It wasn't about grape versus strawberry. It was about what happens when people are given too many options.
In this study, shoppers were offered either 6 jars of jam or 24 to choose from.
As you'd assume, the display with 24 options attracted more attention. More people stopped to look at the different jars of jam and sampled more of them.
But when researchers measured purchasing behavior, something surprising happened: shoppers presented with just 6 options were far more likely to make a decision.
More options created more interest, but fewer options created more decisions.
Maybe you've noticed: Acquisition search often works the same way.
Another CIM arrives in your inbox.
Another broker sends a deal.
Another diligence request uncovers new information.
You think each new data point adds more clarity, but eventually you find yourself overwhelmed, unsure, and hesitating to move forward.
It's not because you lack information, but because you have too much of it.
You're attempting to answer the overarching question, "Should I buy this business?"
The problem is, acquisitions are designed to be evaluated in smaller, progressive questions:
Is this worth exploring?
If this is true, would I want to own it?
Is it actually true?
Can I live with what's left unknown?
Buyers who end up making progress know which question they're trying to answer and when.
They may not know everything, yet, but they know enough to take the next step.
The challenge, then, is knowing what "enough" looks like.
The Next Decision Framework solves for that problem by breaking the acquisition process into four smaller decisions. Each stage has a different objective, a different information threshold, and a different question that needs to be answered.
Acquisition Lab member Lucas Phillips found Newark Auto less than 60 days into his search.
It was a 120-year-old manufacturer of classic car carpets and interior components. Not exactly the kind of business most buyers dream about on day one.
But Lucas had heard too many stories of buyers passing on good opportunities while waiting for a perfect one. So instead of trying to answer every future question from the listing, he focused on the only question that mattered:
"Is this worth exploring?"
At the teaser stage, that's the job. You're not deciding whether to buy the business. You're deciding whether it clears your big-ticket criteria.
Does the geography work? Is the size in range?
Does the industry fit your skills, interests, or long-term goals?
Are there any obvious deal breakers?
Don't worry yet about whether every employee will stay, whether every customer relationship is transferable, or whether you can grow the company five years from now.
Think of it like dating. You're not deciding whether you've found "the one." You're deciding whether you want a second date.
Acquisition Lab member Joe Wynn was evaluating a medical equipment company that had generated nearly $900,000 in seller earnings in its most recent year.
He didn't believe it.
Not because the seller was necessarily wrong. Because one strong year doesn't automatically tell you what a business can sustainably produce.
On a recent interview on Acquiring Minds, Joe shared that instead of anchoring on the $900,000 figure, Joe underwrote the business closer to $600,000 in sustainable earnings.
That's Stage Two thinking.
Once you've reviewed the CIM and spoken with the seller, the question becomes:
"If this is generally true, would I want to own it?"
You're not trying to validate every add-back yet. You're not trying to prove every customer relationship. You're not trying to finish diligence before you've even submitted an LOI.
You're looking for a coherent story. Do the financials make sense? Does the seller's explanation align with the numbers? Does the business still fit your acquisition criteria if you use a more conservative view of earnings?
If yes, you've likely learned enough to move forward.
An LOI is not a commitment to buy the business. It's the mechanism that gives you the opportunity to find out whether the business is actually what it appears to be.
After Joe signed the LOI, the work changed.
He wasn't evaluating the story anymore. He was testing it.
Through multiple conversations with the company's primary supplier, Joe learned things that weren't visible in the financials. Some product lines were generating little to no revenue. The seller had left certain growth opportunities untouched. The supplier had its own view of what the business could become under new ownership.
The business didn't become better or worse. It became more accurate.
You might approach diligence hoping to prove the business is a great acquisition, but instead you should be looking for reasons not to buy.
Can the revenue be verified?
Do the add-backs hold up under scrutiny?
Are there legal, financial, or operational issues that materially change the economics of the deal?
The point isn't to eliminate every conceivable risk. It's to determine whether your original investment thesis still holds after exposure to reality.
Sometimes diligence confirms what you already believed. Other times it reveals problems significant enough to walk away. Either outcome is successful.
By the end of diligence, the question becomes:
"Now that I know what's true, is this business worth buying?"
Lucas completed diligence. The financing was secured. The deal closed.
Newark Auto was his.
… Then reality showed up.
Employees weren't showing up on time. Critical knowledge was concentrated in a handful of people. Problems that were impossible to see from the outside suddenly became very visible from the inside.
None of these issues meant he bought a bad business. It meant he bought a real one.
Unfortunately, this is where many buyers get stuck before closing. They keep searching for the final piece of information that will make the decision obvious.
It rarely arrives.
Eventually, every buyer reaches a point where the question is no longer whether uncertainty exists.
The question becomes:
"Can I live with what's left unknown?"
That's not a question diligence will answer for you – only your readiness to step into ownership.
You might believe your biggest challenge is finding the right business.
In practice, you'll likely struggle with something else entirely: learning when you have enough information to move forward.
As Lucas put it:
"You never know what you're getting into when you get into it. Once you get into it, then you start to see what you really need to do."
That's true during search. It's true during diligence. And it's especially true after closing.
By asking, "What decision am I actually making right now?" the answer will reveal that you're much closer to the next step than you think.