Tentt · Deal Origination · January 2026
Origination in the Age of AI
Modern deal sourcing for private equity, investment banks, M&A advisories, and commercial lenders. Written by David Walker-Dobson.
About this document
This paper explains how private equity firms, investment banks, M&A advisors, and commercial lenders can build a predictable origination engine in the age of AI: capture signals, convert public information into structured intelligence, prioritise accounts with intent, and run repeatable outreach that creates qualified conversations — and compounds over time.
01 — Preface
Origination is changing fast.
The old playbook — network harder, buy more data, hire more juniors, rely on intermediaries — is no longer enough in a tighter, more scrutinised market. At the same time, AI and automation have shifted what a small, disciplined team can achieve.
The gap between average and great is now structural: a few A-players with the right systems can outperform larger teams running legacy processes.
"Origination is no longer primarily a relationship game. It's a systems game."
This paper explains how to build a predictable origination engine: capture signals, convert public information into structured intelligence, prioritise accounts with intent, and run repeatable outreach that creates qualified conversations — and compounds over time.
02 — The End of the Old Playbook
The uncomfortable truth is that most firms are competing with the same inputs.
They use the same databases. They attend the same conferences. They hire from the same talent pools. They run the same outreach sequences, with the same templates, aimed at the same lists. When everyone relies on identical resources and tactics, the result is predictable: differentiation collapses and origination becomes a commodity.
In that environment, "working harder" stops being a strategy. It becomes a tax.
Market Convergence
For years, access was the advantage. Today, access is increasingly standardised. Data is cheaper. Lists are abundant. Intermediaries shop deals broadly. Even "proprietary" opportunities are often shared across the same circles. The outcome is a crowded market where firms look and sound interchangeable — and where speed and systems matter more than bragging rights.
Talent and Siloed Execution
Most origination teams are built for activity, not mastery. Junior hires can create volume, but they rarely have the context to connect the whole loop. The result is siloed thinking and an inconsistent pipeline:
- Business development optimises for replies, not quality
- Deal teams optimise for diligence, not conversion
- Leadership optimises for outcomes, but lacks instrumentation
When nobody owns the full system, pipeline becomes a series of heroic sprints rather than a compounding engine.
Industrial Evolution
Post-Covid, the operating environment has changed. Remote work removed geography as a constraint. AI has begun automating the rote work that used to consume origination capacity: research, list building, enrichment, first-draft writing, routing, follow-ups, summarisation, and reporting.
This creates a widening gap between average and great. To B-players, AI feels like displacement. To A-players, it's leverage. A small, disciplined team with strong systems can now outperform larger teams relying on manual effort and legacy processes.
What this means
The winning firms will consistently do the following better than their peers:
- Detect intent and timing signals early
- Convert public information into structured intelligence
- Prioritise the right accounts with the right angle
- Run repeatable outreach that earns conversations
- Capture learning and compound it into a better system
03 — Who This Is For
For teams who want proprietary flow, not a shared inbox of brokered deals.
If you're a private equity firm, investment bank, M&A advisor, or commercial lender and you don't have a predictable way to generate qualified conversations, the next 12 months will be defined by whether you build an origination engine — or keep relying on hope, referrals, and sporadic inbound.
If this sounds familiar…
- You're doing "all the right things" but deal flow is inconsistent
- You're spending on data, events, or intermediaries without clear ROI
- Outreach exists, but it's generic, hard to scale, and doesn't convert
- Research takes too long, so quality drops under volume pressure
- Pipeline depends on a few people and doesn't compound
"It's not that origination is broken. It's that the old playbook can't keep up with the new environment."
04 — Our Thesis
Build a predictable origination engine in under 90 days.
If you have a real mandate, a clear buyer profile, and the ability to execute, you can build a predictable origination engine in under 90 days — with a small, skilled team and without relying on conferences, brokers, or hoping the network delivers.
Most firms accept inconsistent deal flow as normal. They treat pipeline as something you receive rather than something you produce. When flow dries up, the default response is to buy more data, hire another junior, or increase event attendance — the same inputs everyone else is using.
AI Changes the Rules of Origination
AI marks a new era in deal sourcing. The work that used to consume origination capacity — research, enrichment, list building, summarisation, first-draft messaging, routing, follow-ups, and reporting — can now be automated or accelerated. That doesn't remove the need for judgement. It removes the bottleneck.
Not with one tactic. With a repeatable system. This paper lays out that system — and how to implement it quickly, without increasing headcount or depending on intermediaries.
05 — Background
Who we are and why we built this.
David Walker-Dobson, Founder
Based in London. Over the last few years, I've worked at the intersection of go-to-market systems, outbound infrastructure, and automation — building repeatable engines that turn data, signals, and workflow into qualified conversations. After working across a wide range of B2B environments — including finance, M&A, professional services, and software — it becomes impossible not to notice patterns: what consistently creates pipeline, what collapses under scrutiny, and where most teams waste time and money while thinking they're doing "best practice".
"The firms that win now will be the ones who stop treating origination as a set of tactics and start treating it as a system."
