SMEVentures is a team of entrepreneurs who buy and run great Australian and New Zealand businesses, and the platform that backs them. If you own a business, one of us could be your successor. If you want to buy and run one, everything we have built exists to get you there.
We started in 2019 with a simple belief: the best successor for a great business is one committed entrepreneur who runs it in person. full-time. Eight entrepreneurs have joined us since. Six have bought businesses (two currently searching), ten acquisitions in all, and every one of those businesses is still run by the person who bought it.
Our proprietary database and tech-enabled origination put you in front of business owners from the first day of your search. You are having real conversations while others are still building lists.
Our team combines hands-on deal experience with AI-enabled workflows to help you move faster without cutting corners. From deal preparation and diligence to structuring, you get the expertise, tools, and support to make informed decisions.
Our network of HNWIs, family offices, and institutions makes the capital easier to raise, and adds value beyond the cheque.
You join a community of SMEVentures entrepreneurs at different phases of the journey. We collaboratively assess opportunities, share learnings, and connect the pre- and post-acquisition journies.
In 2012 I set out to buy and run a business and raised the first traditional search fund to come out of INSEAD. I then joined the world's first search fund accelerator as its first employee, where I learned the model inside out. Later I saw the chance to bring search funds to ANZ, and the value a platform could bring to searchers in this market. I founded SMEVentures in 2019 to be that partner, with a network of investors, a proper deal engine, and an experienced team. We backed the region's first search fund acquisition in 2021, and ten acquisitions later, we the same for every amazing entrepreneur who joins our team.
Jake sits down with entrepreneurs, operators and investors who have been through acquisition. Listen to real conversations about what actually happens when you buy and run a business.
We’ll talk through where you are, what you’re considering, and whether SMEVentures is the right fit.