For founders ready for their next chapter
Carrying forward what you have built.
Romero Ventures is looking for a great business to own, lead, and grow.
Let’s talk
About Romero Ventures
As a business passes to a new owner, we are here to help it keep what makes it special: its people, its culture, and its edge.
About Heike
Heike Schirmer
Heike grew up on a farm in southern Germany that has been in her family for generations, and saw early on what it takes to pass a business from one generation to the next.
Curious about how the world works, she studied physics in Munich and then spent six years at McKinsey, first in Germany and then in the U.S., where she has lived ever since. After consulting, she moved into operating roles. She led product strategy at Graphiq, a Santa Barbara tech company, and helped guide it through its acquisition by Amazon. At Amazon, she quickly rose from Product Manager to General Manager of a 100+ person organization. Most recently, she was an executive at Yogi, an AI start-up focused on consumer intelligence, working directly with brands from emerging companies to household names. There, she helped triple revenue and raise customer retention from below 80% to 90%.
Heike is driven by helping others reach their best, whether by building people-first teams, founding a German language school for bilingual families, or talking friends into endurance races. She is a regular at running events, triathlons, and other sporting adventures, always looking for new challenges. She lives in Santa Barbara with her husband and two children.
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What we look for
Businesses we partner with
Business type
Technology companies
Business services
Industry interests
Serving consumer packaged goods (CPG) players (brands, retailers, manufacturers, etc.)
Serving the sports & fitness industry
Youth enrichment
Qualities
Recurring or highly repeatable revenue
Durable customer relationships
Defensible competitive advantage
Financials
Demonstrated profitability and growth
Ideally $10–50 million in annual revenue, generating $2+ million in EBITDA
Owner situation
Nearing retirement
Looking to reduce involvement
Planning to pursue other ventures
Every business and every owner’s situation is different. If yours is close but not a perfect match, we would still love to talk. We are especially excited to hear from women business owners!
Why us
Why owners choose us
Personal
You will know exactly who takes over. Heike will run the business herself, full-time, for the long term.
People-First
We will invest in your existing team and work with you to ensure employees’ long-term success.
Flexible
Sell fully or keep a stake, stay involved as an advisor, and set a transition timeline that works for you.
Contact
Let’s talk
Whether you are ready to sell, just starting to think about what is next, or know an owner who might be, we would love to hear from you. Every conversation is confidential.
Book a 30-min call
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