​

Shaping succession — for owners, successors, and searchers

Ownership transitions are among the most significant moments in the life of a business. Whether you are a business owner planning your exit, a manager looking to acquire the company you lead, or an entrepreneur searching for the right business to acquire — the path forward requires more than a transaction. It requires the right guidance, a structured process, and a partner who understands both the human and commercial dimensions of succession.

At Rüssli Ventures, we bring a truly holistic approach to succession consulting — one that serves all sides of the table.

​

For Business Owners: Planning Your Succession with Confidence

Deciding to hand over a business you have built is rarely a purely financial decision. It involves questions of legacy, timing, employee continuity, and finding the right successor — whether within the family or externally.

We support Swiss SME owners in:

• Assessing readiness — evaluating the business, its structures, and the owner's personal succession goals

• Identifying the right path — family succession, management buy-in (MBI), or a broader sales process

• Preparing the business — optimizing structures, governance, and documentation ahead of a transition

• Selecting and evaluating successors — supporting owner-led processes to identify and assess candidates

• Accompanying the transition — ensuring continuity of leadership, culture, and operations beyond closing

Our goal is to make succession a structured, transparent, and value-preserving process — not an event, but a journey.

 

For MBI and MBO Candidates: Acquiring from Within

Management buy-ins and buy outs are a compelling path for experienced managers who wish to step into ownership. But moving from executive to owner-entrepreneur is a significant leap — commercially, legally, and personally.

We advise MBI and MBO candidates on:

• Opportunity assessment — evaluating whether the target business is the right fit strategically and personally

• Structuring the acquisition — financing options, deal structures, and negotiation positioning

• Due diligence preparation — understanding what to scrutinize and how to interpret findings

• Transition planning — navigating the shift from employee to owner with confidence

 

For Searchers: The ETA Journey from Search to Acquisition

Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) is a growing path for ambitious entrepreneurs who want to lead and grow an established business rather than build one from scratch. The search process is demanding — finding the right business takes time, discipline, and deep market knowledge.

We guide searchers throughout their entire ETA journey:

• Search strategy — defining the right target profile, sector focus, and deal criteria

• Deal sourcing & evaluation — structured approaches to identifying and qualifying acquisition targets

• Financial modelling & valuation — building the analytical foundation for confident decision-making

• Due diligence support — commercial, strategic, and operational assessment of target businesses

• Negotiation & closing — positioning the searcher effectively and managing the path to signing

• Post-acquisition onboarding — supporting the transition into the role of owner-operator

Whether you are at the beginning of your search or deep in a live process, we provide the expertise and structure to move forward with clarity.

 

Why Holistic Succession Consulting?

Succession is rarely a clean, linear process. Interests diverge, emotions run high, and the commercial and personal dimensions are deeply intertwined. What sets our approach apart is the ability to understand and bridge all perspectives — the exiting owner, the incoming successor, and the business itself.

We bring:

• Transaction experience — hands-on M&A and due diligence expertise across a range of Swiss SME transactions

• Entrepreneurial empathy — a genuine understanding of what it means to build, lead, and hand over a business

• Network depth — access to owners, searchers, financiers, and advisors across the Swiss SME ecosystem

• Independence — we are not a bank, a broker, or a fund. Our advice is driven solely by the best outcome for our clients.

​​