Meridian Specialty Group

🔥Active· Negotiating a program due-diligence retainer

Specialty insurance — E&S programs

Next action: Follow up on retainer proposal — Sarah owes redlineslast touch 2026-07-10

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Business Context

What this company cares about and where we fit

What they do: Hybrid MGA/wholesaler building out a portfolio of niche E&S programs.
Priorities: Acquiring two program books this year; needs outside diligence capacity.
Where Siryous helps: Program due-diligence retainer — underwriting quality, data, and tech assessment on acquisition targets.

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Our footprint inside the org

Origin: Sarah Lindqvist and I served on an industry data-standards working group in 2024.
Dynamics: Sarah has budget authority; CFO Neil is the skeptic to win over.

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Now: Get the retainer scope and rate card agreed — proposal is with Sarah.
Positioning: Emphasize speed — their last diligence took 11 weeks with a Big-4 firm.

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Nothing here yet.

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＋ Log interaction

2026-07-10— Email(w/ Sarah Lindqvist)
Sent the program due-diligence retainer proposal: monthly retainer + per-deal sprint fee, 3-week standard turnaround. Sarah acknowledged, said legal/CFO review this week. Next: her redlines.
2026-07-03— Zoom(w/ Sarah Lindqvist)
Scoping call. Two acquisition targets live: a garage-keepers book and a small builders-risk program. Neil (CFO) skeptical of outside spend — his objection is 'we have underwriters for this.' Positioned diligence as protecting the balance sheet, not second-guessing underwriting. Next: proposal by end of week.
2026-06-15— Coffee(w/ Sarah Lindqvist)
Quarterly catch-up in Chicago. Meridian board approved the two-acquisition plan. Sarah asked directly whether I'd take a diligence retainer — said yes in principle. Next: she sends the target profiles.