FAQs

General Questions

Who can / should become a Ascenum Member?

Ascenum Memberships are for private business owners and executives of small and mid-sized businesses based in the United States.

Do I need to provide confidential personal or business information?

No social security number, account information, or employer identification number is necessary to become a Member, generate a business valuation, gain access to our marketplace, participate in our Member community or navigate our Learning Center.

What happens to the data and information I provide to the Ascenum?

The use of the data and information you provide enables us to deliver the prescribed services and is governed by the Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use for the Service. We encourage you to visit and review the Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use periodically as they can change from time to time. If you have any additional questions, please contact us at support@ascenumnetwork.com.

Can I join if my only goal is to sell my business?

Yes, Ascenum is here for you every step of the way in your journey. While a business sale may be an end goal for some Members, many Members come to Ascenum to get the help they need in Ascenum Marketplace building and growing their company.

What kind of content is provided in the Learning Center?

The Ascenum team moderates and facilitates community engagement. Content highlights include insights and intellectual property shared by our Service Providers, curated links to 3rd party public content and articles relevant to our Members, optional participation surveys / results, and periodic member-to-member forums.

Do Ascenum Members come from all industry sectors?

Yes. Any private business owner in the United States can be a Member and benefit from some / all Business Valuation, Community, Learning Center and Marketplace features.

Marketplace

How do Members identify Service Providers within the Marketplace who meet their requirements?

Members use intuitive, easy-to-follow service request templates to fully describe their requirements for Growth Capital, Exit/Sale Advisory or Business Performance/Improvement Services. The templates make it easy to specify and customize the need for service.

Meanwhile, our Marketplace Service Providers have been curated by Ascenum, and each Service Provider completes a detailed profile of their service(s), including the same parameters that Members use to describe a service request.

Using both the Member requirements and the Service Provider profiles, Marketplace algorithms then present matches to our Member, who can then determine whether they wish to purchase a Summit Pass that will unlock the identity and contact information of matched Service Providers.

Can Members explore / learn about Service Provider matches without paying a fee?

Yes. Ascenum encourages all Members to explore, learn and investigate options to improve their business via Marketplace connections.

Therefore, Members can complete and modify a service request template in the Marketplace as many times and as often as they like. Each service request will result in a limited Match Listing, showing Members “headline info” on Service Providers precisely matched to their service request.

If a Member needs to refine and run multiple Searches / Matches, can search logic be retained / refined?

Yes, and very easily. Each time a Member is presented with a Match Listing, there is an option to Save the search parameters, allowing the Member to build an inventory of Searches to re-use, or to access and modify/refine for a future Search.

How does a “Summit Pass” help a Member connect to Service Providers?

When a Member has interest in a specific limited Match Listing associated with a service request template, the Summit Pass “unlocks” detailed profile and contact information about each Service Provider in the Match Listing, allowing a Member to proceed, on their own terms and using Ascenum tools to contact specific Providers for service discussions.

Ascenum thought carefully about the Match Listing and Summit Pass. We want all of our Members to search, learn and see what may be possible from our Service Providers. The Match Listing, prior to purchase of the Summit Pass, allows Members to see the possibilities from a specific search. The Summit Pass, and associated fee, allows the member to initiate the next step, with full Network Service Provider information / detail, when they are truly ready to act on a new service opportunity / project.

If I purchase a Summit Pass, what kind of information is associated with each matched service provider that can help me compare and qualify them?

Summit Pass holders see a full profile of service parameters and contact details for matched providers. Agreements to engage between Members and Providers are completely controlled by Members, initiated and facilitated by the matching information Ascenum provides, monitored for recordkeeping and review, but completed outside Ascenum with pricing details agreed to between the Member and a Network Service Provider.

Once a Summit Pass has been purchased, Ascenum facilitates direct communication between Members and matched Service Providers through our Marketplace tools. In consideration for a Member’s privacy, these communications are initiated and controlled by the Member, not the Service Provider.

Members can purchase a Summit Pass to reveal the contact information of Ascenum Marketplace curated Providers matching their Business Characteristics and Service Requirements. This allows a Member to identify and communicate with Growth Capital providers, Business Exit/Sale Advisors, or Business Performance/Improvement firms without being solicited.

What happens if a Member isn't satisfied with their Marketplace experience?

Ascenum has focused our Marketplace design and user experience on Member satisfaction. It is important to emphasize that the Marketplace is a capability for matching/introducing Members to Providers who are specifically aligned to a Member's service requirements. This Matching, and the Member's option to purchase a Summit Pass to reveal Provider details are designed to simplify, accelerate and significantly improve how a Member finds Providers for their high impact requirements. Ultimately, and realistically, it does not guarantee service provision satisfaction. That, by design, is controlled between the Member and an engaged Provider.

Should a Member engage with a Provider and find the experience unsatisfactory, Ascenum is ready to take feedback, improve the Marketplace going forward, and revisit a Member’s Summit Pass transaction.

What are Business Performance/Improvement Services?

It’s a broad Ascenum Marketplace term for Service Providers who help Members address needs across various business functions (e.g. Marketing, Technology, Finance, Tax, Strategy, Operations, Security etc.)

Membership & Benefits

What is the cost of an Ascenum Membership? What benefits are associated with Membership?

Currently, Ascenum Membership is free

Ascenum’s purpose is to help Members on their business journey and connect them to curated Providers in our Marketplace. Currently, our Member benefits also include a Snapshot Business Valuation which provides Members with a digitally displayed, estimated business valuation range, access to selective Community features & content, along with aggregated results for unlimited supplier searches in The Marketplace.

How does Ascenum help me determine a valuation for my business?

Ascenum uses a licensed proprietary business valuation engine to generate a business valuation estimate based on data and information you provide, along with other information that may be available in the public domain for your industry. The business valuation generated by the online valuation tool will likely differ from the amount that would be realized on a sale, because of information not available to us or other sale factors that may be present, or perhaps even the data that you provide us.