Deal Origination Associate Toronto, Ontario

Beaconholdings; Toronto; On-site; CAD 70,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Beacon Software is seeking a Deal Origination Associate to identify, research, and engage with software companies to join Beacon's portfolio. You will work with leadership and M&A teams to support the entire deal process from outreach to closing.

This role requires 1–3 years in M&A business development or related fields, with strong communication and the ability to build relationships with software founders and CEOs.

Qualifications

• 1–3 years of experience in M&A business development, sales, or related field, ideally in software/tech.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills to engage with entrepreneurs and business leaders.
• Enjoys the sales process and is curious about entrepreneurship and business.
• Analytical with attention to detail; eager to learn about acquisitions in software.

Responsibilities

• Identify niche vertical market software companies aligned with Beacon's acquisition strategy.
• Conduct outreach via email, phone, and meetings with founders and CEOs.
• Build and nurture long-term relationships with software entrepreneurs and growth opportunities.
• Assist in initial evaluation by gathering and analyzing financial and operational data.
• Maintain and grow Beacon's deal pipeline by sourcing new opportunities.
• Collaborate with M&A and leadership teams through due diligence and deal execution.
• Support deal negotiations by coordinating communications between stakeholders and sellers.

Skills

M&A experience

Communication

Relationship-building

Sales acumen

SaaS knowledge

Job description

Beacon 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 diligence and underwrite technology driven value creation streams with potential acquisitions.
• Operate in an environment that encourages initiative and rapid development.
• Strong development of interpersonal and presentation skills.
• Unique work environment which combines a high growth technology startup and a long term buy/hold private equity investment firm.

Our Values at Beacon Software

• Humility: We acknowledge that the path to getting to the right answer involves being wrong along the way. We have strong beliefs which are weakly held. We actively seek new ideas and believe we can learn from anyone at any time.
• Honesty: We are truth seeking in our approach to business problems. Business is a repeat game and we believe that human relationships generate alpha. We understand that trust is earned over a lifetime and can be lost in an instant.
• Hunger: We play to win. We hold ourselves to high standards and will not be outworked. We take pride in having a deep sense of responsibility to ourselves, each other, our partners, and our customers. We believe to whom much is given much is expected.
• Horizon: We seek to build a generational software company. This will take decades. We manage our expectations and those of our partners to take advantage of the 8th wonder of the world - compounding growth.

How We Use AI in Our Hiring Process: To ensure transparency, we want candidates to know that Beacon Software uses Artificial Intelligence and AI-enabled tools to assist with screening, reviewing, organizing and highlighting profiles and applications that match the key requirements for each role.

AI does not make hiring decisions: Every application is reviewed by a member of our team, and all decisions throughout the process are made by humans. We use AI to support efficiency and consistency, not to replace human judgment. We are committed to a fair, thoughtful, and equitable experience for every candidate.