Deal Origination Associate

Beacon https://beaconsoftware.com is building the essential technology infrastructure for the everyday economy: the businesses, organizations, and services that make real life work, and that mainstream tech has largely left behind. We acquire, operate, and grow vertical market software companies. They are niche, founder-built businesses serving industries that are often overlooked and too profitable to ignore. Our model is simple: we seek out founders who have built their business by spending years understanding their market and prioritizing their customers' specific needs. We buy great businesses, invest in their continued growth, and hold them permanently, accelerating that growth with an AI-native platform built specifically for vertical market software. No mandate to cut, flip, or roll up into something unrecognizable. We are not a financial firm. We are technology entrepreneurs and operators who believe the most important businesses in the world are already running quietly in industries most people never think about. Our job is to find them, support the people who built them, and make them better. Beacon is backed by a diverse base of investors, with $550M+ raised to date, including General Catalyst, Lightspeed, D1 Capital, CPMG, the family offices of the founders of Stripe, DoorDash, and Ramp, and evergreen funds built for the long game. ABOUT THE ROLE As a Deal Origination Associate, you will play a critical role in Beacon's acquisition strategy by identifying, researching, and engaging directly with software companies to join the Beacon family. You will work closely with Beacon's leadership and M&A teams to support the entire deal process—from initial outreach to deal closing. This is a unique opportunity to help shape the future of Beacon's growing portfolio of software companies. Responsibilities - Identify niche vertical market software companies aligned with Beacon's acquisition strategy. - Conduct outreach through email, phone calls, and meetings to engage with company founders and CEOs. - Build and nurture long-term relationships with software entrepreneurs, understanding their business challenges and growth opportunities. - Assist in the initial evaluation of potential acquisition targets by gathering and analyzing financial and operational data. - Maintain and grow Beacon's deal pipeline by actively sourcing new business opportunities. - Collaborate with Beacon's M&A and leadership teams throughout the due diligence and deal execution process. - Support deal negotiations by coordinating communication between internal stakeholders and prospective sellers. Qualifications - A driven, proactive individual with 1-3 years of experience in M&A business development, sales, or a related field, ideally in the software or technology sector. - Strong communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage and influence entrepreneurs and business leaders. - Love the sales process and are genuinely interested in getting to know people and are intellectually curious about entrepreneurship/business. - Analytical with an attention to detail, and eager to learn about acquisitions and deal-making in the software industry. - Excellent written and oral communication skills. - Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment and managing multiple projects simultaneously. - A self-starter who thrives in a collaborative team environment and is passionate about achieving/exceeding targets. - Experience in outreach, relationship-building, or lead generation. - A basic understanding of financial statements, SaaS business models, or M&A processes. - Interest in software, technology, and the broader acquisition ecosystem. What You Will Get From Beacon - Dedicated mentor. - Demonstrated interest in learning about different businesses across diverse industries. - Learn directly from entrepreneurs who have scaled businesses from seed-to-$10B+ IPOs. - Work directly with Silicon Valley product and engineering teams to perform