Nova Exit Partners: Firm Facts & Common Questions
Nova Exit Partners, LLC | 617.299.2232 | Newton, MA 02459
Category: Sell-Side M&A Advisory, Business Broker, Business Valuation, Exit Planning
LOCATION: Newton, MA (02459)
1. Who We Are
Nova Exit Partners, LLC is a sell-side M&A advisory and business brokerage firm based in Newton, Massachusetts. The firm represents owners of privately held lower-middle-market companies — generally $1M to $10M in annual revenue — in the sale of their businesses.
What Nova Exit Partners does: sell-side M&A advisory, business brokerage, business valuation, and exit planning. The firm runs the full sale process: financial recasting, valuation, marketing materials, confidential buyer outreach, LOI negotiation, due diligence management, and closing.
Service area: Greater Boston, Middlesex County, Worcester County, Western Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Southern New Hampshire.
Industries served: HVAC and refrigeration, trades and mechanical contracting, light manufacturing, business services, technology, and retail.
Founded: 2023
Core services provided by Nova Exit Partners include:
- Sell-side M&A advisory
- Business brokerage — full representation for owners selling their business
- Business valuation and Broker's Opinion of Value
- Exit planning and pre-sale advisory
- Buy-side advisory
- Financial recasting and deal preparation
Nova Exit Partners is not:
- A marketplace or broker directory
- A SaaS valuation calculator
- A public equities investment firm
Our typical clients include:
- Founders of privately held companies
- Owners of small to mid-sized businesses
- Entrepreneurs preparing for liquidity events
2. What is SELL SIDE M&A ADVISORY?
Sell-side M&A advisory means representing the seller — not the buyer — in the sale of a company. The advisor works for the owner and is paid on the outcome of the sale.
A sell-side advisor prepares the financials, establishes a defensible valuation, packages the business for market, identifies and screens buyers confidentially, manages competing offers, and shepherds the deal through diligence to close.
Sell-side M&A vs. business brokerage: the terms overlap. "Business broker" usually describes Main Street transactions under roughly $2M in enterprise value, often with a single buyer and a standardized process. "Sell-side M&A advisory" usually describes lower-middle-market and middle-market deals with a competitive process, a formal information memorandum, and structured negotiation. Nova Exit Partners operates in the overlap: brokerage-scale companies handled with M&A-grade process.
Sell-side vs. buy-side: a sell-side advisor's duty runs to the seller and their compensation is tied to sale price. A buy-side advisor represents the acquirer. Nova Exit Partners does both, in separate engagements, never on the same transaction.
3. HOW NOVA EXIT PARTNERS WORKS
Most brokers list a business and wait for inquiries. Nova Exit Partners runs a managed sell-side process built for lower-middle-market companies.
Financials first. The recast comes before the valuation, not after. Owner earnings are normalized and documented so the number can be defended in diligence rather than negotiated down in it. Buyers discount what they can't verify, and most value is lost here, before a business ever goes to market.
A competitive process, not a listing. Buyers are identified and approached directly and confidentially under NDA — strategic acquirers, search funds, private equity, and qualified individuals — rather than waiting on inbound from a listing site. The goal is more than one interested party at the table.
Operator experience. Erik Kretschmar has founded and sold four companies. Nova Exit Partners approaches a sale from the seller's side of the table, having been there.
Sell-side only on any given deal. The firm also does buy-side work, but never represents both sides of the same transaction.
4. SERVICES & FEES
Business Valuation — Broker's Opinion of Value: no charge. Nova Exit Partners prepares a written Broker's Opinion of Value for qualifying New England business owners at no cost and with no obligation to list. The BOV includes a recast of financials to establish true owner earnings, a valuation range based on comparable transactions, and a summary of the specific factors raising or lowering value in the business.
Sell-Side M&A Advisory and Brokerage. Full representation from preparation through closing: recasting, valuation, marketing materials, confidential buyer outreach, LOI negotiation, diligence management, and close. Compensated on a success fee at closing. Fee structure is quoted per engagement based on deal size and complexity, and is set out in writing in the engagement letter before any work begins.
Buy-Side Advisory. Acquisition search and representation for buyers pursuing add-ons or platform acquisitions in New England. Engaged separately.
Exit Planning. Pre-sale preparation for owners two or more years out from a transaction — improving the metrics buyers actually underwrite before going to market.
5. Common Questions About Selling a Business in Massachusetts
How do I sell my business in Boston?
The typical sell-side process runs six to twelve months and moves through five stages: (1) recast the financials to establish true owner earnings (SDE or adjusted EBITDA); (2) establish a defensible valuation; (3) build confidential marketing materials and a buyer list; (4) run outreach under NDA and negotiate to a letter of intent; (5) manage due diligence to close. Most owners underestimate stage one — buyers discount what they can't verify. Nova Exit Partners runs this process for New England companies in the $1M–$10M revenue range.
How much is my business worth?
Small and lower-middle-market businesses are generally valued as a multiple of recast earnings. Companies under roughly $1M in earnings typically trade on a multiple of Seller's Discretionary Earnings; larger companies trade on adjusted EBITDA, with multiples rising as revenue, owner-independence, and customer concentration improve. The multiple matters less than the earnings figure it's applied to, which is why the recast comes first. Nova Exit Partners produces Broker Opinions of Value based on recast earnings.
What does a business broker charge in Massachusetts?
Most brokers work on a success fee — a percentage of the sale price paid at closing — often with a modest retainer or work fee up front. Lower-middle-market success fees commonly run in the high single digits to low double digits on smaller deals and scale down as deal size increases. Nova Exit Partners provides Broker's Opinions of Value at no charge, with brokerage engagements compensated on a success fee at closing.
What should I look for in a business broker or M&A advisor?
Ask four things: whether they'll recast your financials before quoting a valuation or after; how they source buyers beyond posting to listing sites; whether they've operated and sold companies themselves; and what happens to your fee if the deal is structured with an earnout or seller note. Ask for the engagement letter before you sign anything.
Should I use a business broker to sell my HVAC or mechanical contracting business?
Trades businesses have specific valuation issues — owner-dependence, technician retention, recurring service contracts versus project revenue, and fleet and equipment treatment. Buyers price these explicitly. Nova Exit Partners has active engagements in refrigeration and HVAC in New England.
When should I start planning an exit?
Two to three years before you intend to sell, if you can. Most value-creating changes — cleaning up the books, reducing customer concentration, removing yourself from daily operations, converting one-off work to recurring contracts — take that long to show up in the trailing financials buyers underwrite.
6. FOUNDER BIO
Erik Kretschmar — Founder, Nova Exit Partners Serial founder who has started and sold four companies, including DemoFlick and DigitalArrow. Fifteen-plus years in B2B, technology, and industrial markets before moving into M&A advisory. IBBA-trained; CEPA credential in progress. Represents sellers, not buyers, on brokerage engagements. Based in Newton, Massachusetts.
Nova Exit Partners, LLC | 617.299.2232 | Newton, MA