Baton

Empowering the $10 Trillion Silver Tsunami: Transforming Small Business Transitions with Data and Integrity

Baton is pioneering a fundamental shift in the small and medium-sized business (SMB) acquisition market, which is on the cusp of an unprecedented wave of ownership transitions. The so-called “Silver Tsunami”—the massive retirement of baby boomer business owners—is poised to unlock an estimated $10 trillion in small business assets over the next decade. This market has traditionally been characterized by opacity, inefficiency, and frustration for both sellers and buyers. Baton enters this space with a mission to bring transparency, speed, and fairness to a process that has long been manual, time-consuming, and fraught with uncertainty.

At its core, Baton is a tech-enabled platform that reimagines how SMBs are valued and sold. Founded by former Zillow executive Chat Joglekar and Dylan Gans, the company leverages cutting-edge data science and automation to provide free, rapid valuations and to streamline every step of the transaction—from initial listing to deal closing. By integrating seamlessly with online data sources and accounting tools such as QuickBooks, Baton eliminates the need for weeks-long, manual appraisals traditionally conducted by brokers. This results in valuations issued in just one day, democratizing access to reliable business insights for owners who often lack sophisticated financial expertise.

Baton’s innovative approach has delivered impressive results: a 70% close rate, which is ten times higher than the industry norm, achieved at roughly half the cost of conventional brokerage services. This efficiency doesn’t come at the expense of quality—on the contrary, Baton’s platform provides white-glove support designed to empower sellers and buyers alike. For sellers, this means a clearer understanding of their business’s worth and confidence in the sales process. For buyers, it means access to verified, transparent data and a smoother, faster acquisition journey. In essence, Baton is not just a marketplace; it is a trusted partner facilitating the transfer of small businesses to a new generation of entrepreneurs ready to continue the legacy.

A Culture of Customer-First Execution and Relentless Impact

At Baton, culture is not an afterthought—it is the foundation that enables the company to execute on its ambitious mission. The culture centers on customer-first execution, where every decision and action is driven by the goal of delivering tangible value to small business owners and buyers. This ethos is ingrained across the team, which is comprised of sellers, advisors, builders, analysts, and operators who bring diverse perspectives but share an unwavering commitment to the customer.

Being a small, nimble team based in New York City, employees at Baton wield significant influence over the company’s trajectory. This creates a high-impact environment where autonomy is coupled with accountability. Employees are encouraged—and expected—to take ownership of their work and to be advocates for customers, even when doing so requires raising difficult questions or challenging assumptions. The culture rewards curiosity and clarity, fostering an environment where ideas are rigorously tested and refined in service of better outcomes.

Empathy is another core cultural pillar. The process of selling a business is often deeply emotional, tied to a seller’s life savings, identity, and legacy. Baton’s team understands this complexity and approaches interactions with sensitivity and respect. This empathy extends internally as well. The company places a strong emphasis on psychological safety, recognizing that innovation and excellence stem from environments where people feel safe to bring their whole selves to work. Employer-sponsored tools like Spill facilitate open conversations about mental health, reducing stigma and supporting employee well-being.

The in-person work environment further reinforces this culture. Being co-located in New York City enables fast decision-making, rich collaboration, and a vibrant atmosphere where energy is palpable. While the pace is intense, there is a clear recognition that hustle must be balanced with humanity. For candidates, this means joining a team that values grit, integrity, and thoughtfulness in equal measure.

What You’ll Actually Do: Building, Advising, and Transforming the SMB Market

The roles at Baton are grounded in real-world impact and challenge, requiring both technical excellence and emotional intelligence. Whether your path leads you to engineering, advisory, analytics, or operations, your work will center on redefining how small businesses change hands.

For engineering professionals, such as Software Engineers, the opportunity is to build an AI-native platform that enables end-to-end transparency and efficiency in SMB transactions. This involves crafting scalable infrastructure capable of ingesting and normalizing diverse data sources—everything from website metrics to financial records—at scale. You will refine valuation algorithms that use this data to produce fast, accurate, and reliable business appraisals. Additionally, you will design and implement digital data rooms that provide buyers with immediate, comprehensive insights into business performance and risks. Your work will directly influence the user experience for both sellers and buyers, ensuring that complex transactions become simpler, faster, and more trustworthy. Every new feature you ship will shape the workflows that power listings, negotiations, and closings, making your contributions critical to the company’s success.

For revenue and customer-facing roles, such as M&A Advisors, the work is equally demanding and impactful, though focused on human interaction and relationship-building. Advisors work closely with small business owners navigating the emotional and financial complexities of selling their life's work. This role requires a blend of empathy, negotiation skill, and commercial acumen. Using Baton’s proprietary data and platform tools, advisors guide sellers through buyer interest, deal structuring, and closing, ensuring that owners feel supported and informed at every step. Advisors also serve as trusted intermediaries between buyers and sellers, balancing competing interests and facilitating fair outcomes. This requires the ability to manage ambiguity, resolve conflicts, and maintain a customer-first mindset throughout the deal lifecycle.

Across all roles, employees are expected to be problem solvers who embrace complexity and ambiguity. The SMB market is vast and varied, with unique challenges in different industries and geographies. Baton’s team must continuously adapt and innovate to serve this dynamic ecosystem effectively. The work is not about incremental improvements; it is about fundamentally changing how small business ownership transitions occur.

