Your legacy, your people,
our partnership
We partner with retiring owners of successful local businesses to plan and execute succession — whether you already have a successor or need one.
Have a successor in mind? We bring capital, strategic support, and operational discipline so they can thrive in the next chapter.
No obvious successor? We step in to identify, train, or provide new leadership so your business doesn’t just “wind down.”
Just starting to think about succession? We help you understand your options, get your numbers ready, and put together an exit that fits your goals and timeline.
Our core values
Transparency & Accountability: We communicate openly with owners, employees, and partners. We share the numbers, own our decisions, and hold ourselves to the the same standards as we hold our leaders.
Put People First: Your team isn’t a line item and we know business is all about people. Supporting employees and leaders is a core guiding principle in every decision we make.
Empower Small Business & Local Leaders: Small businesses are the backbone of the American Dream. We develop the next generation of local owners and operators.
Create Value for the Team and Community: We look for ways to grow opportunity — better careers for employees, more stability for their families, and long‑term value in the communities we serve.
Our Partnership Approach
Flexibility that fits your exit
We provide capital for growth, succession, or a full exit. Together, we design a structure that can include:
A full sale so you can retire
A phased sale over time
A partial sale where you keep meaningful equity and stay involved
Your nest egg and your next chapter
For many owners, the business is their largest asset and their retirement plan. We help you:
Turn business value into a retirement nest egg
Decide how much to keep vs. how much to sell
Clarify your role after the transition — from full retirement to advisory to continued leadership
Growth & operations that protect your legacy
We’re investors and family business operators. We focus on:
Keeping the business resilient and independent from a single person
Building systems and teams so the company can thrive for generations to come
Creating upside for leadership and employees
What we actually do
We buy or invest in established small businesses, support new leadership transitions and take responsibility for the next chapter — so you can unlock your nest egg, protect your team, and hand over the keys with confidence.
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Help you clarify goals, timeline, and options with no cost, no obligation advisory based on thousands of small businesses exits we’ve seen.
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We can buy your business, providing a full sale, partial sale, or phased exit strategy based on your needs. We can also partner with you or your leadership team as an investor to support with succession and growth.
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We will step in ourselves as leaders of the business or support the next generation of your leadership team.
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Regardless of the structure, we will stay engaged to help grow the business through strategy, systems, and selective acquisitions, protecting your people and legacy.
Our Team
Our partners have diverse backgrounds, spanning Fortune 50 investing and capital transactions, entrepreneurship and software development, and family business leadership
Sean Smith
Founder & Managing Partner
Sean partners with owners of family‑ and founder‑led businesses to plan and execute smooth successions. He’s helped local companies grow through add‑on acquisitions, strategic planning, and operational improvements — drawing on experience advising large corporations on over $11 billion of capital raises and M&A. What matters most to him now is investing that expertise and capital back into local businesses and the leaders who run them.
Nick Bryant
Founder & Head of Innovation
Nick is a lifelong entrepreneur and technologist who has built and scaled multiple software and online businesses. With engineering roles at NASA and Lockheed Martin and deep expertise in artificial intelligence, he focuses on bringing modern tools and technology to Main Street businesses — from better data and reporting to more resilient operations. He also manages a portfolio of more than 50 businesses and supports their leaders with innovation and strategic growth.
Matt Silva
Investor & Operating Partner
Matt is the CEO of CIS Group, a second‑generation family business providing A/V products, workflow solutions, and managed services. As an operator and active investor, he understands firsthand what it means to inherit a family business — and to prepare it for the next chapter. Matt has partnered with Search Fund Ventures to support small business leaders on strategy, operations, and leadership transitions.
Your legacy, your people, our partnership
Search Fund Ventures partners with owners of strong, local businesses to plan succession, protect employees, and create long‑term value.