Axial vs. BizBuySell: The Differences You Need to Know

10 years ago, there were only a handful of technology and data vendors that helped business owners, investment firms, and M&A advisory firms with deal sourcing and deal distribution. 

Fast forward to today, and there are almost ten-fold.

Public listing platforms and private deal platforms are two of the most prominent types of these tools.  BizBuySell is the most well-known public listing platform, while Axial is perhaps the most well-known private deal platform. 

While both serve the purpose of connecting buyers and sellers, the product experiences, deal sizes, and audience demographics differ significantly… yet deal professionals sometimes struggle to pinpoint all the differences.

Learn More About Joining Axial

BizBuySell | Public Listing Platforms

• Deal Types: Majority sales
• Revenue Range: $250K – $10M
• Revenue Sweet Spot: $500K – $5M
• EBITDA Range: $100K – $2M
• EBITDA Sweet Spot: $250K – $1M
• Deal Sizes (TEV Range): $100K – $5M

Public listing platforms act as open marketplaces where sellers (primarily business brokers representing sellers) post deals on publicly accessible websites.

For Sellers: Sellers include some details on the asset – like a description of the business, revenue & profit, and usually the asking price. Sellers then receive inbound interest from buyers inquiring on their listing. 

For Buyers: Buyers can use industry, geography, or financial filters to search for deals or sign up for relevant deal alerts. When they find one they are interested in, they inquire directly to the broker on the deal. 

Examples include:  BizBuySell, BizQuest, DealStream, BizNexus, BizScout

Axial | Private Deal Platforms

• Deal Types: Majority sales, minority equity, debt, co-investments
• Revenue Range: $2.5M – $250M
• Revenue Sweet Spot: $5M – $50M
• EBITDA Range: $250K – $25M
• EBITDA Sweet Spot: $500K – $10M
• Deal Sizes (TEV Range): $1M – $100M

In contrast, Axial operates as a private deal platform. The biggest difference between a public listing platform and a private deal platform is within the product experience for sellers and sell-side advisory firms, and the deal sizes & firm qualities that accompany those distinctions:

• The product emulates how larger owners, advisors & investment banks prefer to run their processes: with confidentiality, vetted buyers, selective or tiered outreach, and tailored notes.
• Sellers do not “list” deals on Axial. Instead, after providing some deal information in a private interface, they confidentially generate a data-enriched list of relevant buyers (see below). They can review each buyer, and pick and choose who to contact. Some reach out to all of their recommended buyers, others to a small subset. 
• Buyers cannot search for deals on Axial. Instead, buyers create buyside mandates to depict the types of businesses they are looking to invest in or acquire (financial, industry, geography, etc). They then add to their profile to position themselves as credibly as they can to prompt a sell-side firm to invite them to review a relevant deal, which comes to the buyer in the form of inbound deal flow to their email inbox. 

Other product differences also include: workflow automation tools, accessibility to proprietary data sets, and a host of different marketing & lead generation benefits for those that are active and/or close deals on the platform. 

BizBuySell vs. Axial

Both types of platforms are effective and efficient ways to source deals and/or find buyers. The key is to hone in on which platforms – if not both – are most relevant for your firm and the deals you focus on.

The tables below highlight the key differences between the two platforms:

Looking to exit your business? Explore Axial’s Advisor Finder.

A Glimpse into the Axial Platform

Recommended Buyer List

With Axial, you get a deal marketing system built around privacy, customization, control, and seller confidentiality. Axial’s buyer data sets help you understand the deal criteria, transaction experience, responsiveness, and reputation of any counterparty you might engage with on the platform. Then, when you’re ready, you can send a tailored note to each buyer you want to invite to review your deal opportunity (below) – or send to all of them at once with a templated message if you prefer more of a ‘shotgun’ approach.

Buyer Metadata

The updated Axial sidebar for recommended members (below) streamlines access to crucial information such as the buyer’s investment criteria, recent activity, and strategic focus areas. The sidebar enables sell-side professionals to assess buyer fit and tailor their outreach notes & engagement strategies accordingly.