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Search Fund Ventures (“SFV”) supports acquisition entrepreneurs as both a capital provider and strategic partner. Co-founded by Sean Smith and Nick Bryant, this Chicago-based firm is dedicated to democratizing access to small business investing, offering viable succession paths for business owners, and driving sustainable economic growth alongside high-caliber entrepreneurs. On Monday, SFV announced the successful first close of SFV Fund I, with a goal of raising up to $10M from private investors and small family offices for the entire fund. This milestone marks the beginning of SFV’s journey in the entrepreneurial acquisition space.
SFV plans to market its second close in October and will deploy the capital from this first close over the next three years to build a diversified portfolio of cash-flowing small businesses operating in attractive, non-cyclical industries. The firm intends to back 20 to 25 deals across self-funded searchers, independent sponsors, and traditional searchers with equity gaps in the U.S. and Canada. SFV only invests in live deals under LOI (they do not invest during the search phase), deploying an average check of $100,000 to $200,000 per acquisition (potentially higher after its second close). They have already placed four soft commitments and hope to close most of them in the coming months.
Sean Smith, Managing Partner, added: “We aim to add value to prospective portfolio companies beyond capital by supporting with key strategic priorities. This is especially relevant for inorganic value creation. For example, we are actively supporting some of the searchers we’ve offered soft commitments with by sourcing add-on acquisitions.”
Jason Ehrlich of Fruition Capital will be supporting SFV as an advisor and The Investments Lawyers PLLC led formation for the fund.
About the Partners:
Sean Smith began his career at CIBC, where he supported over $11 billion in financings and worked on major transactions, such as the Canada Goose IPO and CIBC’s acquisition of PrivateBancorp. After an entrepreneurial stint in the co-living sector, Sean joined Applico, where he played a key role in building the M&A advisory practice and launching the firm’s inaugural investment fund. Sean combines his experience in enterprise-grade transactional finance, entrepreneurship and investing to evaluate small business investments.
Nick Bryant is a tech entrepreneur with over a decade of experience and a portfolio of companies valued at over $200M. He has worked with NASA and Lockheed Martin and co-founded several ventures, including an online casino, Arcanium, Sharpspring, and Procurement Sciences. Nick manages over 50 businesses and has personally invested $2M in SFV. His venture-focused perspective complements Sean’s financial analysis expertise.
