Currently, the business succession process is outdated, inefficient and cumbersome. That’s why Genshare is building a fit-for-purpose technology platform to enable small business succession at scale. Our goal is to reimagine the system, transforming it from a high-friction, ad-hoc process into a repeatable, scalable one. Genshare is applying AI across the full deal cycle, including everything from deal sourcing, business analysis, talent matching, transition and performance monitoring.
We sat down with our Chief Product Officer Josh Rickel to learn more about Genshare’s product vision and strategy. Below is a transcript of the conversation.
What is Genshare’s technology strategy? What’s your ultimate vision?
We’re modernising the business acquisition and succession process using software and artificial intelligence – but we’re doing it in a way that recognises how fast the technology is changing. Historically, acquiring a business has been slow, manual, and expensive. You’d have teams of analysts doing months of research, diligence, and assessment. That model works for private equity, but it doesn’t solve the broader succession problem in Australia, where tens of thousands of successful small businesses have no clear pathway to succession.
Our strategy is to build an agentic platform – a system that helps perform the work of analysts, investors and operators, but in a structured, scalable, and data-informed way. It’s less about predicting exactly how AI will evolve, and more about taking advantage of new capabilities and adapting as the technology does.
Ultimately, our vision is to make succession and acquisition seamless, enabling efficient transitions of small businesses from one generation to the next ownership to be passed on efficiently, with continuity for employees. We’re creating a model where technology amplifies and scales human judgment, not replaces it.
How is AI disrupting the workforce more broadly? What do you see as positive developments? What do you see as negative ones?
It’s one of the biggest questions we’re all still trying to answer. AI is reshaping work in real time, and we’re still early in understanding what that really means. Personally, it’s already changed how I work. I can test ideas faster, process more information, and be more creative. The cost for me to experiment and build with time and financial investment has significantly reduced. It has also unlocked new capabilities that would have taken me years to develop. It’s definitely expanding what’s possible for individuals and small teams.
The positive side is enormous. AI allows us to focus our time on higher-value thinking, problem-solving, and creativity…things that actually move the business forward. But the flip side is that many of the foundational, repetitive tasks that early-career professionals used to learn from are being automated. There’s a real risk that people skip the “apprenticeship phase” where you build the judgment to know what ‘good’ looks like.
That’s why discernment is becoming such a prized skill. The ability to know when and how to use AI, and when not to, is going to define effective teams. Blindly trusting the output is dangerous, but we believe that using it thoughtfully is transformative.
What are Genshare’s ambitions when it comes to deploying AI?
We take a pragmatic and intentional approach. AI isn’t just a shiny object for us. It’s a tool that helps small teams achieve extraordinary scale. We talk about “onboarding digital agents” into the business. These agents perform roles like research, assessment, matching, or monitoring. These things have historically required tons of manual effort. We ensure the agentic outputs are guided by humans, grounded in real data, and constantly refined through feedback.
We’re cognizant of ensuring we’re building a durable platform. This means we’re not trying to predict the future of AI – which is impossible – but we’re trying to design systems and processes that will evolve with it. As AI capabilities change, our process too may change. But one thing remains constant: we’re always focused on improving speed, accuracy, and outcomes.
How will AI enable Genshare to achieve its mission more efficiently?
At a foundational level, it lets a small team do the work that would have historically required dozens of analysts and advisors. For example, identifying acquisition targets used to mean manually reviewing broker sites every day, reading through dense listings, and comparing them one-by-one. AI now helps us filter that information in real-time so we can both surface the businesses that meet our criteria, and flag the ones which don’t.
The time-saving allows us to focus human effort where it actually matters…on things like building relationships, supporting transitions, and ensuring cultural continuity. We can provide empathy, drive negotiation, and deliver mentorship. We believe this balance is what makes our model scalable and sustainable.
Can AI help Genshare be more ambitious? And how so?
Absolutely. In fact, it’s what makes our ambition achievable. The problem we’re solving can’t be solved with traditional methods. It would simply require too many people, too much time, and too much cost. AI gives us leverage. It allows us to imagine a model where thousands of small businesses can transition smoothly to new ownership, where the data, insights, and workflows are coordinated in the background so humans can focus on leadership and community outcomes.
How can AI and technology help Genshare’s network businesses?
Most of the businesses we acquire have very little technology infrastructure, which in some ways is an advantage. It means we can introduce modern, AI-enabled tools that are designed specifically for their needs. This could include things like automated reporting, financial insights, and early risk detection.
We think of it as skipping the SaaS era and moving straight to the service-as-software era, where AI is embedded directly into operations to deliver insights and efficiencies automatically. Over time, that creates a network effect: as more businesses join the Genshare network, each one benefits from shared learnings, smarter analytics, and access to collective data that helps them perform better.
What excites you most about working on Genshare’s product and platform?
What excites me most is that the problem we’re solving is incredibly tangible: it affects families, communities, and the fabric of the Australian economy. These are great businesses that deserve to continue, and technology gives us a way to make that possible at scale.
We get to combine purpose with innovation. We’re building a platform that not only transforms how small businesses are bought and sold, but also how they’re sustained and led into the future. It’s a rare opportunity to use technology to preserve legacy while creating new opportunities for the next generation.
