Our Partnership Philosophy

Founded in 1994, SEP is one of the early pioneers of the "partner with management" investment model. Our conviction is that great leaders build great companies. We believe there is no substitute for experience when it comes to building a leading business services company. Exceptional companies are not built around products or patents and market leaders are not created overnight. Rather, success requires a mix of executive vision, diligent execution, and patient capital.

Find. Partner. Build.

It sounds easy, but it takes an experienced firm like SEP to properly execute the strategy.

  • Partner ::

    we work alongside our executives in a true spirit of partnership, offering aggressive compensation structures and equity ownership opportunities for our CEOs and their teams

  • Find ::

    we actively recruit respected CEOs, as well as proven management teams within existing organizations, who have previously built successful enterprises

  • Build ::

    we are not constrained by predefined holding periods or liquidity timelines, allowing us to work in conjunction with management to create long term value with lower risk

CEO Traits

While we recognize that each CEO is unique with different skillsets and prior experiences, our partners typically possess operational discipline and deep expertise within a particular business services niche, as well as:

  • Partnership mentality and fit with SEP
  • Unquestionable integrity
  • Prior CEO/COO role within industry of interest
  • $35MM+ P&L responsibility with successful oversight and management of relevant business functions
  • Acquisition and post-merger integration experience
  • Knowledge of competitive landscape and initial target list
  • Clear understanding of operating/financial metrics and drivers
  • Ability to attract and recruit key management team members
  • Strategic vision to build a leading company
  • Entrepreneurial spirit with desire to have some "skin in the game" through a direct investment alongside SEP