For thousands of retiring owners, selling their business feels like navigating a maze: too many dead ends, not enough buyers, and no structured system. For ambitious professionals who want to become business owners, the barriers are equally steep: capital constraints, limited access to opportunities, and no clear entry point.
At Genshare, we believe there’s a better way. That’s why we’re facilitating ownership transitions and redefining what small business succession looks like in Australia.
What’s wrong with succession today?
Despite being a billion-dollar opportunity, the business succession process is rarely strategic. Too often it’s:
- Relationship-dependent (friends, family, brokers)
- Time-consuming (6–12 months or more)
- Expensive (hefty broker fees, upfront capital)
- Inefficient (first-timers learning on the go)
It’s a process designed for the few, not for the many.
There’s also a disconnect between talent and ownership. While over 70,000 business owners in Australia are over 50 and potentially looking to exit, countless talented professionals are eager to take over but lack the means, access, or guidance to do so.
The Genshare difference
We’ve redesigned the process to make succession more inclusive, structured, and scalable:
- We buy the business
Genshare acquires qualifying businesses from retiring owners. We target companies turning over $2M–$10M with sustainable performance and strong teams. - We source exceptional new leaders
Using our proprietary AI-enabled matching platform, we identify and vet candidates based not just on their skills, but on their values, goals, and leadership style. - We facilitate the transition
We work with both the seller and new leader to ensure a seamless transition. The seller remains involved through a structured handover period and a Genshare Business Support Partner (BSP) helps to provide continuity and support performance. They also provide coaching. - We grant equity upfront
From day one, the new leader is an owner. We grant them an initial equity stake vesting over time, with a clear pathway to majority ownership based on business performance.
Not just a deal, but a true relationship
The Genshare approach isn’t transactional – it’s relational. We’ve found that successful transitions depend on more than contracts and handovers…they depend on mutual trust and a shared vision.
That’s why we:
- Spend time understanding the motivations of both sellers and potential successors
- Design a transition plan that prioritises staff, suppliers, customers, and culture
- Stay engaged long after the ink dries through mentorship, business monitoring and the provision of shared services to increase efficiencies across the Genshare business network
We also codify the entire process through our AI-powered platform which standardises quality, expands efficiencies, reduces delays, and increases transparency for everyone involved.
Scaling what works
Succession has historically been a one-off, unpredictable process. But it doesn’t have to be.
With our tech-enabled platform, Genshare is transforming business succession into something repeatable, measurable, and scalable. By reducing transaction timelines from months to weeks, and automating key steps like business valuation, due diligence and talent matching, we can support hundreds of transitions without compromising quality.
We think of it like a succession flywheel:
- More businesses acquired > more leaders integrated > more equity unlocked > more businesses in our network > more data, better matches, smarter performance insights: succession that improves with every deal.
Real continuity. Not just a sale.
Most succession deals treat the handover like a finish line. For us it’s just the beginning. Beyond the handover, we offer mentorship for new leaders, a dedicated Business Support Partner for every business transition, performance monitoring and planning, and a support network of peers and experts.
When owners know their business is in good hands, and leaders know they’re not alone, continuity is far more likely. It also means that succession isn’t a gamble – it becomes a structured, supportive, and scalable system that rewards everyone involved.
