The Power of Off-Market Deals: Innovation, Expansion, and the Buy-Side... (more about that coming soon!)

If there’s one thing I’ve mastered over the years, it’s winding people up on LinkedIn. No, seriously. But beneath the sarcasm and the witty posts, there’s something I’ve done really well: building vast boardroom communities and watching them grow into market leaders. And I’m proud of it.

Virtualnonexecs.com started with a simple mission: help SMEs identify and hire board-level advisors and chairs without the eye-watering costs associated with expensive middlemen. Or middlewomen, for that matter. There I go again! But as with any business that survives and thrives, things evolve. Businesses twist, turn, and grow new branches.

For us, that evolution came with a realisation: the mid-market businesses leveraging our network of 23,000+ non-executives and chairs weren’t standing still. They were growing, scaling, and hiring from our network because they were gearing up for something big: raising capital or exiting - whether that’s a full or partial exit.

And that’s when DealDirect was born.

It’s exactly what it says on the tin. Buyers and sell-side advisers deal directly. No Harvard MBA required to figure it out. Since its launch in July, more than 250 OFF-MARKET deals have been listed. That’s right, off-market. We’re not just talking shop; we’re transforming the way businesses connect. (If you want to pay £25,000+ for scraped data that tells you which deals have already happened, well, you know where to go and look! I did the same thing - and it stung!)

But we didn’t stop there. A few months back, a long-standing client rang me up and said, “We’re in buying mode again. We’re looking for businesses in our specialised space with revenues between £1m and £1 BILLION.” Casual, right? This got the wheels turning.

Following a quick chat with our brilliant CTO Michael Selander, we rolled out a beta version of the deal platform, allowing buyers to take an active role rather than sitting back and waiting for deals to land in their lap. The results? Within weeks, 16 off-market parties showed interest - introduced by, you guessed it, members of Virtualnonexecs! Several are now deep in discussions. Others are set to be introduced by our team in the coming weeks.

So, what’s next?

This week, we’re officially launching the Buy-Side Integration for our DealDirect license holders. This isn’t just another feature; it’s a game-changer. More details to come, but here’s the headline: we’re relentlessly bridging the gaps between businesses, capital, and expertise.

At Virtualnonexecs, innovation isn’t a buzzword; it’s our way of life. Whether you’re buying, selling, or scaling, we’re here to connect the dots and then some.

Stay tuned. The best is yet to come.