I'm looking to buy — and personally run — one great business.
I'm Daren Frankel, an operator-buyer searching for a single, essential business in the New York metro area to acquire and lead hands-on. Not a fund, not a flipper — one owner who'll be there every day.
I've spent my career building and steadying the operations of growing companies — and now I'm looking to do that as an owner.
As the founding operations hire and Chief Operating Officer of Palm, I helped raise a $27M Series A (co-led by Microsoft's M12), grew the team from 5 to 80+ people, and built out the functions a company needs to run — finance, compliance, HR, support, and more. When the market turned hard, I steered the business through a difficult stretch to a successful sale, including a restructuring I handled carefully enough that it closed with zero claims.
Earlier, I led operations and deals at ConsenSys across the U.S., Dubai, and Singapore, and consulted for Fortune 100 and 500 companies at Deloitte. I'm a chemical engineer by training (University of Pennsylvania, cum laude) and a former varsity rower — which is where I learned to grind through the long, unglamorous middle of anything worth doing.
One commercially healthy, essential products or services business — whose owner is ready to transition their legacy.
Essential and recurring
Products or services customers need regularly, on contracts, routes, or repeat relationships.
Commercially sound
Stable or growing revenue, loyal customers, a real business that works today.
Owner-run and improvable
The kind of business where better processes, technology, and systems unlock the next stage of growth.
Well-diversified
No single customer that makes or breaks the business.
New York metro area
Within about a 30-minute drive of a commuter rail stop under 45 minutes to Manhattan.
$1.5M–$5M in revenue
Roughly this range — the size where hands-on ownership makes the biggest difference.
I'm an SBA-prequalified buyer with meaningful equity of my own, able to move quickly and close. Proof of funds available on request.
Selling your business is personal, which is exactly how I'll take your business forward.
-
Run it personally.
I'm buying one business to operate and own for years — not to flip, strip, or fold into a portfolio.
-
Respect your people.
I'm people first, even when the going gets tough. I've led teams through a hard restructuring while treating everyone with respect and care. I take how people are treated seriously.
-
Keep your legacy safe.
I want to protect what makes your business good and grow it from there — not tear it down and start over.
-
Respect your relationships and business.
I'll take the time to learn the business from you and transition it the right way, at a pace that works, and ensure your customers still feel supported, just like when you were running the business.
If that's the kind of care you'd want for what you've built, I'd welcome a conversation — in full confidence.
Let's talk
Whether you're an owner considering a sale, a broker with a business that fits, or an advisor who knows one — I'd love to hear from you. Every conversation is confidential.