Mark Sneider
Partner
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- Full Name
- Mark Sneider
- Title
- Partner / Co-founder
- Firm
- The Firefly Group, LLC
- Firm Type
- Lower-middle-market private equity / independent sponsor (note: not a traditional angel/seed investor despite the stub label — the firm acquires and operates established lower-middle-market businesses)
- Investment Stage
- Platform acquisitions and add-on acquisitions of operating, lower-middle-market companies (control/buyout, not seed)
- Target Company Profile
- Growth-oriented, lower-middle-market operating companies with existing leadership teams
- Sector Focus
- Human capital / talent, sales recruiting, the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) community, multi-unit franchise, specialty building materials, medical & student transportation, fractional services, wellbeing, and training
- Geographic Focus
- Midwest United States (broadly U.S. / North America)
- Location
- St. Louis, Missouri (firm co-headquartered in Indianapolis, IN and St. Louis, MO)
Background
Mark Sneider is a co-founder and partner of The Firefly Group, a private equity firm founded in 2014 that acquires and operates growth-oriented, lower-middle-market companies in the Midwest. He is based in the firm's St. Louis office, while co-founders David Mann and Derrick Smith operate largely out of Indianapolis. The firm's stated mission is "helping people and companies reach their full potential," and it pursues both new platform investments and add-on acquisitions for existing portfolio companies.
Before co-founding Firefly, Sneider built a career spanning principal investing, management consulting, entrepreneurship, and investment banking. He held venture capital and private equity roles at Oak Investment Partners and Roark Capital Group, worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, and began his career as an investment banking analyst at Goldman Sachs & Co.
He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an AB from Harvard College. He serves on the boards of several Firefly-affiliated companies, including Dealers Wholesale, EOS Worldwide, and Express Medical Transporters (EMT).
Investment Thesis & Focus
- Invests in growth-oriented, lower-middle-market operating companies, typically via control/platform acquisitions plus add-ons — this is a buyout/operating model, not seed-stage angel investing.
- Concentrates on the Midwest and broader U.S., with a preference for businesses tied to human capital, talent/sales recruiting, and the EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) community.
- Favored sectors include human capital services, multi-unit franchise, specialty building materials, medical & student transportation, fractional services, wellbeing, and training.
- Emphasizes partnership with existing leadership teams to build "enduring value" rather than purely transactional deals.
- Stated firm values that guide what they back: "acting with integrity and honor," "balancing compassionate accountability with people-focused results," "combining confidence with intellectual humility," and "pursuing ambitious initiatives with decisive action."
Notable Investments
- Dealers Wholesale — Indianapolis-based manufacturer, distributor, and installer of specialty building materials; Firefly exited on 22-Jan-2026. (Sneider served on the board.)
- Titus Talent Strategies — Talent-strategy firm serving entrepreneurial businesses and the EOS community; Firefly announced a strategic investment/partnership.
- Amplify Recruiting — Human-capital / recruiting services company; Firefly's investment recorded 01-Sep-2025.
- Express Medical Transporters (EMT) — Medical and student transportation provider; Sneider board member.
- EOS Worldwide — Organization behind the Entrepreneurial Operating System; Sneider board member.
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