A private investment firm backing SMBs and early-stage ventures with flexible, patient capital and strategic advisory services — partnering with exceptional founders and operators for the long term.
Explore Our ApproachL2 Growth Ventures LLC is a private investment firm dedicated to providing strategic capital and advisory services to owner-led businesses across the SMB landscape and early-stage venture space. We invest in companies with strong fundamentals, talented operators, and meaningful growth potential.
We partner through passive equity investments — offering the flexibility to provide hands-on operational or advisory support when it creates genuine value. Our focus is on building long-term relationships alongside exceptional founders, not on short-term financial engineering or unnecessary interference.
Whether you are a business owner seeking a capital partner, an early-stage founder looking for strategic support, or an operator planning your next chapter — we welcome the conversation.
Customized investment structures designed to support your business goals and ownership transition without unnecessary constraints or timelines.
Passive by default — with the ability to provide hands-on operational or advisory support when it meaningfully accelerates value creation.
Patient capital focused on sustainable, compounding growth and building lasting enterprise value — not short-term exits or financial engineering.
Our primary investment focus is on established, owner-led small and medium-sized businesses with strong fundamentals and a track record of consistent performance. Below are the characteristics of SMBs we are most excited to partner with. If your business fits — or comes close — we would love to hear from you.
We target SMBs with a minimum operating history of five years, a loyal customer base, and an owner-operator who has built something worth owning. Proven track record matters more to us than growth projections.
We prioritize profitable businesses with strong Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) of $200K or more and consistent free cash flow. We are focused on stable, cash-generating operators — not high-burn startups or businesses that haven't yet proven their model.
Great businesses are built on great people. We invest alongside capable, motivated operators — and are equally open to situations where the right path forward includes transitioning in a new operator or manager as part of a planned ownership succession. If you are a founder looking to step back, we can help structure the right handoff.
We look for durable advantages — strong customer relationships, recurring or sticky revenue, proprietary methods, or brand reputation that is difficult to replicate. Low customer concentration is important to us; no single customer should represent more than 20% of total revenue. Businesses with a broad, diversified customer base are significantly more resilient and attractive as long-term holds.
We seek businesses with the operational foundation to grow — through geographic expansion, adjacent products or services, technology adoption, or strategic operational improvement.
We are flexible on deal structure — minority or majority passive equity — but require alignment on long-term vision, governance expectations, and the value of a low-interference capital partner.
Accounting, staffing, consulting, legal support, and other B2B service firms with recurring client relationships and high margins.
HVAC, plumbing, electrical, landscaping, pest control, and similar trades — recession-resistant businesses with strong repeat customer bases and geographic moats.
Pediatric therapy, tutoring, childcare, home health, and wellness businesses benefiting from strong demographic demand and essential service positioning.
Janitorial, facilities management, uniform services, and other contract-based businesses with predictable revenue, low churn, and strong retention economics.
While established SMBs represent our primary focus, L2 Growth Ventures also selectively evaluates opportunities outside of this core thesis. This includes franchise ownership and franchise system investments, where proven brand infrastructure meets owner-operator execution; direct and co-investment opportunities alongside trusted partners in adjacent asset classes; and early-stage venture capital in businesses with differentiated models and compelling founding teams. If you have an opportunity in one of these areas, we are always open to the conversation.
L2 Growth Ventures was founded in 2025 following the birth of John's second child — a deliberate pause that sharpened both his priorities and his purpose. The firm draws its inspiration from family history as much as professional experience. John's grandfather built and ran a small business in a small town for decades after serving in World War II, earning the trust of his community through hard work and consistency. That example, alongside a family with deep entrepreneurial roots, shaped a genuine conviction that owner-operated businesses deserve more than financial engineering — they deserve a real partner. L2 was built to be that.
John brings over 15 years of experience across Wall Street, Big 4 consulting, and strategic advisory. He most recently served as Head of Equity Hedge Origination & Product Management at Bank of America, and previously held senior roles at Water Island Capital, Merrill Lynch, Ernst & Young, and Morgan Stanley. His background spans capital markets, product development, investor relations, and business development across both institutional and private wealth channels.
Today, John is an active SMB investor, angel investor in early-stage companies, and advisor to founders and growth-stage businesses. He is a former Division I tennis player and All-Patriot League Scholar-Athlete at Lehigh University, and holds an MBA from Georgetown. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children, Luca and Laya — the inspiration behind L2 Growth Ventures.
Interested in exploring a partnership or investment opportunity? We'd love to hear from you. Fill out the form with details about your business and what you're looking for — we respond to every inquiry personally.
