THESIS

My investment thesis is to invest in tech-forward companies and then empower them with capital to consolidate the stale $155 billion tax preparation and accounting industries which is ripe for disruption.

EXCITEMENT

The combination of adding tech-enabled services, better customer experiences and outsourcing to traditional firms excites me. Believe it or not, many tax businesses still require drop-offs and use fax machines. CPA firms are often very poor marketers and many are adverse to the types of technology that today's consumers demand.

THE DATA

There are 74,000 pages of tax code and approximately 59% of all US filers utilize a paid preparer to file their taxes (a number that has been steady for over 3 decades). The largest national assisted tax preparation firm prepares only 7.7% of the overall individual tax returns in the US in spite of being around for 60 years. The number 2 and 3 preparers only prepare an additional 4%. The rest is done by over 300,000 independent providers across the US with 25,000 of them servicing over 500 clients annually. 63% of independent tax business owners are over 58 and 25% of them are over 68 years old.

THE PLAN - PHASE 1

Investing in a handful of identified companies that specialize in the virtual tax business, cryptocurrency accounting, cannabis taxation and machine learning will be Phase 1 of the roll up strategy. Enabling that ecosystem of companies to sustainably accelerate their growth and continue building out their infrastructure into more mature companies will create the base for the roll-up.

THE PLAN - PHASE 2

Phase 2 will include raising a venture or PE round of ten million dollars to start consolidating independent practitioners who are ready to retire or sell into the ecosystem built in Phase 1. Modeling has shown that a ten million dollar investment will yield an entity value of nearly five hundred million dollars after seven years of this roll up strategy. I'm happy to provide the model, just email me at mario@theproblemsolver.com.

THE PLAN - PHASE 3

Moving taxes to the blockchain, where they belong. Blockchains are auditable which the government will love and embrace reducing fraud and inaccuracies. They are immutable creating guaranteed accuracy. And the data in tax returns is highly valuable which can become the hub of a consumer and small business financial ecosystem of for other financial services on an opt-in permissioned basis.

ABOUT ME

I've spent the last 18 years of my life in the tax and accounting industry. I started my first internet company in 1999 which I exited in 2003. I've done every job in the tax preparation industry from tax preparer, independent tax business owner, tax business franchisee and area developer, tax business franchisor and developing tax software tools and technology. I've previously acquired 99 tax business prior to selling over 150 franchises while inventing the virtual assisted segment of the business. I've written two best selling books on the tax industry and been named as "One to Watch" by Accounting Today in their Top 100 Most Influential in Accounting List the past two years in a row. I live, breath, eat and sleep the tax industry. I'm the Chairperson of the Tax Working Group at the Accounting Blockchain Coalition, have taught college professors cryptocurrency taxation and I'm currently serving as a mentor for entrepreneurs at Stanford Graduate School of Business. I have an issued patent for reconciling and reporting transactions on a blockchain. There is no one more passionate or knowledgeable about the history of the industry, the current landscape or the needs and issues that today's taxpayers face in preparing their tax returns. View me on Linkedin here.

THE SYNDICATE WILL INVEST IN:

• Tax, accounting and technology firms.
• Seed and Series A stage companies.
• Teams with the right mix of grit, experience, chemistry and vision.
• Companies that can effectively acquire customers at costs significantly lower than their lifetime value of such customers.

As a top thought leader and innovator in the tax, accounting and cryptocurrency industries I am approached regularly and have my eyes out for the vital missing pieces to these industries. I will share all of my dealflow here on the syndicate.