Comparison
DealSource Systems vs Harvey & Company.
DealSource Systems wrote this page and DealSource Systems is one of the firms on it. That belongs in the first line, not in a footnote. Harvey & Company has been doing buy-side search since 1998 and we have not, which this page says plainly rather than burying. Every Harvey claim below was read off harveyllc.com on 22 September 2026 and is quoted, not summarised.
Who each one is for
Harvey & Company describes its clients as "well-capitalized private equity funds and corporations seeking to pursue new investments and buy-and-build strategies". The natural fit is a fund running platform and add-on acquisition searches that wants a firm with decades of completed transactions behind it.
DealSource Systems fits a fund, advisor or bank that wants a standing origination function against one or two theses, buy side or sell side, with the price published before the first call.
What Harvey & Company actually does
Their own summary: "Harvey & Company is the leading buy-side acquisition search and advisory firm initiating over 1,300 buy-side transactions, including 151 in 2025." On tenure: "Since our founding in 1998, we have built a strong track record of successful investments and acquisitions within industrial, business, and financial services; manufacturing; healthcare; distribution; consumer; technology; education and energy sectors."
The role they take is advisory as well as search: "Our experienced teams act as industry-focused partners and advisers to well-capitalized private equity funds and corporations." Their site lists sector coverage across more than twenty industries, from aerospace and defence to life sciences, and runs a separate executive search line, HarveyCEO, alongside the acquisition search practice.
No prices are published anywhere on the site, and no fee model is described.
What we do
DealSource Systems runs origination as a standing function for private equity funds, M&A advisors, boutique investment banks and search funds. AI maps the market against your thesis, scores readiness signals on each company and drafts the approach. Then operators with deal experience review every message before an owner sees it and handle the replies, including the ones that need a real answer about structure or timing.
Pricing is on the site rather than behind a call: from $4,000 a month for a single thesis, $8,000 and above for a dedicated multi-thesis mandate, no success fee, 90-day minimum term. The engagement we publish in full is Merritt Healthcare Advisors, a healthcare investment bank: 14 qualified founder conversations in the first three weeks, 133 inside 90 days. We are part of Danish Lead Co.
| Harvey & Company | DealSource Systems | |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | "Buy-side acquisition search and advisory" | A standing origination function on your thesis |
| Who they serve | "Well-capitalized private equity funds and corporations" | Funds, M&A advisors, boutique investment banks and acquirers |
| Mandate side | Buy side | Buy side and sell side |
| Published pricing | None published | From $4,000 a month, $8,000 and above for a dedicated multi-thesis mandate |
| Founded | "Since our founding in 1998" | 2026, as part of Danish Lead Co |
| Track record published | "Over 1,300 buy-side transactions, including 151 in 2025" | One documented engagement: 133 founder conversations in 90 days |
| Role after the introduction | Adviser through the transaction | We hand over at the conversation |
| Method published | Not published | Benchmarks from 1.7 million outreach emails, including where it does not work |
Where Harvey & Company is stronger than us
Track record, and it is not close. Over 1,300 buy-side transactions initiated since 1998, including 151 in 2025, against our one published engagement. If your investment committee wants a firm with a twenty-seven year history, that is them and not us.
Sector depth. More than twenty named sectors with completed transactions behind them means an unusual mandate has probably been run before.
They stay in the deal. They describe themselves as advisers, not only as a search firm, so the same team that finds the target can help you work it. We hand over at the conversation and do not advise on the transaction.
Buy-and-build specifically. Add-on search at volume is what the practice is built around, and their published transaction mix is weighted to add-ons.
Where we are stronger
The price is published. Ours is on the site: from $4,000 a month, $8,000 and above for a dedicated multi-thesis mandate, no success fee. Harvey publishes no pricing and no fee model, so the only way to compare cost is to take the call.
Sell side as well as buy side. Their practice is buy-side search for acquirers. We also originate sell-side mandates for advisors and banks, which is a different job and one they do not sell.
The method is published with the numbers behind it. We publish what 1.7 million outreach emails produced, including the unflattering parts: the median campaign gets three positive replies in its first 60 days and about one in seven gets none.
A standing function, not a search. A search engagement ends when the target is found. Ours is built to keep running against a thesis, so the pipeline does not reset each time.
When to choose Harvey & Company over us
Choose Harvey if you are a private equity fund or corporate acquirer running buy-and-build, if your committee needs a search firm with decades of completed transactions, if you want deep coverage in a specific industrial or healthcare niche, or if you want the firm that sources the target to stay involved as an adviser through the deal.
When to choose us over Harvey & Company
Choose us if you want the price before the call, if your mandate is sell side or you are an advisor trying to win mandates rather than a fund trying to buy, if you want the measured method published so you can audit the claims, or if you want origination as a standing function rather than a search that ends when one target is found.
How we checked this
Read on 22 September 2026: harveyllc.com for the firm description, the transaction counts, the founding year, the client description and the sector list. Their public pages carry no pricing and no fee model, so this page does not estimate one. Our own figures come from our published engagement, our stated pricing and our published benchmarks. Both firms self-report, and neither set of numbers has been audited by a third party.
Common questions
What does Harvey & Company do?
Their own description: "the leading buy-side acquisition search and advisory firm initiating over 1,300 buy-side transactions, including 151 in 2025", working as "industry-focused partners and advisers to well-capitalized private equity funds and corporations".
How much does Harvey & Company cost?
They publish no pricing and describe no fee model on their site, so you will need to ask them. We are not going to estimate on their behalf. Ours is published: from $4,000 a month, and $8,000 and above for a dedicated multi-thesis mandate.
Which firm has the longer track record?
Harvey, by a wide margin. They publish over 1,300 buy-side transactions since 1998. We publish one engagement in full. That is a genuine advantage for them and we are not going to argue it away.
Do either of them work on sell-side mandates?
Harvey's practice is buy-side search for acquirers. We work both sides: buy-side thesis coverage for funds and acquirers, and sell-side origination for advisors and banks trying to win mandates.