Explora

What Explora does

Explora Partners is a Toronto-based entrepreneurial investment firm founded in 2019 by Cyrus Symoom and Jake Dancyger. The firm acquires and operates small to medium-sized North American businesses for the long term, explicitly positioning itself outside the traditional private equity model. Investment criteria target companies with ARR above $3M-$5M or EBITDA greater than $1M-$1.5M across business services, tech-enabled services and software, distribution, and consumer products, with opportunistic assessments of adjacent industries. The firm emphasizes hands-on operating involvement, committed capital from operating-background investors, and indefinite hold periods to preserve founder legacy.

The portfolio comprises two wholly-owned operating companies and one minority stake. Clariti, acquired in 2020, is a permitting and licensing software platform serving state and local governments in the US and Canada; it has grown from 20 to over 100 employees and reportedly achieved 5x revenue growth over five years, and was named one of the 100 most influential companies by Government Technology Magazine. Integrity Advocate, acquired in 2023, provides identity verification, participation monitoring, and exam proctoring solutions to certification organizations, corporate training programs, higher education institutions, and K-12 clients. Explora also holds a minority investment in StaffScheduleCare, a workforce scheduling solutions provider.

The business model is long-duration hold-and-operate rather than buy-to-sell. Revenue is generated through operational growth and ownership returns across the portfolio. Go-to-market is relationship-driven: the firm commits to confidentiality, a 72-hour response window, and direct outreach to intermediaries, investors, and business owners rather than traditional marketing channels. The leadership team comprises four partners with operating backgrounds at Uber Eats, Accenture, Element AI, Kearney, CIBC Capital Markets, and Yaletown Partners, and includes two Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees (2022).

Name

Explora

Legal name

Explora Partners

Website

https://explorapartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Explora Partners is a Toronto-based entrepreneurial investment firm founded in 2019 that acquires and operates small to medium-sized North American businesses for the long term, targeting companies with ARR above $3M-$5M in business services, tech-enabled services, distribution, and consumer products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Investment and Business Acquisition Services

NAICS

Offices of Other Holding Companies (551112), Software Publishers (5132)

akta.pro primary industry

Business Transfer Intermediation (Introducers/Deal Sourcing Networks) (FSAEAIAL)

Keywords

• Private investment firm
• Business acquisitions
• Succession planning
• Small business growth
• Tech-enabled services

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns and Business Operations: Explora Partners generates returns by acquiring and operating businesses for the long term. They invest in businesses with ARR above $3M or EBITDA greater than $1M in business services, tech-enabled services, distribution and consumer products sectors. Revenue is generated through operational growth and long-term ownership of acquired companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Explora Partners is an entrepreneurial investment firm that acquires and operates small to medium-sized North American businesses for the long term. It focuses on business services, tech-enabled services, distribution, and consumer products with ARR above $5M or EBITDA greater than $1.5M. The firm's commercial output is the ownership and growth of acquired operating businesses (including Clariti, Integrity Advocate, and a minority stake in StaffScheduleCare), along with exit and succession planning services for transitioning owners.

Product overview

Explora Partners is an entrepreneurial investment firm that acquires and operates small to medium-sized businesses for the long term. Its portfolio consists of two acquired companies: Clariti (a permitting and licensing software platform for state and local governments) and Integrity Advocate (an identity verification and exam proctoring platform for educational and corporate training organizations). The firm does not offer a unified platform product; rather, it operates these distinct software businesses independently as part of its investment strategy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Clariti Software providing innovative permitting and licensing solutions for state and local governments, positioned as an emerging leader in community development software for local governments in the US and Canada.
• Integrity Advocate Technology platform providing identity verification, participation monitoring, and exam proctoring solutions for Certification Organizations, Corporate Training, Higher Education, and K-12 clients.
• StaffScheduleCare Workforce scheduling solutions business held as a minority investment stake by Explora Partners; Cyrus Symoom serves as Director.

Quantifiable outcome

• Clariti grew from 20 to over 100 employees since 2020 acquisition
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Mainsail Partners: Growth equity firm investing exclusively in tech-enabled services businesses, overlapping with Explora's stated preference for tech-enabled services and software SMBs.
• Centre Partners: Lower middle-market private equity firm focused on consumer, retail, and services companies, sharing Explora's focus on small to medium-sized operating businesses with operator involvement.
• AEA Investors: Private investment firm focused on small and middle-market businesses with deep operating involvement, sharing Explora's SMB focus and emphasis on long-term partnership with owners.
• Alpine Investors: Lower middle-market PE firm known for an operator-led model in which full-time executives run portfolio companies, closely paralleling Explora's hands-on operating approach to SMB software and services.
• Pacific Lake Partners: Search fund investor and small business acquirer, providing a comparable scale and structure to Explora's entrepreneurial-investment approach targeting owner-led SMBs.
• Serent Capital: Private equity firm focused on tech-enabled services for small and mid-sized businesses, with a similar emphasis on growth-stage operating partnership comparable to Explora's model.
• Yellow Wood Partners: Lower middle-market PE firm specializing in consumer products and services businesses, overlapping with Explora's stated interest in business services, distribution, and consumer products.

Broad incumbents

• Constellation Software: Publicly listed permanent-capital acquirer of vertical-market software businesses, embodying the buy-and-hold-forever philosophy Explora explicitly embraces, though at far greater scale and software-only focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/explora-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Explora