ABOUT THE FIRM
We knew these firms long before we advised on transactions.
Navigate M&A Advisors works with owners and acquirers of accounting and advisory practices, entertainment business management firms, and RIA/wealth management groups.
We came to this work through relationships that already existed. Before any of it was M&A, it was the ordinary work of knowing the people who run these firms, what they are trying to build and what usually gets in the way.
How the M&A work began
It started with a client relationship
Navigate’s M&A work did not begin as a new service line. It started with a phone call in 2018 from the owner of a CPA firm Steve Silverman had worked with for many years. The owner was thinking about the future of his business, and the first question was not who might buy the firm, but rather what he actually wanted to happen. Once that was clear, Steve already knew a firm worth introducing.
Other conversations followed. Owners who had trusted Steve and John Gaw with partner hires, leadership and growth began asking them about retirement, succession and ownership. The M&A work grew naturally from the relationships and market knowledge they had already built.
“The biggest difference with us is that we understand the industry and how firms operate, not just how to get a deal done.”
Steve Silverman, Co-Founder and Managing Partner
Why the search side matters
We know these firms as businesses and as workplaces
An ownership change is closely tied to the people inside the firm. Who stays, who steps into leadership, and how strong the next layer of management is can all affect whether a combination works after closing.
Through Navigate Search, we already work within these professional services markets, placing partners, practice leaders, and senior professionals in accounting and advisory practices, entertainment business management firms, and RIA/wealth management groups. That gives us insight into what professionals say about firms when they are deciding whether to join, stay, or leave.
Our perspective can help surface questions around leadership, culture, and expectations early, rather than after a process is already well underway.
“Our recruiting work gives us insight into the good, the bad, and the ugly of what candidates are saying about firms. That helps us set expectations and address potential issues early in the process.”
Steve Silverman, Co-Founder and Managing Partner
How Navigate works
Relationships come before transactions
Not every conversation needs to become a transaction, and we do not treat one that does not as a failure. Some owners talk to us years before deciding what they want to do. Some decide to keep building. Others may meet a potential buyer that looks right on paper but does not fit what they want for their clients, employees, or future role. An acquirer can also find that a firm fits the profile but not the strategy.
We would rather understand those things early. That is why we focus on the right conversations rather than simply more of them. And when an owner decides not to move forward, that decision is respected.
“We don’t pressure anyone to move forward before they’re ready. We often stay in touch, support them with recruiting, and help them understand the things buyers will care about so they can be better prepared if and when they decide to sell.”
John Gaw, Co-Founder and Managing Partner
“We’re very deliberate about who we choose to work with. Not every opportunity that comes through the door is the right fit.”
Steve Silverman, Co-Founder and Managing Partner
The partners who you’ll be talking to
Steve and John began working together in 2015 and founded Navigate in 2023.
Steve Silverman
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
Steve grew up in a family business and was involved from around eight years old. Long before professional services became his career, dinner-table conversations were already about customers, growth, and what the business should do next.
He formally entered recruiting in 2012 at a publicly traded national firm. After that business was restructured, his team moved to another firm, where he met John. Steve and John later helped build the U.S. presence of a global recruiting business.
Much of Steve’s work has focused on CPA firms, including partner-level search, leadership hiring, and consulting relationships with firm owners. Those relationships became the foundation for Navigate’s M&A work and gave him a view of firms from two sides: the people they need to grow and the ownership decisions that shape what comes next.
John Gaw
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
John was recruited into the industry after a college soccer game, when someone approached him and asked what he planned to do after school. He had interned at Merrill Lynch and realized finance was not the path he wanted to pursue, so he joined a publicly traded recruiting firm straight out of college.
Before co-founding Navigate, John worked at four recruiting firms. He credits having strong managers at each one with shaping how he learned the business and developed his approach to working with clients.
His experience spans CPA firms, entertainment business management, wealth management, and family office. That work has put him across the table from senior professionals, partners, firm owners, and acquirers. His approach to M&A is practical: understand what each side wants, make introductions that fit, and reduce unnecessary friction throughout the process.
Confidentiality from the start
Our conversations stay confidential
Most owners who contact us have told very few people, and sometimes no one. Their partners, employees, and clients may not know they are exploring their options, and that is a normal place to start.
An inquiry is not a mandate and does not commit you to anything. We also do not need the name of your firm to have a useful first conversation.
We do not identify your firm or approach a potential counterparty on your behalf without your written authorization.
Navigate Search and Navigate M&A Advisors
How the two connect
The two businesses address different needs within the same professional services markets, but those needs often overlap. A retiring partner may need to be replaced. An acquisition may create a leadership gap. A firm preparing for succession may realize it needs a stronger management team before taking the next step.
Working across both Search and M&A gives Navigate a broader view of the issues that can shape a firm’s growth, leadership, succession, and ownership decisions.
Navigate Search focuses on talent, leadership, and helping firms grow from within.
Navigate M&A Advisors focuses on ownership transitions, strategic combinations, and acquisitions.
Selected CPA firm experience
Client confidentiality prevents us from naming firms. The following examples are representative of work Navigate has already publicly shared.
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Internal succession
A CPA firm of more than thirty years whose senior partners wanted to step back while the practice continued under internal ownership. Navigate supported firm leadership through an employee buyout.
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Strategic merger
An established accounting practice looking to broaden its service offering and market presence. Navigate introduced the firm to a leading regional organization and supported conversations around strategic and cultural fit.
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Capital-backed combination
A regional CPA firm that joined a well-capitalized accounting platform. Navigate made the introduction and supported both sides through the process.
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Boutique combination
Two niche CPA practices with complementary specialties. Navigate identified the potential fit, made the introduction and supported both firms through the combination.
The conversation can start before the decision does
Although some people come to us with a decision already made, most do not. Succession, an offer already on the table, an acquisition plan, or simply wanting to understand the market before there is anything to decide are all reasonable places to start.
An initial conversation is not a commitment to pursue a transaction.