If you’re Searching, you’ve noticed that traditional business-for-sale marketplaces are… not great (the signal to noise ratio ain't all that inspiring). Listings are outdated, brokers can be unresponsive, and sifting through overpriced, irrelevant businesses feels like a full-time job.
That’s where Baton Market comes in.
What is Baton Market?
Baton is a deal marketplace built for serious buyers and sellers of small businesses. Unlike the usual listing sites, Baton curates businesses that are cash-flowing, well-documented, and ready for transition—all while offering modern tools to make the process smoother. They don't charge any upfront or success fees to for buyers to access the platform (remember, they are the brokerage), so there's no harm in giving it a go.
Who Should Use It?
If you’re an ETA searcher, independent sponsor, or self-funded buyer, Baton is worth checking out. It’s designed to eliminate the noise and help buyers connect with high-quality businesses. On the sell-side, it’s great for owners who want a confidential, structured exit process without dealing with the mess of traditional business brokerage.
What Kinds of Businesses Are Featured?
Baton focuses on main street and lower middle-market businesses, typically with:
✅ $500K - $5M in revenue
✅ $100K - $1M in EBITDA/SDE
✅ Proven profitability and operational stability
They lean toward services, blue-collar trades, consumer brands, e-commerce, and specialty B2B businesses—basically, the kinds of businesses that are actually worth buying.
Why Baton is Different
✅ No Junk Listings – Every business goes through a vetting process before being listed, and their brokers know what they are talking about.
✅ Seller Education & Support – Many sellers aren’t prepared for an exit; Baton helps bridge that gap.
✅ Data-Driven Listings – They provide clearer financials and insights upfront, making diligence easier.
✅ Streamlined Deal Engagement - find what you like and the workflow is all digital, as soon as you sign the NDA you see the full data room. They use the same structure across their 100s of deals so it's easy to see what you like. They also have recorded interviews with the sellers to explain ins and outs of the business, their day to day, why they are selling, etc.. I wish every broker had this on the ready!
Where Baton is Lacking
😐 Listing volume is low - they are newer on the scene, so they don't have the same volume you'll find elsewhere but the new listings grow every day and they seem to be doing it nationwide without a specific geographic focus.
☹️ Limited filter / search criteria - you can't sort by newest or setup alerts so knowing when the new stuff drops takes a manual scan. Not ideal, but I imagine this is on their product backlog. Also, the geographic search is limited to state by state, you can't zero in on a specific metro area or city.
Final Thoughts
Check them out for yourself and see what you think.
Editor's note: I interacted with one of the co-founders, Dylan Gans, in Jan 2025 via a random WhatsApp group for Searchers. FWIW he seems like a good dude genuinely looking to make main street acquisitions easier for everyone. I'm hoping to pop into their NYC office soon to learn more and see if I can get a walkthrough to post up here for your viewing pleasure.
