We partner with searchers on a traditional search fund. The structure stays intact, with you in the entrepreneur's seat and a distributed investor base behind you. The partnership raises your probability of finding a high-quality business at a reasonable multiple.
Apply now →THE STRUCTURE
Other accelerators are funds. They pool capital from LPs, deploy it across a portfolio of searchers, and manage that portfolio for a return. The fund has its own fiduciary duties, deployment pressure, and timeline. The searcher takes capital from the fund and sits inside that portfolio.
SMEVentures is built differently. There is no fund. Your investors invest directly into your company's cap table, alongside SMEVentures. We earn alongside you on the same liquidity event, on the same terms, on the same timeline. The economics follow the traditional search fund convention: up to 25% common equity for individual searchers, 30% for partnered searches, vesting on tenure and performance.
Investors hold ordinary shares directly in your company. No pooled fund, no single controlling investor. This is the structure that has carried the search fund model since 1984, and it is what we preserve.
The board is composed of the investors who backed you, plus SMEVentures. The traditional search fund structure keeps the searcher in the operator's role, not as a portfolio asset.
No fund deployment pressure. Search capital is sized for the typical 12 to 18 month search. SMEVentures earns on the same liquidity event you do, so the time horizon matches across the table.
Deal flow, pattern recognition, and coaching from six acquisitions across ANZ. The partnership materially raises your probability of finding a high-quality business at a reasonable multiple.
You are about to make a big life decision, and today you have far more choices than I did when I launched my search fund in 2016. Accelerators did not exist for search funders, and only a few dozen of the most entrepreneurial people had pointed themselves toward buying a business through ETA, mostly due to lack of information and limited access to capital.
Today you have a choice of investors, accelerators, and communities. If you choose wisely, you are setting yourself up for success as a first-time CEO.
I came out of the fund-model accelerator world. I saw what it gave searchers and what it took away. I built SMEVentures as a partner model deliberately, because I believe the traditional search fund structure produces the best outcomes when you keep it intact and add experienced support inside it, not above it.
With us, you get more than a template and access to capital. That is the table entry. You get an end-to-end partner with the infrastructure and experience to guide your process and help you succeed, plus a clear path to capital.
As you explore next steps, have a look at the blog and download the free resources on this site. And if you like what you see, come chat with us at hello@smeventures.com. I would be happy to answer any questions as you explore the right option.
Good luck on your search, and I hope to speak with you soon.
Kind regards,
Jake
Founder & Managing Director, SMEVentures. INSEAD MBA. Entrepreneur in Residence, INSEAD. In search funds since 2011.
WHAT'S ALREADY BUILT
Tools, templates, and people that are ready from day one. So you can focus on finding the right business.
Industry research, valuation benchmarks, and ANZ deal data. You'll know what “good” looks like before you make an offer.
A cohort of searchers across ANZ at various stages. People who understand the grind of sourcing and the loneliness of due diligence.
Legal templates, CRM access, financial models, and admin support. The operational backbone is already built. You plug in and start searching.
Search capital funds a market-rate salary so you can commit up to two years to the search full-time. You earn equity through the operator role after acquisition.
TRACK RECORD
GO DEEPER
Deal mechanics, sourcing pattern recognition, post-acquisition operating notes, and ANZ market signals. Drawn from six acquisitions in this market.
COMMON QUESTIONS
A search fund is an investment vehicle in which an entrepreneur raises capital to find, acquire, and run one established business as CEO. The model was developed at Stanford Graduate School of Business and Harvard Business School in 1984. The Stanford 2024 study reports a 35.1% historical IRR across nearly 700 funds in the US and Canada. In Australia and New Zealand, the model is newer but growing quickly. SMEVentures launched in 2019 and supported the region's first search fund acquisition in 2021.
SMEVentures partners alongside you on the same liquidity event, on the same terms, on the same timeline. There is no fund. Your investors invest directly into your company's cap table.
We add experienced support inside the traditional search fund structure, not above it. End-to-end partner with infrastructure, deal flow, capital network, and coaching from six acquisitions.
Most failures come from sourcing problems (not finding the right business in time) or post-acquisition operating challenges. Our model addresses both with proprietary deal sourcing and hands-on coaching from operators who have closed deals.
No. We back people with commercial experience and the temperament to run one business for a decade. Background matters less than how you think and how you operate.
Up to 25% common equity for individual searchers, 30% for partnered searches, vesting on tenure and performance. Search capital funds a market-rate salary during the search.
Median time to close in ANZ across our portfolio is 14.7 months. Search capital is sized for the typical 12 to 18 month search.
Profitable, established small to mid-market businesses in Australia and New Zealand. Diverse sectors including energy controls, IT services, recycling, training, custom equipment, and security.
We strongly recommend full-time search. The opportunity cost of part-time is high. Sourcing momentum, due diligence depth, and negotiation timing all suffer. Search capital funds your salary so you can commit fully.
You take over as CEO. SMEVentures stays involved on strategy and growth via board representation, but the business is yours to lead. The intent is to keep the team, keep the brand, build on what the previous owner created.
If you are a high-calibre operator looking to acquire and operate a business, you may be a good fit for our team. We would love to hear from you and explore whether a conversation makes sense.