Behavior Change Science Consulting Firm, 29-Year Remote Dallas Practice

$2.9M

Revenue

$888K

SDE

1.4x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

Founded in 1997, this is a nationally recognized consulting and research firm built around behavior change science. It sells a blended mix of consulting, research and development, professional training, SaaS licensing, and evidence-based behavior change programs to health systems, hospitals, health plans, large employers, universities, nonprofits, and federal agencies including the NIH and CDC. Marquee brand relationships like Adidas and the Lupus Foundation of America signal credibility that is hard for a new entrant to replicate.

The economics are the headline here. On $2.95M of revenue the business throws off $888k of cash flow, roughly a 30% margin, and it is being offered at just 1.41x. For a 29-year-old firm with government contracts, recurring SaaS revenue, and a PhD-level team, that is a low multiple that implies either real transfer risk or a motivated seller. The company has run fully remote for nearly three decades, so there is no lease or facility drag on the model.

The team is eight people deep, including PhD behavior scientists, master's-level project managers, technology specialists, and long-tenured administrative staff. The owners remain active in strategic leadership and project oversight, which is both the key asset and the key risk. They are planning retirement and have offered 1 to 3 years of transition support, 15% seller financing, and an additional 15% performance-based earnout, all of which point to a genuine handoff rather than a dump.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is strong and cheap: $888k of cash flow on $2.95M revenue is a ~30% margin, and the 1.41x asking multiple is well below what a 29-year healthcare consulting and SaaS firm should command. If the cash flow is clean and transferable, the payback period is under two years.
The moat is credibility and credentials. Nearly 30 years of operating history, PhD-level behavior scientists, and blue-chip clients like the NIH, CDC, Adidas, and the Lupus Foundation create trust and switching costs that a startup competitor cannot buy quickly. Government and health-system buyers reward this kind of track record.
Market tailwinds are real and structural. Lifestyle medicine, value-based care, an aging population, and employer well-being spending are all growing, and behavior change is the underlying science all of them depend on. This firm is positioned in the plumbing of a category with durable demand.
The deal structure de-risks the buy. Sellers are offering 15% seller financing plus a 15% performance-based earnout and 1 to 3 years of transition involvement, which signals confidence and aligns incentives. A retiring, hands-on owner willing to stay put is exactly what you want when the value lives in relationships and expertise.
The fully remote model means no real estate, no lease, and a proven distributed team. Overhead is lean and the business is not tied to a geography, so a buyer can operate it from anywhere and scale the team nationally without facility constraints.

How to improve it

Separate and quantify the SaaS revenue in the first 90 days. Recurring software licensing deserves a far higher multiple than project consulting, and isolating it lets you price expansion, raise prices, and eventually market that segment differently. Understanding the software's stickiness and churn is the single biggest value lever here.
Reduce owner dependency immediately by documenting the owners' client relationships, sales process, and delivery methodology. Assign specific accounts and business development responsibilities to the PhD and project management staff so revenue does not walk out the door when the founders retire. Use the 1 to 3 year transition window to institutionalize their tacit knowledge.
Convert one-off consulting engagements into retainers or multi-year contracts. Health systems, health plans, and large employers value predictability, and shifting even a portion of project work to recurring agreements smooths cash flow and lifts the exit multiple. Anchor these on measurable outcomes the firm already delivers.
Build a repeatable outbound sales motion. The firm has grown on reputation and inbound over 29 years, which caps growth; adding one or two dedicated business development people targeting health plans, employers, and government RFPs could meaningfully expand the pipeline. The brand credibility makes cold outreach far easier than for a typical vendor.
Explore generative AI to productize the training and behavior change content. The listing flags this itself, and turning proprietary methodology into scalable digital programs or an AI-assisted coaching layer could add high-margin recurring revenue without adding headcount. Start with the existing SaaS platform as the delivery vehicle.
Diversify away from concentration in government grants and any single large client. NIH and CDC funding is subject to political and budget cycles, so growing the commercial employer and health-plan book protects the P&L. Map revenue by client and set a target mix that reduces reliance on any one funding source.
Formalize a training and speaking business line into a scalable product. Professional training and speaking engagements are high-margin and lead-generative, so packaging them into certifications or subscription content could create a self-sustaining marketing and revenue engine.

Diligence notes

Understand why a 29-year, $888k cash flow business is priced at only 1.41x. That multiple is unusually low for healthcare consulting with SaaS, so confirm whether it reflects heavy owner dependency, client concentration, declining revenue, or grant-cycle risk rather than a bargain. The seller financing and earnout structure suggests the sellers themselves see transfer risk.
Scrutinize revenue concentration and contract durability. Break down the $2.95M by client, by service line, and by recurring versus project, and identify how much depends on NIH and CDC grants versus commercial contracts. Confirm which agreements survive a change of ownership and which are personal to the founders.
Assess owner dependency in detail. The founders hold strategic leadership, key client relationships, and scientific credibility, so map exactly which revenue and relationships would leave with them. Build a retention plan around the eight-person team and test whether the PhD staff would stay post-close.
Verify the SaaS component: platform ownership, code, hosting, customer count, churn, and whether it is truly recurring or a light add-on to consulting. If the software is thin or dependent on the owners' IP, discount its value and factor in development cost to modernize it.
Confirm the quality of earnings and the cash flow add-backs. Validate the $888k figure against tax returns and bank statements, and separate genuine cash flow from owner compensation normalization. As a fully remote firm, also confirm there are no hidden contractor liabilities or misclassification risks across the distributed team.

Source

Originally listed on BusinessBroker.net. View original listing →