Home/About/Ali Sedighi
17+ Years Experience

Ali Sedighi

Business Acquisition Consultant | Vancouver, BC

Buyer-side advisor for Canadian SMB acquisitions. When you work with BizBuy.ca, you work directly with Ali — from the first conversation through the day you take ownership.

Vancouver, BC
Buyer-Side Only
Not a Broker
About Ali

17+ Years in Canadian Business Acquisition

Ali Sedighi has spent over 17 years working in business acquisition consulting in Canada, with a concentration in BC and the Greater Vancouver market. His practice is built on a single principle: represent the buyer, and only the buyer. In a market where most intermediaries work for sellers or earn commissions from transactions, Ali's buyer-only model is a deliberate structural choice that shapes every piece of advice he gives.

Ali's client base is deliberately varied — first-time buyers who have never owned a business, experienced operators looking to expand through acquisition, immigrants pursuing Canadian residency pathways that require business ownership, and corporate professionals transitioning to entrepreneurship. Each of these buyer profiles brings different risk tolerances, different financing constraints, and different definitions of the right deal. Ali's role is to build a process that serves the specific buyer in front of him — not a generic acquisition checklist.

Over his career, Ali has developed particular depth in several areas of Canadian SMB acquisition: restaurant and food service businesses, trades and HVAC companies, healthcare practices including dental and medical, franchise resales, and technology businesses including SaaS. He has guided acquisitions ranging from under $500,000 to well over a million dollars, across asset purchases, share purchases, earn-out structures, vendor-financed deals, and immigration-linked transactions.

Vancouver-based and BC-focused, Ali brings specific knowledge of the regulatory environment that affects business transactions in this province: LCRB liquor licensing, CDSBC dental practice requirements, BC Health Professions Act healthcare constraints, BC PNP Entrepreneur stream criteria, and the lease assignment and WorkSafeBC dynamics that affect trades acquisitions throughout the Lower Mainland and beyond.

Expertise

Areas of Expertise

The specific domains where Ali has developed deep, transaction-tested knowledge over 17+ years.

Business Valuation

Earnings-based, revenue-based, and asset-based valuation frameworks applied to the specific industry and deal context. Independent valuation to counter broker inflation.

Due Diligence

Financial, legal, and operational diligence run in parallel — not sequentially. Covers cash flow normalization, IP ownership, employee retention, lease assignment, and regulatory compliance.

Deal Structuring

Asset vs. share purchase analysis, earn-out design, vendor financing terms, escrow and holdback mechanics, and working capital peg negotiations.

Immigration-Linked Acquisitions

Deep experience with BC PNP Entrepreneur stream, Start-Up Visa, and other immigration pathways where business acquisition is a core component of the application.

Franchise Resale

FDD review, franchisor approval process management, royalty and renewal term analysis, and multi-unit expansion strategy for franchise resale buyers.

BC & Canada Markets

17+ years of focused Canadian market knowledge — BC regulatory environment, local deal flow, lender relationships, and the specific dynamics of Metro Vancouver acquisition markets.

How We Work

Ali's Approach

Four principles that define how every client engagement is structured.

Buyer-Only Representation

BizBuy.ca represents buyers exclusively. We do not list businesses for sale, we do not represent sellers, and we earn no commission from the other side of a transaction. Our fee comes from you — which means our interests are aligned with yours.

Independent Advisor

We are a consulting firm, not a licensed business broker. This distinction matters: a broker's incentive is to close deals. Our incentive is to guide you to the right deal at the right price — which sometimes means recommending you walk away.

Founder-Led Process

Ali personally leads every client engagement. You are not handed off to a junior associate after the initial call. When we say you work with Ali, that is precisely what happens — from the first conversation through ownership transfer.

Transparent Process

Every step of the acquisition process is explained before it begins. No surprises on fees, timelines, or what is required. We believe informed buyers make better decisions — and better decisions lead to better businesses.

Industry Focus

Industries Ali Knows Best

Deep transaction experience in these eight sectors across BC and Canada.

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions about Working with Ali

Do you represent sellers?

No. BizBuy.ca represents buyers only. We do not list businesses for sale, we do not act as brokers for sellers, and we have no financial relationship with sellers. This buyer-only mandate is core to our model — it eliminates the conflict of interest that exists when an advisor represents both sides of a transaction, or when an advisor earns a commission from a seller.

What makes you different from a business broker?

Business brokers are typically hired by and paid by sellers. Their fee is a percentage of the deal price — which creates an incentive to close at a higher price and to close quickly. We are hired by and paid by buyers, as a flat consulting fee. We have no incentive to close a deal that is not right for you. We will recommend walking away from a bad deal, negotiate aggressively on price and terms, and take the time due diligence requires — because our success is your successful acquisition, not the commission on closing day.

Do you work with immigrants buying their first business in Canada?

Yes — this is one of the buyer profiles we serve most frequently. Immigration-linked business acquisitions in Canada involve additional complexity: the deal structure must satisfy the specific program requirements (BC PNP Entrepreneur, Start-Up Visa, LMIA-exempt pathways), the business must meet program-specific criteria around employment, active management, and minimum investment, and the timeline must coordinate with immigration counsel. We work alongside your immigration lawyer — not as a replacement for one — to make sure the business acquisition and the immigration pathway are compatible.

How do you charge for your services?

We charge a flat consulting fee, not a commission on the deal price. The fee structure is discussed transparently at the start of each engagement. We offer both project-based and retainer structures depending on the scope of work — from a standalone valuation review to full-service acquisition support from initial strategy through ownership transfer. Because we do not earn a percentage of the deal price, our advice is never influenced by the transaction size.

Work Directly with Ali

Every engagement is led personally by Ali Sedighi. Book a free 30-minute Discovery Call to discuss your acquisition goals, get an honest assessment of what is realistic, and understand exactly how we work.