Curious How Many SMB Owners Would Take on Growth Partner

July 24, 2025

by a searcher from California State University, Long Beach in Las Vegas, NV, USA

My partner and I have bought and grown multiple SMB’s in different spaces and are actively looking for our next one. One thing we’ve thrown around is finding a successful SMB owner who’s excited about the idea of bringing on a partner to grow with as they continue to be CEO. We’d buy in of course. How many current SMB owners would consider this? I’d welcome comments, questions, concerns, shoot me the middle finger emoji haha .. I want to hear it all! TIA 🤙🏻

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Reply by a searcher
from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Minneapolis, MN, USA

Love the framing of this. I’m on the other side of the table—actively looking to buy a great business—but I’ve had similar thoughts. There are a lot of owners who don’t want to retire yet, but do want growth, de-risking, or just someone to build the next chapter with. Feels like the right “partner” pitch, done well, could unlock deals others are missing. Would love to connect and hear more about how you’ve structured past partnerships—especially where the owner stays involved. Might be some overlap in how we’re thinking.

Reply by a searcher
from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC, USA

Curious to follow this. I’m in a somewhat similar (albeit different) position. I’ve had successful exits and I’m no longer looking to take on the CEO role, but I occasionally come across acquisition opportunities that align with my background, where I’d be interested in both investing and taking on something like a growth partner role. In most of these cases, the founders are looking to fully step away, so there's also the need to bring in the right CEO to take over. It’s definitely a more nuanced and complex puzzle to pull together all the pieces.

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