Pacific Lake Partners

What Pacific Lake Partners does

Pacific Lake Partners is a private investment firm founded in 2009 and headquartered in Boston, MA, with a secondary office in Palo Alto. The firm operates as a dedicated search fund sponsor, providing search-phase acquisition capital (typically $400,000–$500,000 per search) and ongoing operational support to a network of search fund entrepreneurs, who are generally MBA graduates or first-time operators acquiring small to lower middle-market businesses. Over 16 years, Pacific Lake has supported more than 50 portfolio companies and CEOs across sectors including software, healthcare, B2B services, and consumer services.

The firm's model combines capital deployment with hands-on operating partnership under a long-term hold strategy. Beyond search and acquisition financing, Pacific Lake operates Compass, an internal resource portal aggregating playbooks, templates, and operating guidance for portfolio CEOs, complemented by a biennial entrepreneur conference (most recently Park City, 2024). Portfolio holdings span operating businesses such as Datacor (process manufacturing ERP), Raptor Technologies (school safety software), Vector Disease Control International (public health services), RIA in a Box (RIA compliance software), Kantola (HR training, distributed via SHRM), Calyx Senior Living (senior care), and newer acquisitions Eleven Software, Skillwell, and Stanley Ruth.

Pacific Lake maintains dedicated technology leadership, with Scott Barstow serving as CTO and Operating Partner overseeing the Compass platform and AI-enabled tooling initiatives such as the AI Starter Kit for portfolio operators. Revenue derives from management fees on committed capital and carried interest on realizations, consistent with a traditional search fund sponsor structure. With 11–50 employees and a dual-coast footprint, Pacific Lake functions as a focused, scalable investment platform rather than a high-volume fund manager.

Name

Pacific Lake Partners

Legal name

Pacific Lake Partners, LLC

Website

https://pacificlake.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pacific Lake Partners is a Boston-based search fund investment firm founded in 2009 that provides acquisition capital ($400K–$500K per search) and operational support to search fund entrepreneurs acquiring and operating small to lower middle-market businesses, with 50+ portfolio companies supported across software, healthcare, and services sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Search Fund Investment Services

NAICS

All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Micro-PE / Lower Middle Market ETA Funds (FSANALAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Traditional Search Funds (2-year model) (FSANALAA), Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)

Keywords

• Search fund investing
• Search fund capital
• Acquisition financing
• Entrepreneurship support
• Portfolio management

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Investment Management: Pacific Lake generates returns through equity investments in search fund companies. They provide initial search capital to entrepreneurs and then participate in acquisition financing when companies are acquired. Returns come from portfolio company exits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Pacific Lake Partners provides search fund investment capital and mentorship to entrepreneurs pursuing the acquisition and operation of a small or mid-sized business. The firm supplies initial search capital (typically $400,000-$500,000) during the search phase, participates in acquisition financing when a target is identified, and delivers end-to-end support including board building, strategic guidance, and access to a network of operators and investors. It also operates the Compass resource portal for portfolio company CEOs.

Product overview

Pacific Lake Partners operates as a search fund investment and mentorship platform that supports entrepreneurs throughout the complete search fund lifecycle. The offering consists of the Pacific Lake Platform for investment and mentorship services, the Compass resource portal for portfolio company operational support, and privacy/compliance frameworks. The company does not offer a single unified software product but rather provides investment guidance, educational resources, and access to a network of investors and operators. Pacific Lake's portfolio includes various software and B2B services companies acquired through search funds, including RIA in a Box, Banyan Software, Clariti, NovoPath, Datacor, Eleven Software, and others across sectors including software, healthcare services, B2B services, and consumer services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pacific Lake Platform
• Compass

Quantifiable outcome

• 63% of search funds acquire a company
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHRM is a strategic partner for Kantola Productions, one of Pacific Lake's portfolio companies. This partnership enables Kantola to tap into top legal experts in the field of HR compliance and connect to thousands of HR professionals through SHRM's network.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Acquire or Build: Acquire or Build is a leading community and capital provider for search fund and ETA entrepreneurs. It serves the same operator-investor ecosystem as Pacific Lake, providing capital, mentorship, and educational resources to aspiring searchers pursuing traditional acquisitions.
• Lofty Capital: Lofty Capital is a search fund investment firm providing capital and mentorship to MBA-led entrepreneurs acquiring small businesses. It operates with a comparable thesis to Pacific Lake — backing individual searchers through end-to-end support — and competes for the same pool of high-quality operators.
• Trilogy Search Partners: Trilogy Search Partners is a search fund sponsor providing capital and operational support to entrepreneurs pursuing acquisitions. It is a direct peer to Pacific Lake in the search fund financing ecosystem, targeting the same MBA pipeline and similar SMB acquisition profiles.
• Scalare Advisors: Scalare Advisors provides capital and advisory services to search fund entrepreneurs and ETA operators in Australia and globally. It overlaps with Pacific Lake's search fund investor model, particularly for cross-border or internationally-oriented searchers.
• FJH Capital: FJH Capital is a dedicated search fund investor providing capital and support to MBA entrepreneurs acquiring small-to-mid market businesses. It is a direct competitor to Pacific Lake for top searchers and operates a similar end-to-end support model across the search fund lifecycle.

Broad incumbents

• Banyan Software: Banyan Software is both a Pacific Lake portfolio company and an acquirer of vertical market software businesses. As a strategic acquirer in the same SMB software space Pacific Lake searchers target, it competes for acquisition targets and offers a similar buy-and-build model at larger scale.

Emerging players

• MicroAcquire: MicroAcquire operates an online marketplace for buying and selling small online businesses, serving many of the same search fund and ETA acquirers as Pacific Lake. It is comparable as an enablement layer for SMB acquisition deal flow that Pacific Lake searchers may use.
• Harvard Business School Rock Center Search Funds: HBS's Rock Center for Entrepreneurship supports MBA search fund activity through coursework, networking, and alumni engagement. As one of the three primary searcher-producing institutions alongside Stanford GSB and Berkeley Haas, it is a comparable institutional pillar of the search fund ecosystem.
• Stanford GSB Search Fund Program: Stanford's Center for Entrepreneurial Studies runs the most influential search fund program globally, producing the annual Stanford Search Fund Study and serving as a primary funnel of searchers to investors like Pacific Lake. It is comparable as the institutional anchor of the search fund ecosystem Pacific Lake operates in.

Others

• Bridgepoint Consulting (Search Fund Capital): Bridgepoint and similar boutique advisory firms provide due diligence and transaction support to search fund operators. They are adjacent ecosystem participants that Pacific Lake searchers rely on for closing acquisitions, comparable as professional service partners in the search fund value chain.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pacific-lake-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments11 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pacific Lake Partners