About Star Course - A Better Path to Business Succession
A Better Path to Business Succession
Star Course is a Charlotte-based venture dedicated to purchasing and growing a single business in the Carolinas for the long-term to do right by company, customers, community, and country.
Star Course offers a clear, founder-led path to business succession. We are a committed long-term buyer, not a fund or a broker, focused on buying and building a single business for the long haul while stewarding its legacy.
Star Course Provides:
Personal liquidity to an owner
Fair terms, strong value
Direct daily leadership from Star Course’s founder
Stability for employees and customers
Legacy preservation
One committed buyer. One clean process. Strong, straightforward, and fair deal terms.
Ideal Business Characteristics:
Carolinas region (NC and SC)
$3M - $20M in revenue
$750K – $4M in profit (EBITDA)
Historic, consistent profitability
Lower customer concentration, repeat customers
You work directly with the future owner and leader of the business, not a rotating deal team. No auction, no intermediaries, no commission. One committed buyer, forming an aligned team with you to complete a smooth, transparent transaction.
Continuity is the priority. Your team and customers are part of what makes the business great, and we are committed to honoring those relationships. Stability is the goal, not disruption.
Backed by accredited investors, funds, and trusted lending partners, Star Course is supported by institutional-grade financial backing and access to capital with the flexibility of a founder-led approach that simplifies the process. Our transaction structures can support continued seller involvement where desired or needed.
Founded by Green Beret veteran Nate Schwartzbauer, Star Course takes its name from the grueling multi-day, long-range land navigation test known as the “star course” that all aspiring Green Berets must pass to join the elite US Army Special Forces. The navigation course demands precision, discipline, stamina, grit, and quick thinking - all essential to navigating business successfully.
Nate’s Special Forces experience shapes Star Course’s mission and values in leading a single company for the long term:
Servant Leadership: leading for the well-being of employees, customers, and company
Discipline: structure, control, consistency, and common-sense
Winning-In-Teams: unified goals, strong relationships, mutual accountability, and shared successes
Commitment to the Region: foster future growth and prosperity in the area
Why It Matters: Prosperity and Legacy
Smaller businesses are vital to the growth and prosperity of the American economy for future generations
Small businesses account for:
Nearly half of the US workforce’s jobs
Over two-thirds of new job creation in the American economy
Almost half of US GDP
Nearly 70% of money spent in small business stays in the local economy ₁
Nearly two-thirds of existing small businesses do not have a succession plan and only 20 to 30% of businesses that go to market will sell.₂
Future prosperity and legacy depend on continued strong leadership to navigate businesses for the decades to come as the wave of current business owners approach retirement.
Star Course is committed to helping realize this American future through stewarding one great business, led by Nate with purpose and grounded in enduring values.