1) Positioning

• Full M&A Marketplace: Buyers, sellers, brokers, advisors with confidentiality tiers and a deal pipeline.
• Acquisition-Only (Buy-Side) Hub: Private portal for a single buyer/consortium to source and close faster.

2) Core Users & Value

• Sellers/Owners: Confidential listings (teaser/CIM), secure data room, structured Q&A.
• Buyers/PE/Strategics: Deal feed & matching, filters, saved searches, diligence workspace, e-sign.
• Advisors/Brokers: Listing tools, NDA routing, access control, audit trails.
• Admins: KYC/AML checks, permissions, analytics.

3) Must-Have Features (MVP → Pro)

MVP (weeks 1–4)

• Onboarding + Roles (buyer, seller, broker, admin)
• Confidential Listings (teaser → NDA → CIM)
• NDA Gate (click-wrap & DocuSign option)
• Deal Search/Filters (industry, geo, size, price, status)
• Deal Rooms (VDR Lite): structured folders, expiring links, watermarking
• Q&A threads per section; activity timeline & audit logs
• Pipeline stages (Sourced → LOI → Diligence → Close); notifications

Pro (weeks 5–10)

• Smart matching by mandate; saved searches & alerts
• Financial uploads → parser (CSV/XLSX)
• Redaction tools; bulk import for broker portfolios
• Doc analytics (views/downloads); versioning
• Task lists/checklists; templates by industry
• Escrow & e-sign; KYC/AML integration; CRM sync
• API/Webhooks; enterprise org/SSO options

4) Deal Workflow (Happy Path)

1. Seller creates teaser → visible to verified buyers.
2. Buyer requests access → automatic NDA route.
3. Post-NDA: CIM + VDR access; Q&A opens; tasks generated.
4. IOI/LOI via templates; dataroom analytics guide negotiation.
5. Closing: e-sign, optional escrow; archive with full audit trail.

5) Trust, Privacy, Compliance

• RBAC & field-level permissions; watermarking & copy-block options
• Encryption: TLS 1.2+, AES-256 at rest; signed URLs to private storage
• KYC/AML via provider + sanctions screening
• Immutable audit logs; configurable data retention
• GDPR/CCPA pages; SOC2-ready control set; breach response plan

6) Monetization Options

• Subscriptions: Buyer seats ($99–$399/user/mo), Broker plans ($299–$999/mo), Enterprise (SSO/SLA).
• Success fees: % on closed deals or flat per closing (via escrow evidence).
• Listing fees & premium placements; data-room storage/guest overages.
• Add-ons: KYC checks, redaction, CRM sync, dedicated support.

7) Tech Stack (pragmatic & scalable)

• Frontend: Next.js + Tailwind; React Query.
• Backend: Node/NestJS or Python/FastAPI; GraphQL or REST.
• DB: PostgreSQL (core) + OpenSearch/Elasticsearch (filters).
• Storage: S3/GCS (private) + signed URLs; watermarking.
• Auth: Auth0/Clerk (MFA, SSO, orgs), RBAC in DB.
• Docs & Payments: DocuSign/HelloSign; Stripe/Adyen (escrow).
• Infra: Vercel/Render + AWS/GCP; Terraform; backups; analytics with PostHog.

8) Information Architecture

• Public: Home, How it Works, Example Teasers, Pricing, Compliance, Contact
• App: Dashboard, Deal Feed, Saved Searches, Pipelines, Messages, Data Rooms, Tasks, Org Settings, Users/Roles, Billing
• Deal Page: Overview, Financials, Docs, Q&A, Activity, People, Terms, Notes

9) Typical Operating Costs (Monthly)

10) Acquisition-Only Variant (Single Buyer)

• Private intake for targets; hide seller signup.
• Mandates power smart matching & email alerts.
• Email ingestion: forward teasers → auto-create deals.
• Strict privacy: rooms only after manual grant; tight audit trails.
• Integrations: company data, valuation templates, LOI generator.

Build plan: MVP (4–6 weeks). Pro (6–10 weeks). Start minimal; layer on KYC, analytics, e-sign as you grow.