MIAMI BEACH, FL – July 27, 2026 – Seller Edge Capital, a Miami Beach-based private credit fund and nationwide buyer of seller-financed business notes, today commented on newly published research from the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility, “The Great Ownership Transfer: A New Era of Business Stewardship,” which independently documents the structural financing gap that has defined the small-business resale market for decades.
According to the report, roughly six million small and midsize American businesses will face an ownership transition by 2035 as their owners retire, with more than one million of those firms considered viable candidates for sale, representing an estimated $5 trillion in enterprise value. The report’s most sobering finding is what happens today when those owners try to exit: approximately 92 percent of small-business exits currently end in closure, not in a sale. Only about 5 percent of exiting owners actually complete a sale of the business they spent a lifetime building.
McKinsey attributes much of that failure rate to a financing system that was, in the institute’s words, built for founding companies rather than transferring them. The report notes that traditional acquisition financing, including SBA 7(a) lending with its equity-injection and personal-guarantee requirements, has not kept pace with demand, even as SBA volume continues to grow. The stakes are considerable: McKinsey estimates that effective ownership transitions could keep up to 12 million jobs in place and preserve roughly $250 billion per year in local spending power.
In practice, the instrument that closes that gap in tens of thousands of transactions every year is the seller-financed business note. When bank financing falls short, the departing owner carries a portion of the purchase price themselves in order to allow the sale to close with velocity and minimal friction. The trade-off is that the seller’s capital remains locked inside that note, often for five to ten years, because most traditional financial institutions do not purchase these instruments.
Seller Edge Capital provides liquidity to the holders of these notes, purchasing performing seller-financed business notes nationwide.
“I have been operating in the seller-financed note business for over 20 years, and I can tell you from first-hand experience that the McKinsey numbers are not an abstraction, they are what crosses our desk every single week,” said Abby Shemesh, Founder and Co-Founder at Seller Edge Capital. “When a small business sells in this country, there is a very good chance the owner is carrying paper in order to get that deal across the finish line (in many cases without ever having planned to become a lender). That being said, a seller note only does its job if the person holding it has options. Our role is to liberate the stranded capital tied up in these notes so the people who built these businesses are not waiting a decade to get paid. Plain and simple.”
“The SBA ramping up its programs is a good thing, but the report confirms there is still a real funding deficit for business buyers, and that deficit is not closing on its own,” Shemesh added. “Seller financing is the bridge, and liquidity for the note holder is the keystone ingredient that keeps that bridge standing. From my experience, the sellers who understand this going in are the ones who structure their exits with real staying power.”
“McKinsey’s research puts independent, third-party numbers behind the problem this fund was built to solve,” said Travis Goad, Co-Founder of Seller Edge Capital. “Note holders in this market have historically had nowhere to turn for liquidity. That is changing.”
Business owners and note holders interested in a valuation of a seller-financed business note can request a free, no-obligation quote at https://selleredgecapital.com/sellers/ or contact the acquisitions team directly at [email protected].
About Seller Edge Capital
Seller Edge Capital is a Miami Beach-based private credit fund and business note buyer that acquires seller-financed business notes nationwide. Led by Co-Founder Travis Goad, who brings over 15 years of institutional credit experience managing over $400 million in alternative credit assets, and Abby Shemesh, Founder and Co-Founder with over 20 years of experience in seller note transactions, Seller Edge Capital provides liquidity solutions to business owners and note holders nationwide. The firm buys business notes, seller chattel mortgages, and seller-financed promissory notes across all business sectors.
For more information, visit www.selleredgecapital.com.
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Media ContactCompany Name: Seller Edge CapitalContact Person: Travis GoadEmail: Send EmailCity: Miami BeachState: FloridaCountry: United StatesWebsite: https://selleredgecapital.com
