FAQs

Ledger is a clear way to recognize the value of accounting partners in driving the success of their business clients and in the central role they play in our own operation. Beyond that, ledgers are where information converges and is given structure and meaning, and we felt the term was a fitting nod to our own data-orientation and efforts to build scalable systems for growing businesses.

In short, we see tremendous value in the role they play in the SMB ecosystem. Entrepreneurs are exceptionally passionate about their craft, but accountants put the necessary systems and structure in place to channel that passion into real business success. The best accounting partners become indispensable advisors to their clients and shepherd them toward responsible financial decisions. We've found that businesses with strong accounting partners are almost universally better positioned to build out the infrastructure required to grow and to put outside capital to good use relative to businesses without those partners.

It starts with our passion. We came from families with small business owners and have worked with SMBs throughout our professional careers. We fundamentally believe the world is a better place when people feel capable of making their own way in it, and no group embodies that more than SMB owners. It was also clear to us that there was still a big gap between the types and amounts of capital available to larger businesses vs. smaller ones. We convinced ourselves that technology has gotten to the point where that no longer has to be the case, and we felt our backgrounds put us in a position to solve a real unmet need. We come to work thrilled to put our energy into supporting independent entrepreneurs and chipping away at the advantages larger companies have long enjoyed.

We're glad you noticed. There's a few reasons behind it: Taking flight has long been a common analogy for growth, which is kind of a focus for us. In many ways, we view the role of Ledger and its partners as adding fuel and engine power to the entrepreneurial journey SMBs have already embarked on. Our passion for entrepreneurship is all about how it promotes independence and agency, and there is no freer form of movement than flight. The very concept of defying gravity embodies the rebellious can-do attitude we admire in entrepreneurs. The birth of human flight is a story about SMBs. A pair of bicycle shop owners working outside the limelight with a shoestring budget and no formal training were the first to solve a centuries old puzzle. From that point on the world was changed. It is the ultimately case study in thinking big while operating small. Wright Brothers First Flight at Kitty Hawk Source: National Park Service, NPS.gov

We don't operate with inflexible criteria about industry or size because we invest in people, not business models on a whiteboard. We also find that the best businesses are often the outliers that defy categorization. That said, there are a few general principles we tend to look for in our companies: Learning-oriented leaders that are passionate about their craft, ambitious about growth, and capable of building a team around them. Our company leaders continue to run the business but also aspire to build an organization bigger than themselves. Identifiable growth opportunities and need for capital infusion. Either established profitability or exceptional underlying unit economics typically proven out over a few years or more. A critical mass of company operating and/or financial data available in digital format (e.g. usage of modern software tools, detailed financial records, a strong online presence, meaningful revenue from digital marketplaces or content platforms, etc.). Based in the U.S.A.

In simple terms, we invest as co-owners alongside the existing founders and operators. This means our investments are always structured as equity, not debt. We are typically minority investors (<50% ownership or voting power), meaning we don't have full control of the company nor the ability to force out founders. We prefer simple and clean legal terms that align our interests with the success of the business and the operating team.

No. We view ourselves as long-term co-owners, not business flippers. Our investment structure allows flexibility in how and when the business generates liquidity for investors. Examples beyond trade sales include profit-share based repayment from cashflows, transitions to employee ownership, leveraged recapitalization, and more. These tools can also be used in combination to meet the needs of all stakeholders while preserving the health of the business and intent of the founders.

In this day and age, business data lives in many places besides the filing cabinet. We've invested in building a secure data platform that can ingest read-only information directly from the software and systems you and your clients already use (with the explicit opt-in permission of your clients). This minimizes the need for candidates and their accountants to do manual document collection and respond to a flood of information requests while enabling us to quickly give an indication of whether a candidate might be a good fit for our program.

We succeed by helping our portfolio companies succeed. We provide guidance and resources throughout our relationship, and our accelerator program is only the foundational first step. It is a short but immersive in-person program for our new portfolio company leaders to develop and operationalize growth initiatives with support from our partners, their cohort peers, and experts from across the worlds of business, technology, policy, and academia. The program is designed to be action-oriented and individualized - it's not a passive "classroom environment"!

No. The program is exclusively designed to benefit our portfolio companies and partners, and Ledger covers all costs.