Find a great business. Buy it. Run it as CEO.

SMEVentures is a partner on a traditional search fund, built for Australia and New Zealand. You run the search and become the CEO. We bring the deal flow, the capital network, the infrastructure and a team that has closed six acquisitions in this market.

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New business owner walking on a tree-lined street between modern office buildings with hills and a bird in the sky.

HOW IT WORKS

How searching with SMEVentures works

Partner

We’re selective about who we back. We look for operators with commercial experience and the temperament to run one business for the next decade. If that sounds like you, the first conversation is with Jake.

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Search

Once we partner, you get the infrastructure, the deal-flow tools and access to our investor network. You find the right business. We run the back office.

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Acquire

You’re hunting for one business to buy and run as CEO. We work beside you on sourcing, valuation and due diligence, and coach you through the negotiation. When you find it, you raise the acquisition equity alongside us.

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Operate

You take over and you run it. We stay close on strategy and growth, and the business is yours to lead. Keep the team, keep the brand and build on what the business owner created.

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WHAT CHANGES

What changes when you search with SMEVentures

Everything we’ve built points at one outcome. You find a high-quality business at a fair price, and you close it.

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The search launch machine

A searcher’s first months usually disappear into building sourcing, outreach and tracking systems from scratch. You start with ours. A database of more than 400,000 ANZ companies, tech-enabled filtering and the outreach systems that surface off-market businesses, so you’re in front of owners while others are still building spreadsheets.

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A capital network you raise into

When you find the business, you raise the equity alongside us, into a network of family offices and institutions who understand search funds and the ANZ market. We open the door and back the raise. You do the work. It’s part of how strong operators prove themselves.

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Coaching from six closed deals

Weekly sessions with Jake and operators who have closed in this market. Six acquisitions of pattern recognition, applied to your specific search.

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You stay independent

We add experienced support inside the traditional search fund structure. We don’t replace it with a fund. The search is yours to run and the business is yours to lead.

THE STORY

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Built by a searcher who was inside the original model.

I’ve been in search funds since 2011. I started as a searcher, then became the first employee at the world’s first search fund accelerator. I saw what the fund model gave searchers, and what it took from them. I built SMEVentures to sit inside the traditional search fund structure and add experienced support, rather than replace it with a fund. Six acquisitions later, every one of those businesses is still running under the entrepreneur who bought it.

Jake Nicholson, Managing Director

Read the full story →

THE RECORD

Every searcher we’ve backed has acquired a business.

In the traditional search fund model, 43% of searchers never close a deal (Stanford GSB, 2024). We’re six for six. Every business is still operating under the entrepreneur who took over.

Searchers backed

14.7 mo

Average time to acquire

US and Canada average is around 20 months.

Acquisitions completed

AUD $75M+

Capital deployed

“I started late September and by Christmas the capital raise was done. The moment that money landed in the accounts, the email outreach started, and the next week I was having business owner conversations.”

Stijn De Vriendt, CEO of Custom Transport Equipment

“Overall good experience, really great outcome, and zero complaints. The access to the investor base is an incredible gift to the searchers who come in.”

Kylie Wright, CEO of SPL Security Solutions

Meet the entrepreneurs →

LEARN FROM THE FIELD

The Search Fund Podcast

Jake sits down with searchers, operators, and investors who have been through the ETA process. Real conversations about what actually happens when you buy and run a business.

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EPISODE 1

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Guest description placeholder. One-line summary of what the conversation covers.

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Ready to search? Start with a conversation.

Book a 30-minute call with our team. We'll talk through where you are, what you're considering, and whether SMEVentures is the right fit.

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Or email hello@smeventures.com