Our Mission
We're building the infrastructure required to source high-quality buy-side and private credit opportunities predictably and efficiently — across industries, regions, and market cycles. Our system is designed to deliver proprietary, intent-driven deal flow that cuts through broker noise and puts you in front of the right founders, operators, and asset holders — before the market knows they're looking.
Using GTM systems and automation to replace manual, inconsistent origination processes.
Focused on off-market growth, without requiring additional internal headcount.
Providing proprietary deal flow at a fraction of the cost of traditional intermediaries.
Build compounding pipeline — not sporadic sprints — that improves with every cycle.
06 — Market Research
A market under pressure, with $2.6T+ undeployed.
The Existing Environment
The global market for buying businesses and deploying private credit has started recovering in 2025 onwards after a two-year downturn, but deal volume remains below pre-2022 levels. Despite stabilising interest rates, there is still $2.6T+ in undeployed capital (dry powder), creating intense pressure on buyers and lenders to source opportunities. Sellers are returning — but increasingly off-market, favouring quiet, direct conversations over brokered auctions.
Sources: Bain PE Report 2025, PitchBook Q2 2025 Global M&A Update, Preqin, BlackRock Institute
The Market Problem
- Firms relying on inbound deal flow are missing 80%+ of viable off-market opportunities
- Increased capital chasing fewer assets = more competition, higher multiples, slower deployment
- Buy-side and credit investors lack the GTM and outbound infrastructure to consistently originate deals early
- Many BD and investment teams are understaffed, manual, or reactive — limiting scale and speed
The outcome
High-quality deals are being closed before they ever hit the market. The solution: introduce GTM engineering to buy-side deal sourcing — blending automation, outbound workflows, and signal-based targeting. Use structured research and outreach systems to find, qualify, and contact sellers or borrowers before brokers are even involved.
07 — The Origination Engine
An engine that turns signals and data into qualified conversations.
The "new way" to originate deals is not more networking or more manual research. An origination engine takes two inputs — target supply and timing signals — then runs them through a repeatable pipeline that produces one thing: qualified conversations.
Inputs: Scrape Lists + Signals
Scrape Lists are your target universe: companies and stakeholders that match your mandate (sector, geography, size band, ownership profile). Signals are timing indicators that increase the likelihood of a conversation now — hiring, expansion, refinancing triggers, leadership changes. Instead of guessing who to contact, the engine continuously updates who is relevant and who is ready.
Pre-Enrichment Validation
Before spending money enriching data or sending outreach, we validate the inputs. This prevents duplicate enrichment spend, bad data flowing downstream, and wasted outreach capacity. We sanity-check: is the company in scope, is the persona right, is the source reliable, and do we already have this record?
Enrichment Layer
Once validated, we enrich the account and contact data — verified emails, decision-maker validation (title, seniority, department), firmographics (headcount, geography, sector tags, ownership cues), and mandate-specific qualifiers. This is where "raw lists" become "actionable targets".
Data Normalisation & Scoring
We normalise fields and score each account against your mandate logic across three dimensions: Fit Score (mandate match), Timing Score (signals suggesting now), and Access Score (decision-maker reachability). This produces tiers: Tier 1 (high fit + strong timing), Tier 2 (good fit, weaker timing), DQ (excluded).
Activation: Cold Outreach (End-to-End)
Once accounts are scored, the system activates outreach in controlled waves. Tier 1 gets higher-context outreach with a specific angle. Tier 2 gets scalable outreach — still relevant, but lighter-touch. Campaigns are iterated based on real response data. Predictable outreach that improves every cycle.
Why this works
Traditional origination relies on effort and memory. This relies on systems and feedback. The engine reduces wasted enrichment and wasted sends, increases relevance without needing manual research on every target, improves deliverability by keeping data quality high, and creates a repeatable process that compounds over time. You don't hunt harder — you build an instrumented market.
08 — Signal Intelligence
Finance firms don't lose because they lack relationships. They lose because they're late.
Industry intelligence is the system that helps you spot timing and intent earlier than your peers — by continuously monitoring your market for high-signal events, converting them into structured intelligence, and routing the right accounts into outreach.
What a "signal" is
A signal is any verifiable, external change that increases the probability of a transaction or capital event. Not noise. Not generic intent. A real-world trigger that tells you: something changed — timing just improved.
Account-level signals
New CEO/CFO/COO/Head of Corp Dev indicates fresh perspective on capital structure and strategic direction.
New office, new geography, or international growth often precedes a capital event or liquidity need.
Acquisitions, bolt-on behaviour, or integration hiring signals an active acquirer or a business maturing toward exit.
Fundraising, recap signals, new facility language, or debt maturity create natural transaction windows.
Spikes in Sales, Ops, Finance, Corp Dev, or Partnerships indicate expansion mode or preparation for a transaction.
Efficiency drives, redundancies, or consolidation often signal readiness to transact or need for capital.
How signals become action
Monitor your market continuously across company websites, news, job postings, regulatory filings, and financial updates.
Verify source and relevance. No noisy alerts. Every signal is delivered with the supporting source so your team can see exactly what happened and why it matters.