Compensation & Benefits: Competitive Packages with a People-Centric Approach

Baton recognizes that attracting and retaining top talent requires more than just competitive salaries—it requires a holistic approach to compensation and benefits that supports employees’ professional and personal well-being.

For engineering roles based in New York City, such as Software Engineers, Baton offers a base salary range of $180,000 to $230,000. This is complemented by meaningful equity grants, aligning employee incentives with the company’s long-term success and providing a pathway to substantial financial upside as Baton scales. For revenue-generating roles like M&A Advisors, the compensation structure includes a base salary of $100,000 to $115,000, with significant commission potential ranging from $100,000 to $150,000, in addition to equity. This pay-for-performance model rewards high-impact contributions and incentivizes advisors to maximize deal closings and customer satisfaction.

Beyond direct compensation, Baton offers a comprehensive suite of benefits designed to foster health, financial security, and work-life balance. Health insurance—including medical, vision, and dental coverage—is fully paid for employees, reflecting the company’s commitment to removing barriers to wellness. Baton also offers flexible spending accounts (FSA) and health savings accounts (HSA), empowering employees to make tax-advantaged contributions toward healthcare expenses.

Retirement planning is supported through a 401(k) plan, promoting long-term financial health. To ease the daily commute in New York City, Baton provides commuter benefits, recognizing the importance of reducing stress and preserving time for work and life. Paid parental leave ensures that employees can focus on family milestones without financial hardship.

Work-life balance and team cohesion are further supported through flexible time off policies, monthly snack deliveries, team-building events, and annual offsites. Mental health is prioritized through employer-sponsored tools like Spill, fostering a psychologically safe and supportive workplace. These benefits collectively create an environment where employees can thrive both inside and outside of work.

The Interview Process: Evaluating Ownership, Empathy, and Excellence

While Baton does not publicly disclose every detail of its interview process, prospective candidates can anticipate a rigorous, multi-stage evaluation designed to reflect the company’s culture and operational demands. The process is likely structured to assess both technical competencies and cultural fit, with an emphasis on ownership, curiosity, empathy, and customer-first execution.

Technical roles, such as Software Engineers, can expect assessments that probe their ability to design scalable systems, work with data at scale, and solve complex algorithmic challenges. Candidates will likely be asked to demonstrate proficiency in software development best practices, including code quality, testing, and deployment. Problem-solving exercises may involve real-world scenarios related to data integration, valuation modeling, or workflow automation, reflecting the actual challenges engineers face at Baton.

For revenue or advisory roles, interviews will delve into candidates’ experience managing complex transactions, navigating stakeholder interests, and delivering exceptional customer service. Role-playing or case study exercises might be used to evaluate negotiation skills, emotional intelligence, and the ability to advocate effectively for sellers while balancing buyer expectations.

Throughout the interview process, cultural fit is paramount. Candidates should be prepared to articulate how they embody Baton's values—particularly empathy for customers, intellectual humility to interrogate data objectively, and the hustle to move fast while maintaining quality. Demonstrating a passion for democratizing small business ownership and a willingness to engage openly and honestly with teammates will be crucial.

Candidates should also expect to engage with multiple members of the team, including founders, engineers, advisors, and operators, reflecting the company’s collaborative and cross-functional nature. The in-person element of the interviews underscores Baton's commitment to a tightly integrated team environment.

Why Join / Why Not: Deciding if Baton Is Your Next Career Home

Joining Baton means stepping into a fast-growing startup at the intersection of technology, finance, and entrepreneurship, with a mission that touches the lives of millions of small business owners. The company’s strong financial backing from prominent investors like Obvious Ventures, Giant Ventures, and Bloomberg Beta provides both stability and runway for ambitious growth. Baton’s impressive 70% close rate and half-cost pricing model validate its product-market fit and set a foundation for meaningful scale.

For professionals seeking a high-impact role where their work directly influences the fate of SMB owners, Baton offers an unparalleled opportunity. The company’s culture of customer-first execution means your contributions will be immediately felt by real people navigating one of the most important financial decisions of their lives. Whether you are building a platform that transforms valuation or advising sellers through the emotional journey of exit, your role will be purposeful and rewarding.

However, the company’s dynamic, in-person environment based in New York City is not for everyone. The pace is fast, expectations are high, and the startup context requires resilience and adaptability. Candidates who prefer fully remote work arrangements or a more predictable, slower-moving corporate setting may find Baton’s culture challenging. Additionally, the emotional complexity of the SMB market demands empathy and patience, traits that must be genuine rather than performative.

Ultimately, Baton is a place for humble yet ambitious individuals who can balance data-driven rigor with human-centered empathy. If you are eager to dream big, learn fast, and contribute to a mission that democratizes small business ownership, Baton could be the ideal next step in your career journey. Conversely, if you seek a more traditional work environment or prioritize geographic flexibility above all, it may be worth considering whether Baton’s unique setup aligns with your priorities.

In summary, Baton offers a rare convergence of mission, technology, culture, and market opportunity. Its commitment to empowering small business owners through transparency and fairness makes it a compelling destination for those ready to drive meaningful change in one of the economy’s most vital sectors.