Jon Matzner is Co-Founder of Sagan Passport, a company in the passport and travel document services sector that he acquired through entrepreneurship through acquisition. Jon brings a dual perspective to the ETA community — having spent time on the investor side of search fund transactions before making the leap to operator himself.

At SMBash 2026, Jon joins Christian Ruf to lead a session on building meaningful relationships, hiring, and recruiting in the context of small business ownership. Jon brings the operator's perspective on one of the hardest parts of running an acquired business: finding and keeping the right people. He shares what works and what doesn't when recruiting into a business that doesn't have the brand recognition or compensation of a larger employer — and how the relationships you build before you close shape the team you're able to build after.