Smash.vc
At a Glance
A legitimate call for a modest equity gap on an SBA deal, especially if guarantee-free minority money and marketing help matter to you; for a single large check, compare the pooled-vehicle route first, and price both from written terms.
- Pricing
- Custom Pricing, No fees are published; this is priced equity negotiated deal by deal, and the vendor's pages state member check sizes ($50k to $500k each) and the personal-guarantee ceiling rather than terms. Expect market-standard self-funded economics (preferred return and step-up are the norm in this tier) and get the term sheet in writing before comparing options.
- Best For
- A self-funded searcher under LOI on an SBA-financed deal with a modest equity gap who wants entrepreneur-operators on the cap table without adding personal-guarantee signers, and who values marketing help after close. For six-to-seven-figure gaps needing one large check, a pooled vehicle is the closer comparison.
- Roadmap Stages
- 3. Set Up & Fund the Search7. Diligence & Financing
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Checks are sized to stay under the SBA personal-guarantee threshold, a constraint written by people who understand 7(a) deal mechanics
- Backed and run by operators who have built and exited companies themselves, offering growth-marketing help rather than board-seat oversight
- Explicit preference for year-one cash distributions aligns the group with how self-funded searchers actually structure deals
- Moves on ready-to-execute, post-LOI deals rather than asking searchers to pitch a fund cycle
Cons
- No published terms: economics are negotiated deal by deal, so comparing cost of capital requires a term sheet in hand
- Individual checks top out at $500k, so a large equity gap means assembling several members or another source alongside
- Founder-led group without a published portfolio count or track record page, so diligence on them runs on reputation and references
- Organic community discussion is thin relative to how often 2026 capital roundups cite them; ask for searcher references directly
What Searchers Say
Named consistently across 2026 self-funded and independent-sponsor capital roundups as one of the recurring dual-strategy investors, and the founder has a long, public entrepreneurship footprint (bootstrapped exits, Investing.io). Organic Searchfunder threads about completed deals are thin as of 2026-07-16, which is why the cons say to ask for references; nothing negative surfaced either.