SEE Institute · A Division of SEE Acumen Inc.

The Disciplined Path
from Career to Ownership

A generation of business owners is retiring, putting a historic number of profitable lower middle market companies in play. The SEE Institute ETA Program prepares accomplished professionals to acquire and operate one of them — guided at every stage by practitioners who have closed deals, deployed capital, and run companies.

Apply for the Beta Cohort See the Program

Founded by Practitioners

25+

LMM Transactions Closed

100+

Capital Partner Relationships

$200M+

Capital Deployed

75+

Years Combined Experience

Beta Enrollment

$7,500

$10,000

Cohort size is intentionally limited. Enrollment is open now.

Who This Is For

Accomplished corporate professionals ready to trade a W-2 for ownership of a profitable, operating lower middle market business.

What Makes It Different

Not theory. Not a weekend bootcamp. A structured, practitioner-led process that walks you from readiness through closing — and beyond.

What You Earn

The SEE Institute Credentialed Operator designation — a recognized signal of preparation to capital partners and lenders.

What the Program Provides

Eight Phases. One Continuous Process.

From readiness through closing, each phase builds on the last. You move at the pace of your deal — with practitioners alongside you at every gate.

Readiness & Training

Deal Sourcing

Initial Deal Review

LOI & Negotiation

In-Depth Diligence

Quality of Earnings

Deal Financing

Deal Closing

Optional Add-Ons Post-Close Scaling Value Creation Coaching

Program Outcomes

What You Leave With

Every element of the program is designed to make you a more prepared, more credible, and better-capitalized buyer — from day one of search through your first year of ownership.

Operator Readiness

Financial acumen, governance discipline, stakeholder communication, and leadership frameworks built for day-one ownership.

Credentialed Status

Graduates earn the SEE Institute Credentialed Operator designation — a recognized signal of preparation to capital partners and lenders.

Capital Partner Access

Warm introductions to 100+ vetted capital partners and lenders — relationships built over 25+ years that would otherwise take decades to develop independently.

Post-Close Growth System

The operating playbook to scale from close onward — team, KPIs, growth strategy, and value creation coaching.

What This Costs in the Marketplace — vs. What You Pay

The Value Is in What's Already Included

Separately, these components would cost multiples of program tuition — before you've closed a single deal.

Component	Marketplace Cost	SEE Institute
Readiness Preparation	SMBootcamp LIVE: $4,500 (3 days, deal execution focus only). Acquisition Lab: $10,000 (search-to-close community, limited post-close depth). Executive leadership coaching: $15,000–$50,000+	Included — 54-course curriculum spanning operator leadership, financial acumen, stakeholder governance, deal mechanics, and post-close growth.
Deal Sourcing	Deal flow platform subscriptions: $3,000–$8,000/yr. Buy-side broker retainers: $5,000–$25,000+	Included — structured sourcing frameworks, broker positioning, and access to deal flow channels through the SEE ecosystem.
Deal Vetting / QoE	QoE engagement (LMM): $15,000–$40,000 per deal. Cost of not uncovering issues pre-close: potentially deal-ending or worse.	Included — structured diligence frameworks and SEE-led initial vetting before you engage costly third-party providers.
Deal Financing	Independent lender search: weeks of outreach with uncertain outcome. Equity sourcing: proprietary networks typically closed to new entrants.	Access — participants are introduced to 100+ vetted capital partners and lenders. Capital decisions remain with the capital partner.

Founded by Practitioners

Built by People Who Have Done the Deals

The SEE Institute is a division of SEE Acumen Inc. — a governed deal architecture company purpose-built for lower middle market M&A. The founders bring decades of transactional experience, capital relationships, and operating credibility that no curriculum alone can replicate.

Janice Thompson

Co-Founder & CEO — SEE Acumen Inc.

Goldman Sachs Investment Banking Division alum with experience spanning emerging growth and upper middle market transactions. 25+ years across LMM private equity diligence consulting, independent sponsorship, board membership, and LMM portfolio company executive leadership. Architect of the SEE governed deal architecture and the SEE Institute credentialing framework.

Kevin Sample

Co-Founder & President — SEE Opus Capital

25+ years as an active independent sponsor with 20 LMM deals sourced and closed, and 100+ established capital partner relationships. Kevin brings direct transactional credibility and a deep lender network that ETA participants access as part of the SEE ecosystem. Mentor-in-residence for the SEE Institute IS Mentorship Program.

Steve Thompson

Co-Founder — SEE Acumen

Business profitability consultant and executive coach certified in Scaling Up and Cash Flow–Profits–Value methodologies. Co-founder of the SEE Institute, Steve prepares acquisition entrepreneurs to become effective operators — developing the leadership, financial acumen, governance discipline, and execution capabilities required to build enduring enterprise value long after the acquisition closes.

Beta Cohort — Now Enrolling

Ready to Trade a Paycheck
for Ownership?

The Beta Cohort is intentionally small. If you're a corporate professional with a history of leadership and the conviction to own a business, this is the process that gets you there — with practitioners in your corner at every stage.

Beta Enrollment $7,500

Standard $10,000

One-time enrollment.

SEE Institute is a division of SEE Acumen Inc. Dallas, Texas · theseeinstitute.com

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