A founder story for every wantrepreneur wondering where to begin.

“You don’t always have to start something from scratch. Sometimes the best businesses are the ones already built, they just need the right next owner.” Chat Joglekar, Co-founder & CEO of Baton

A broken system and the moment it clicked

Like many great startups, Baton began with a casual conversation that revealed a massive gap.

“A friend told me he was trying to buy a small business. He said, ‘Talking to you reminds me of what’s missing; it needs something like Zillow. That stuck.”

Chat had spent nearly six years at Zillow. He knew exactly what was missing: transparency, data, and trust.

The small business buying space was foggy, fragmented, and full of friction. Business owners didn’t know what their companies were worth. Buyers didn’t know where to start.

“You wouldn’t offer $1 million on a house worth $250K, but that’s essentially what was happening.”

So he built the solution, and Baton was born.

Roots in real estate, powered by a self-proclaimed marketplace nerd

Chat’s understanding of this problem goes way back, all the way to the backseat of his mom’s car.

“My mom was a real estate agent 40 years ago. I’d sit in the backseat while she drove clients around with MLS printouts. Back then, the agents were the gatekeepers of all the info.”

That early exposure to real estate, combined with six years at Zillow, laid the foundation. But what really lit the fire?

“I’m probably a marketplace nerd,” he admits.”

He means it in the best way. Chat loves thinking about how platforms work, especially two-sided ones. Baton became the perfect playground: the chance to apply marketplace principles to a massive, underserved space and solve real pain points for real people.

“There are 6 million small businesses in the U.S. with employees and most owners have no idea what their business is worth, which means they have no idea how to even begin thinking about selling.”

That’s where Baton starts with a free, no-strings-attached valuation.

Listening = momentum

“We started with just valuations. But pretty quickly, owners started asking: Can you help me sell my business, too? That’s when we knew we were onto something.”

Instead of sticking rigidly to the original idea, Chat leaned in. He listened. And Baton evolved into a full-service platform from valuation to closing, giving sellers a simple, supported way to pass the baton (literally).

Early wins validated the model. One crepe stand listed for $150K got three offers.

“If we could create competition for a food stand, we knew we could scale this.”

Today, they’re closing multi-million dollar deals. But the ethos remains the same: clarity, trust, and respect for the seller’s legacy.

“We’re not just a platform. We’re a partner.”

One story that stands out to Chat involves a concierge medical practice owner who was getting bombarded with offers from private equity firms.

“He told me, ‘It’s the one part of my life where I feel like an idiot. I don’t know what’s fair.’ So we gave him a valuation, and he suddenly had leverage. He could say, ‘Thanks, but I know what this is worth.’ That changed everything.”

Baton isn’t about flipping businesses or churning deals. It’s about empowering owners and buyers alike with the tools and insights to make confident, human decisions.

Educating a generation of wantrepreneurs

What Chat and his team are really doing is reshaping what entrepreneurship looks like.

“People think being an entrepreneur means starting from scratch. But I believe the next generation of founders will do something smarter, they’ll buy businesses that are already working and grow them.”

There’s a whole class of small business owners nearing retirement. Many haven’t even considered selling until someone from Baton reaches out.

“We literally just ask: Have you ever thought about selling your business? And the response is often, ‘Yeah, but I didn’t know where to start.’”

That’s where Baton comes in, making the first step feel possible.

Building for trust (and speed)

Chat and his team obsess over feedback. One owner told them, “You’ve explained more about my business in the last 20 minutes than anyone has in the last 20 years.”

“We’ve learned to listen carefully not just to what users say, but to what they mean,” Chat says.

One example: buyers were frustrated by the slow, clunky process of reviewing multiple listings. No one asked for a “platform NDA,” but that’s what Baton built: a single agreement that unlocks vetted listings instantly.

“Now buyers say, ‘I can’t believe I don’t have to jump through hoops anymore.’ That’s the win.”

Just getting started

In early 2025, Baton raised $10M in Series A funding from Obvious Ventures, Burst Capital, FJ Labs, and others, validation of what they’ve built and where they’re headed.

They’re doubling down on product: AI-driven valuations, tools for M&A advisors, and a streamlined closing process, all to make buying and selling businesses as seamless as buying a home.

But the goal isn’t just scale.

“This is about honoring the people who built something and making sure the next chapter is just as strong.”

Advice to fellow founders

“Listen. Really listen. Customers will pull you where you need to go if you’re paying attention.”

That mindset, listening with humility and building with intent, is what’s propelled Baton. And it’s what will shape the next wave of wantrepreneurs who, thanks to Chat, now have a clearer path to ownership.