My name is Connor Smith. I created Wagon Creek Holdings LLC to acquire and personally operate a single established manufacturing business in the Western United States. This will be my life’s work, not a quick flip.
The name ‘Wagon Creek’ is inspired by a Lake Siskiyou tributary in Mount Shasta, California, where I enjoy spending time outdoors with my family.
My goal is to get a deal done by the end of 2026 (sooner the better). I plan to optimize for the deal's success rather than re-trade on points that don’t move the needle. I understand that buying a business is inherently risky and I promise to bring a pragmatic approach to risk mitigation.
I plan to fund between $200k-$300k from my personal balance sheet and raise the remaining capital from investors for a 10%-20% equity injection. With skin in the game and a personal credit score 800+, I am confident in the odds of securing an SBA (7a) loan for a quality business.
I’m an alumnus of SMBootcamp, a reputable in-person workshop to learn everything about searching, closing, and transitioning from transaction advisors and former searchers. The camp has earned a strong reputation for producing well equipped buyers that go on to complete successful transactions. I also have prior career experience as an M&A advisor and I observed my parents sell their vet clinic to Private Equity.
I don’t want to undo what has already been driving great outcomes. I understand that a successful transition is not just about taking over operations but also about earning the trust of employees, customers, and partners.
Unlike Private Equity or Strategic buyers, I am the sole decision-maker in my search and can move quickly to finalize a deal. I have the discretion and flexibility to adapt to circumstances as they arise and I do not have a board of directors or an investment committee to slow down negotiations.
My plan isn’t to implement cost-cutting measures. Small businesses are way more than line items on a spreadsheet and I aim to generate value through continued investment in people, process, and product.
I am currently based in Sonoma County in Northern California. While I will consider local businesses, I am otherwise looking outside the state and would plan to relocate at closing. My target geography can be described as ranging from the Pacific Northwest to the east side of the Rockies. This region includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. I am also interested in the greater Reno, Nevada area.
"Connor and I worked together at Splunk in both the GTM Finance & Corporate Finance functions. He is very intellectual, inquisitive, analytical, and strategic. During our time working together, Connor took on a lot of interesting but complex, unstructured problems to solve. He is a super logical person and delivered very organized, data-driven conclusions that helped us drive the business forward. Connor is also extremely competent with models and data tools. He taught himself SQL very quickly and learned Anaplan models fast as well. Connor has been one of my favorite people to work with and manage over the years!"
"I had the pleasure of directly overseeing Connor on the Growth Finance team at Splunk. In addition to having a rock-solid foundation in finance, Connor is an extremely well-rounded individual with natural leadership capabilities, able to take on complex projects with minimal direction and see them through to their highest potential. From what I've directly observed, he has a high level of technical acumen with data and related analytics tools, and at the same time is able to communicate effectively across the organization, from the analyst level up to the C-suite. Connor has also consistently exhibited compassion and teamwork, boosting morale by fostering a collaborative environment where colleagues feel supported and valued. I have no doubt that Connor will do great things in his career, and he's one of the few people I would seek first when building a high-impact team or working on a high-impact project."
I was born and raised in rural Northern California, where my parents owned and operated a veterinary clinic for over 30 years. Growing up around the business gave me a real understanding of what it takes to keep a small operation running. Payroll, scheduling, employee management, SOPs, equipment upkeep, customer relationships. I saw all of it up close. I also did my share of the unglamorous work, cleaning kennels, scooping poop, stacking hay bales. That experience shaped my work ethic and planted the seed for eventually owning and operating a business myself.
After graduating as valedictorian of my class, I studied Economics at UC San Diego with a minor in Accounting. I began my career at a technology focused investment bank in San Francisco, where I learned the mechanics of buying and selling businesses from the inside. I worked across the full deal lifecycle, from CIM preparation and LOIs through diligence and definitive agreements. I saw firsthand how deals fall apart when communication drags or advisors overcomplicate things, and I learned to value clarity, responsiveness, and momentum. Time really does kill deals.
Wanting to get closer to how businesses actually operate day to day, I moved into a corporate finance role at Splunk, a publicly traded software company. There, I focused on understanding the underlying drivers of performance and how data connects to real operational decisions. During my time at Splunk, the company was acquired by Cisco in one of the largest software transactions to date, and I supported diligence and post acquisition integration from the inside. That experience reinforced how important steady leadership and disciplined execution are during periods of transition.
Outside of work, I spend as much time as I can outdoors. I enjoy skiing, mountain biking, and camping, and I have a habit of tinkering with and improving gear and equipment to support those hobbies. I get easily distracted wandering the aisles of Ace Hardware, and I take real satisfaction in fixing things myself rather than calling in a service provider. I live with my two cats, Pumpkin and Pinto, and I am engaged to my fiancée Mallory. I am also fortunate to live close to my brother, who lives and works in the Napa Valley wine industry, which keeps me grounded in another world of small, craft driven businesses.
At this stage of my career, I am intentionally stepping out of advisory and support roles to take on full ownership responsibility. I am looking to acquire and operate a single business for the long term, with the goal of preserving what already works while thoughtfully investing in people, process, and equipment. I am prepared to bring a transaction to a close, but more importantly, I am committed to being a steady, hands on owner who takes the responsibility of succession seriously.
