What Horizon Partners does

Horizon Partners is a privately held boutique M&A advisory firm founded in 2010 by Mike Firmage and Sandy Kory, headquartered in San Francisco with operational presence in Salt Lake City and New York City, and a fully remote team distributed across every U.S. time zone. The firm specializes in advising bootstrapped, founder-led technology companies — primarily in software, SaaS, fintech, EdTech, and digital media — through sell-side, recapitalization, growth investment, and merger transactions ranging from sub-$100M to over $300M in enterprise value.

The firm's core offering is its proprietary 'Artisanal M&A' methodology, which wraps operational advisory (interim CFO functions, accrual/GAAP financial statement preparation, pricing optimization, product positioning, and team building) inside the transaction-success fee rather than billing separately. This contrasts with the templatized, process-only model used by most competitors. The firm is heavily relationship-led: average time from first contact to close is 2.9 years, and the team works with a deliberately small client portfolio per year. Distribution is driven by thought-leadership content (Rule of 40 analysis, PLG commentary, M&A best-practice blog posts), LinkedIn presence, outbound prospecting by a dedicated PLG Analyst, and referrals from a network of past clients.

Horizon Partners monetizes exclusively via transaction success fees tied to deal close, with no disclosed retainers or recurring fees. In 2022, the firm extended its platform with HorizonVC, a separate seed-stage venture capital fund co-led by Sandy Kory that invests in product-led software businesses and counts past M&A clients among its LPs. The firm has closed 10+ trackable transactions over its history — including Lemon Squeezy to Stripe, Mathway to Chegg, PDQ's TA Associates recapitalization, Uscreen's $150M PSG investment, and Roon Labs to HARMAN/Samsung — and has been named Boutique Investment Bank of the Year multiple times by the M&A Atlas Awards and The M&A Advisor.

Name

Horizon Partners

Legal name

Horizon Partners

Website

https://horizonpartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Horizon Partners is a boutique M&A advisory firm founded in 2010 that serves bootstrapped, founder-led technology companies through a high-touch 'artisanal' advisory model bundling operational support into transaction success fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Banking & M&A Advisory

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

M&A Advisory (Buy-Side & Sell-Side) (BPAHAOAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Industry-Specialist / Sector-Focused M&A Advisory (FSAEAGAJ)

Keywords

• Boutique M&A advisory
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Investment banking services
• Technology transaction advisory
• Growth equity advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. M&A Advisory Fees: Horizon Partners earns success fees (a percentage of transaction value) for M&A advisory engagements. The firm describes its model as aligned with client outcomes — fees are built into 'deal success fee' structures. Operational support (CFO services, financial statement building, pricing strategy work) is included within the success fee rather than billed separately. No upfront or recurring retainers are described.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Horizon Partners is a boutique M&A advisory firm that provides senior-led, bespoke investment banking services to bootstrapped, product-led, and founder-led technology companies. The firm offers a distinctive "Artisanal M&A" or "Product-first M&A" approach that embeds deeply with clients prior to a transaction, providing operational support (interim CFO services, pricing optimization, financial statement preparation, team building) bundled within success-based transaction fees. Engagements are highly customized rather than templatized, with the firm typically partnering with founders for years before a deal is taken to market.

Product overview

Horizon Partners is a boutique investment bank and M&A advisory firm for bootstrapped technology companies. The firm offers a distinctive 'artisan M&A' or 'product-first M&A' advisory approach characterized by deep operational integration, strategic positioning, and highly customized transaction processes tailored to each client's unique business, goals, and growth opportunities. Unlike traditional advisors, Horizon Partners works closely with clients on operational initiatives—including interim CFO roles, financial statement preparation, pricing optimization, and team building—long before taking companies to market. The firm partners with founders through the full M&A lifecycle to drive extraordinary outcomes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Horizon Partners M&A Advisory Services Boutique M&A advisory services for bootstrapped technology companies, offering an "Artisanal M&A" / "Product-first M&A" approach that combines operational advisory (interim CFO support, financial statement preparation, pricing strategy, team building) with transaction execution, including strategic positioning, financial preparation, and long-term partnership with founders from first contact through deal close.
• HorizonVC Seed-Stage Venture Capital Investments Seed-stage venture capital investing arm of the Horizon platform, co-founded by Sandy Kory and Mike Firmage, making early-stage investments in product-led software businesses with LP investors that include past M&A clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• Average Rule of 40 score of 115 at transaction (across last 10+ clients)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers21 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• HorizonVCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHorizonVC is the venture capital arm of the broader Horizon platform, co-founded by Sandy Kory and Mike Firmage. HorizonVC makes seed-stage investments in product-led software businesses. HorizonVC LP investors include past M&A clients. The venture arm complements the M&A advisory business by keeping the team connected to early-stage value creation dynamics.

Scale indicators17 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/horizon-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments5 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Horizon Partners