of the revenue — a healthy spread means a resilient business
Room to Modernize
Manual processes, outdated systems, untapped efficiency — this is where we add the most value, and where the upside lives
Protecting the team is a priority in every deal we do — and it’s written into every agreement. The people who built this business with you are a core part of what makes it worth acquiring. Replacing experienced staff is expensive, and losing institutional knowledge is one of the fastest ways to damage what took years to build. That said, we won’t pretend that every situation is identical. If there are performance issues or structural redundancies that genuinely need addressing, we handle those conversations honestly, respectfully, and with full transparency — never as a first move, and never without cause.
Only if it makes sense for both of us — and never without your blessing. In most cases, the name is part of the value. Customers trust it. The community recognizes it. We protect that. If there’s ever a reason to consider a rebrand, it would only happen after a real conversation with you about why it makes sense.
No. We work directly with owners. Business brokers typically charge 10–12% of the sale price. On an $800,000 sale, that’s $80,000 to $96,000 out of your pocket before you walk away. We are happy to work directly with sellers — we are transparent about our process, we move at a pace you control, and we handle the complexity so you don’t need a middleman.
That is the most common place to start. A conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. We have had plenty of conversations that went nowhere and both parties were completely fine with it. What we can tell you is that most owners who aren’t ready yet have thought about it more than they’ve admitted to themselves. There is no harm in understanding what your options look like.
Yes — and we build it into every agreement. A structured transition period is a standard part of every deal we do. Not because we need hand-holding, but because no document, no financial statement, and no walkthrough captures what you actually know about this business. The relationships, the rhythms, the things that only make sense once you’ve been inside it for years — that knowledge is irreplaceable, and we treat it that way. The transition is compensated, defined, and designed around your schedule. You stay as long as it takes to pass things off properly — and not a day longer than you want to.
From first offer to close, typically 60 to 120 days — depending on the complexity of the business and how long due diligence takes. We work at your pace. If you need more time for any reason, we accommodate that. The goal is a clean, confident closing, not a fast one.
A structured exit means you carry a portion of the sale price as a note — meaning instead of receiving everything at closing, you receive regular monthly payments from the buyer over an agreed period, with interest. Think of it as the buyer paying you back over time, directly from the business you built. For most sellers heading into retirement, this is the better financial outcome — you spread your tax liability across years instead of taking a single catastrophic hit, you earn interest on what you’re owed, and you receive steady monthly income rather than a lump sum you have to manage. Use the exit calculator above to see what it looks like with your own numbers.
This is the right question and we’ll answer it honestly: you won’t know until you know us. That’s why we start with a conversation before anything else — so you can evaluate us as much as we evaluate your business. What we can tell you is this: our founder spent 20 years being accountable to his community in a profession that demands integrity. He walked away from an executive leadership career at its peak — deliberately, eyes open — to build something of his own. We are not a private equity firm looking for an exit. We are building something we intend to be proud of. The structured exit model — where we are still writing you a check every month — is itself a form of accountability. We are financially connected to the outcome long after the closing.
I spent 20 years in law enforcement — the better part of a decade in executive leadership, running large teams, managing multi-million dollar budgets, and driving operational and technological change under real pressure. I was always answerable to the people I served. That accountability didn’t end when I left. It’s the foundation everything here is built on.
I walked away from that career at its peak — deliberately, eyes open — because I saw something that needed solving. Millions of small business owners — people who spent decades building something real — cannot find qualified buyers. Their children have different ambitions. Institutional capital is not interested at their scale. So those businesses disappear. Quietly. Taking with them the jobs, the livelihoods, and the community anchors that nobody notices until they’re gone.
At the same time, an entire generation of capable, ambitious people has been handed a script that doesn’t work anymore — buried in student debt, chasing wages that inflation has made almost meaningless, choosing between a corporate career that may never deliver what it promised or a startup that statistically won’t survive. Nobody is telling them that acquiring an existing business — one built by someone who is ready to pass it on — is one of the most overlooked paths to genuine financial independence, meaningful work, and real contribution to the communities that need it most.
Garrison Acquisitions was built to address both. To give owners a buyer worth trusting. And eventually, to show the next generation that this path exists — and that it works. When I take on a business, I take on everything that came with it. The people, the customers, the reputation. That is not a burden. It is the whole point.
Everyone wins here — and that is by design. Sellers leave with fair value, lasting income, and the knowledge that what they built will be honored. Employees keep their jobs and gain the stability of an operator who is invested in growth. Communities keep the businesses that anchor them. And the next generation of owners gets a model worth following. The deeper our commitment to each of those outcomes, the stronger the returns. That is not a coincidence. That is the model.
I watched Matt walk into chaotic, high-stakes problems and walk out with solutions more times than I can count. He held an entire organization to a higher standard — and did it without cutting corners or losing his composure. It’s hard not to respect someone like that. The discipline and the integrity aren’t a performance. They’re just who he is. Whoever sells their business to him is leaving it in serious hands.
Want the full professional background? [Link to resume — add before going live]
We built this intake to respect your time. A few focused questions — answered honestly — tell us everything we need to know about whether we should talk.
There are no wrong answers. If the fit isn’t right, we’ll tell you that too — clearly and without wasting your time.
Takes 90 seconds. Six questions. Nothing unnecessary.
Completely confidential. Your information goes directly to our team and no one else. It is never shared, sold, or distributed.
A real response. If there’s a fit, you’ll hear from Matt personally — not an automated reply, not a form letter. A direct message from the person who will actually be on the other end of this.
No pressure. A conversation is exactly that. Nothing more until you decide otherwise.
What brings you here?
This shapes the questions that follow.
How long have you been running it, and how many people does it employ?
Both numbers matter — they tell us a lot about what you’ve built.
He reviews every inquiry personally. If there’s a fit, you’ll hear from him — not a system, not a form letter. Just a direct, honest conversation about whether this makes sense.
Expect to hear from him within one business day.
If you’d rather skip the intake and go straight to a conversation, Matt’s contact details are below. He answers his own phone and reads his own email.
“The best time to start this conversation was five years ago. The second best time is today.”
There are no commitments in a first conversation. Just two people deciding whether it’s worth going further.
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