Baton Raises $10M Series A to Lead America's Future of Small Business Sales

With an estimated $10 trillion in small business assets expected to change hands over the next decade, Baton revolutionizes how small business owners and buyers achieve success

NEW YORK, Jan. 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Baton, the leading marketplace for small and medium-sized business acquisitions, today announced its Series A raise of $10 million, led by Obvious Ventures with participation from Burst Capital, FJ Labs, Fluent Ventures, and Spencer Rascoff (co-founder and former CEO of Zillow) via 75 & Sunny. Previous investors Divergent Capital, Bloomberg Beta, and Zeno Ventures also participated in this round. The new funding, which brings Baton's total raised to $15.5 million after a seed round led by Giant Ventures, will accelerate the growth of Baton's marketplace to support even more small business owners. Baton's success rate with owners who are selling their business is 10 times higher than current market solutions, with 70% successfully closing through Baton.

Millions of small business owners are expected to exit within the next 5-10 years as baby boomers prepare to retire, triggering an unprecedented $10 trillion wealth transfer, often referred to as "the Silver Tsunami". At the same time, a generation of young buyers aspire to embark on their entrepreneurial journey, motivated by changes in work culture stemming from COVID-19 and the acceleration of technology to better operate small businesses. However, current listing sites  are filled with low-quality entries with incomplete or inaccurate information, a lack of verified data to help buyers underwrite a deal quickly, and little to no support after the initial connection is made. Not only does Baton hold a significantly higher close rate, but its use of technology enables  a 50% cost savings compared to traditional solutions.

"The sale of a business can seem daunting — our team comes from a background of family business owners and we have seen it firsthand," said Chat Joglekar, CEO and co-founder of Baton. "Not only is our team dedicated to ensuring business ownership is attainable for anyone, we deeply care about small business owners and support them through each and every step of this process."

Baton empowers small business owners with the data to make the right decisions and navigate the sale process with clarity and certainty. For owners, Baton starts with a free valuation that analyzes their financials, market trends, and industry benchmarks, and offers a free Private Listing, which allows an owner to gauge buyer interest without any monetary commitment. On a paid plan, Baton creates a class-leading listing with reconciled financials and native data room, and helps guide the owner through buyer interest, negotiations, and closing in half of the time as a traditional sale process. Browsing available listings in all 50 states, buyers love the listing quality, the ability to underwrite a deal quickly, and move to negotiations. Baton partners with dozens of lenders, accountants, lawyers, and other professionals to streamline each stage of the transaction. These partnerships provide sellers and buyers with the tailored expertise they need for a smooth and successful sale process.

"We studied the category and identified Baton as the leading marketplace for business ownership transfer," said James Joaquin, Co-founder of Obvious Ventures. "Small businesses are the backbone of the US economy, and we're excited about how the Baton team is making small business ownership attainable for everyone."

"Baton allowed me to pass my dream business since childhood into the right hands with confidence and ease," said Gus Reckel, founder of L'imprimerie, a French bakery and cafe in New York City. "I'm incredibly grateful to the team at Baton for making me feel like getting the best possible experience in selling my business was their top priority, and because of that, my dream will live on for the years I enjoy my retirement and beyond."

To learn more about Baton and start selling or buying your next business, visit https://www.batonmarket.com/.

About Baton:
Baton is the leading marketplace for SMB acquisitions. With a 10X higher success rate than previous top solutions and a 70% close rate, Baton is the best place for sellers to navigate the sale of their small business, and for buyers to start their entrepreneurial journey.

SOURCE Baton