SMBash 2026 Highlights

SMBash is always something that's circled on the calendar for me and folks like me, because it's an opportunity to meet with other speakers and people entering the search community. The event is always a really nice mix of formal, structured learning, so I usually learn a couple of tricks and new ideas that I can bring back to my company, but also the informal spaces that they cultivate. It's a great excuse to go meet other people working in the same thing.

I came to SMBash this year because of the people. There are amazing people here every single year I go. I've been here four of the last five years, and it's always just a pleasure. So much of this conference is that there's a ton of great things you can learn from the people speaking on stage, because everyone here is doing interesting things, is very knowledgeable, and most importantly, is helpful.

SMBash is a really powerful event that brings so many different types of people and knowledge that you can learn from. There are so many different ways you can benefit from it, whether it's meeting other people, networking and connecting, or learning skills from people that are actually in the space, whether they are already running a business or buying a business.

We focus on tactical. We're not just teaching the high level of here's what ETA is and here's how you can buy a business, but really where the rubber meets the road. How do you overcome challenges? We're real. We're not here to sell the dream of ETA. We want to be very real about what the risks are, how you mitigate them, and what you need to be careful for. We really balance high quality, actionable content with very real content that's going to help you be a more effective buyer and operator, rather than just saying you can do it and everyone's going to be successful. Instead, here's how to avoid the traps for the unwary.