Notes · started September 2026

Hi, I'm Scott.

I'm talking with small firms about one unglamorous job: getting forms, files and signatures back from the people they work with.

I grew up in Blue Grass, Iowa, just outside Davenport, around a lot of small businesses. For 8 years I built deal flow software for private equity and M&A firms - the kind of firms that can spend real money making sure every NDA, financial statement and signature ends up in the right place.

Small firms do the same work without those budgets. Most of the ones I've looked at have it figured out, either with a PDF packet and one person who follows up, or with a form builder, an e-sign service and a spreadsheet. It works. What I want to understand is what it takes to keep it working, and whether any of that big-budget tooling makes sense at a smaller scale.

Who I'm talking with

• Business brokers - buyer NDAs, profiles and proof of funds before the CIM goes out.
• Property managers - owner agreements, W-9s and bank details, and vendor insurance that has to stay current.
• General contractors - sub prequalification, insurance certificates and lien waivers with every draw.

If you'd like to talk

Email me at scott@welcomesmith.com, or just reply to the note I sent you. A couple of lines about how you handle it is plenty, and if you'd rather talk, 15 minutes on the phone works too.

I won't demo anything, I won't add you to a list, and nothing you tell me goes anywhere with your name on it.