Relay Investments

Relay Investments operates as a Venture Capital firm that backs talented, young, and aspiring entrepreneurs, who plan to acquire a small or medium-sized business (SME) primarily via a Search Fund. We are active in the US, Canada, and other markets. To date, we have invested in 21 countries on 6 continents. We find hidden gems in the $1-3mm EBITDA range by using the search fund model to invest in highly motivated entrepreneurs, typically graduates of top-tier MBA programs. This lower end of the private equity market provides an outsize return opportunity because other financial and strategic players find it too small to enter. We fund acquisitions of healthy businesses operating in fragmented markets under stable regulatory and political regimes. These companies tend to have been operating profitably for at least 3 years with B2B, recurring revenue business models, and low capital intensity. Minimal customer and supplier concentration provides us with a margin of safety. The owners of our target companies generally seek retirement after a long career and view our searchers as younger versions of themselves, allowing us oftentimes to pay lower prices in competitive processes. The low entry multiples allow significant multiple expansion to improve investor IRR.