In M&A advisory, the mandate goes to whoever builds trust first. That window opens the moment a founder changes role — before the company has briefed anyone, before the board has engaged a bank, before your competitors have even noticed the SHAB filing. Being early is not luck. It is process.
Most M&A processes are decided before they are announced. The advisor who wins the mandate is rarely the one with the best pitch deck — it is the one who had the conversation when the founder was still figuring out their options.
In the two weeks after a founder steps down or changes role, they are weighing their options with no one advising them yet. They are open to a conversation framed as strategic help, not a sales pitch. That openness narrows fast once another advisor gets in first.
Une augmentation de capital dans une entreprise dirigée par son fondateur signale souvent l'une de deux choses : une préparation à la croissance par acquisition, ou une préparation à une cession à une valorisation plus élevée. Dans les deux cas, le fondateur pense déjà à la stratégie capitalistique — ce qui signifie qu'il pense à vous, qu'il le sache ou non.
A rebrand — new name, new legal entity structure — is often the last repositioning before a sale or merger. Companies clean up their identity to make themselves more presentable to buyers. If you see a rebrand on a founder-led mid-market company, the exit conversation is closer than it looks.
Founders & Movers monitors the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce (SHAB) in real time and scores every event for M&A relevance. Three signal types drive the highest-quality mandates.
This is what the same event looks like depending on when you act.
SHAB events give you a real, specific, verifiable reason to reach out. That changes the conversation from cold outreach to warm intelligence. The founder knows you did your homework. That is the first signal of what working with you would feel like.
Founders & Movers has 27 pre-configured roles. These work similarly to M&A Advisor.
Founders & Movers