Combine Fit + Timing + Access into a prioritisation score that routes accounts into the right motion automatically.
Tier 1 (high fit + high timing) → highest-context outreach. Tier 2 (good fit, weaker timing) → scalable relevance-led outreach. DQ → excluded automatically.
Signals are delivered where your team already works: CRM (account + contact notes and flags), email notifications, or Slack/Teams alerts for high-priority triggers.
09 — Our Process
What working with Tentt looks like.
Onboard the client
A short onboarding to understand your mandate, deal profile, constraints, and what "qualified" actually means for you. We align on outcomes, target geographies, sectors, size bands, and any hard exclusions.
Define sourcing criteria
We translate your thesis into sourcing filters that a system can execute consistently: what makes a company relevant, what makes it timely, and what signals indicate intent worth acting on.
Build custom email infrastructure
To protect your brand and maximise deliverability, we build a dedicated outbound infrastructure: domains, inboxes, authentication, warm-up, tracking, and sending setup. This allows us to run volume safely without using your core domain.
Build database + signal engine
We build your target universe and the signal engine that keeps it fresh — including the database, enrichment, and the triggers that tell us who to prioritise (hiring, funding, expansion, leadership moves, lender/refi timing, etc.).
Custom AI-powered research at scale
For the highest-priority accounts, we generate structured research and context automatically: what they do, why now, why you, what angle to lead with. This is what makes outreach relevant without needing manual research on every company.
Scoring & prioritisation
Every account is scored and routed: Tier 1 (high fit + high timing), Tier 2 (good fit, weaker timing), or DQ (disqualified). This keeps quality high and prevents wasted volume.
Launch cold outbound
We launch outreach in controlled waves. Messaging is built around your thesis and tailored to each segment and tier. We test angles, iterate fast, and scale what produces qualified conversations.
Qualification before your calendar
When someone engages, we qualify them before they hit your calendar. That means confirming fit, timing, decision-maker involvement, and whether it's worth progressing.
Introductions booked directly onto your calendar
Qualified prospects are booked straight onto your calendar with context: why they're a fit, what triggered outreach, message history, and suggested next steps. You walk in informed and in control.
What you actually get
You don't just get outreach. You get a repeatable origination engine: a living database, a signal-driven prioritisation system, and consistent qualified conversations — without relying on brokers, events, or manual effort.
10 — Tech Stack & Case Study
Enterprise-grade infrastructure across data, enrichment, orchestration, and deliverability.
- Clay.com
- N8N
- Slack
- Apify
- Attio
- Leadmagic
- Findymail
- Apollo
- ZoomInfo
- PitchBook
- Google Workspace
- Outlook
- SMTP
- Smartlead
- Instantly
- HeyReach
- Multichannel sequences
- Relationship-led outreach
Case Study: ProGenuis (Stealth Fund)
Sector: Blockchain / Web 4.0 · Objective: Generate investor conversations · Timeline: First 30 days
| Before | After (30 days) |
|---|---|
| 3–4 meetings per month, highly manual process | 23 meetings booked in the first month |
| Ad-hoc outreach, slow research, inconsistent follow-up | Working origination engine that continues to compound |
| Dependent on warm intros, conferences, sporadic inbound | Signal-routed prioritisation + controlled cold outreach |
Why it worked
We didn't scale manual effort. We systemised the motion: tight targeting (relevance-first), timing-led prioritisation using signals, controlled activation (protecting reputation and inbox placement), and fast iteration based on response data.
11 — Pricing
Two structures. One outcome.
At Tentt, we offer two payment models so you can choose the structure that best matches your current stage, internal capacity, and how mature your sourcing motion is.
- Full setup + infrastructure
- Target universe build + data
- Outreach launch + iteration
- Weekly optimisation
- Prove the motion before scaling
- Validate segments and messaging
Use this when you need evidence before committing — entering a new thesis, new vertical, or de-risking before a longer engagement.
- Ongoing sourcing + research
- Campaign iteration each cycle
- Signal monitoring + routing
- Full reporting + attribution
- Qualified intros onto your calendar
- Compounding system that improves monthly
Use this when you want a dependable monthly operating rhythm, higher volume, and a longer-term system build as a core GTM function.
| Approach | Cost Structure | Time to First Deal |
|---|---|---|
| In-House Origination Teams Relationship-led + outbound. Strong mandate control but constrained by headcount. |
£150k–£300k+/year per effective originator | 3–9 months to traction; 6–18 months for reliable pipeline |
| Networking & Referrals Opportunistic inbound. Usually late-stage and widely shopped. |
Time + travel + opportunity cost | Unpredictable — can be weeks or years |
| Tentt (Outbound Origination) Structured outbound with signal-driven targeting and qualified handoffs. |
From £7k/month retainer | 1–4 months for first qualified opportunities; compounding from month 3 |
Next step
Ready to build a pipeline that compounds?
Book a 30-minute introductory call. We'll map your mandate, define your target universe, and tell you exactly what the first 90 days would look like. No commitment. No pitch deck.
Book an introductory call