Analyst Briefing Preview
Fall 2026The preview shows the market. Your briefing shows where you sit in it.
Source: DealNet, 2026 YTD. A corporate development analyst read on Work Tech M&A from frontoffice to backoffice, built for founders and operators.
Six parts, one conversation. I do the signal watching and bring the few signals that drive value and profits in your segment.
1 · Analyst Findings
The signals moving value in your segment right now, from DealNet monitoring. A sample of the format:
Work Tech that reaches beyond HR into Finance and the business trades at 4.7–5.3x EV/revenue, vs. 1.8x for HR-only deals.
2 · Investment and M&A Deal Map
Who is buying in your space, sponsors vs. strategics, and what they pay for. This year 229 acquirers bought across three or more backoffice functions. Your briefing names the ones that fit you.
3 · The Winning Playbook
What the firms earning premium exits do differently:
Niche focus
Own a vertical or a workflow. Vertical-market deals already passed all of 2025.
Recurring revenue
Above 120% NRR trades near 9.3x EV/revenue vs. about 3.1x below 100%.
Scalable, AI-enabled delivery
Deals with monetized AI revenue trade at 5–14x vs. 1.7x without.
4 · Premium Legacy and Buy-and-Build
Two routes, and when each one wins:
Premium legacy exit
For founders: timing vs. destination, the buyers who pay a premium, and how to preserve the legacy.
Buy-and-build
For operators: the targets that complete your solution, how to qualify fit and move before a competitor does.
5 · Your Analyst Comps Briefing
The one offer: your Analyst Comps Briefing
Where your company sits against its peers, on the drivers buyers pay for.
- Your comps set and market map ranking
- Profit and value drivers and multipliers vs. peers
- The sponsors and strategics most likely to pay a premium
- Your next move that raises your value
6 · How it works
The premium goes to Work Tech that reaches beyond HR
13 DealNet market maps across Work Tech software and solutions, $2–49M revenue.
Source: DealNet, 2026 YTD.
See the Work Tech briefingAI collapses functions and unifies the backoffice
Finance at the center, with F&A, Compliance, IT and HR merging into one backoffice.
Source: DealNet, 2026 YTD.
See the Backoffice Solutions briefingCharles Bedard has covered B2B Work Tech and backoffice leaders for 26 years, with the relationships and track record behind the read.
Why Charles
Two decades as an operating partner and investor. Now a corporate development analyst for liquidity, profits and optionality.
Coverage areas
Deals, signals and monitoring insights from backoffice to frontoffice: FinTech, HRTech, RegTech, SalesTech & CRM and IT.
Landscape and options briefing
Coverage of the industry's competitive leaders: valuations, benchmarks and the deal options in front of you.
Corporate development analyst
Corporate development is a strategic business function. What the analyst role covers, and what it does not.
The engine: DealNet
The intelligence behind every briefing: 7,229 deduped deals, 1,186 signals and 941 model comps.
Relationships and experience
We know the buyers and investors, leaders and players across Work Tech, built over two decades.
Briefings completed YTD
The briefings already delivered this year, by sector.
Why an analyst
Most owners get coaching or consulting. Corporate development needs an analyst: one job that sets your value.
Get your analyst briefing
One conversation: your signals, your buyers, your comps and your next move.
Related: Founder questions, answered