The appointment of Joost Schardijn as partner at Smile Sail marks a new chapter for the young investment firm. For him, too, it is a return to familiar waters: the world of software, strategy, and growth. “I wasn’t really looking for a new opportunity”, he says. “But then a headhunter reached out. The timing, the people, the ambition – it all just connected.”
Smile Sail, an investor in Software & AI Leaders, has appointed Joost Schardijn as Partner. Joost has over 20 years of international experience in private equity, M&A, growth strategies, and strategy consulting. During his career, he held leadership roles at ACT Commodities and Unit4, was a consultant at McKinsey, and obtained his MBA at INSEAD. He also holds various advisory and board positions, including at GTO Partners and Docplanner.
With Joost's arrival, Smile Sail strengthens its position as an evergreen private equity fund that supports ambitious entrepreneurs and management teams in developing European B2B software and IT service providers into market leaders in Software & AI.
Building beyond the typical PE cycle
Founded just a year ago, Smile Sail is not a typical private equity firm. Structured as an evergreen fund, it allows for patient capital – indeed a rare commodity in a world still driven by quarterly results. Its 260 million euros portfolio is backed primarily by family offices, with a clear focus: investing in B2B software and AI-driven companies across Europe, particularly in healthcare, financial & business services, and industry 5.0.
“We attract family offices that want to invest for the long term”, Joost explains. “Unlike closed-end funds, we don’t have four- or five-year exit pressure for companies with high growth potential. We can think long-term, reinvest, and keep building.”
The fund is led by three partners – Ronald Kemmeren and Joost Schardijn in the Netherlands, and Nico Bogaerts in Belgium – a compact but seasoned team with complementary experience. Between them, they have managed M&A at firms like Unit4, HPE Growth, and Wolters Kluwer, giving Smile Sail a distinctly operational edge within the technology space.
“Our shared background in software helps us assess companies quickly”, says Joost. “Founders appreciate that we fundamentally understand their businesses, operations, technology, and financials. That credibility matters, especially when you’re not just writing checks but helping shape a company’s next phase.”
Inside Smile Sail’s long-game approach
Joost’s own path into private equity began in strategy consulting. “I worked as a consultant for six, seven years, and also doing a lot of due diligence work”, he recalls. “At some point, I realized I wanted to be an operator and build something of my own.”
That impulse led him to Unit4, where he spent five pivotal years as Business Transformation Officer. It was a time of reinvention for the software company, then under Advent International’s ownership. Joost led the Value Creation Plan from strategy and value creation, marketing and sales, to developing the product roadmap, to global acquisitions and post-merger integrations.
“At Unit4 we were constantly asking: what do we build, where do we partner, and where do we buy? We acquired several businesses in Europe and North America, often with the goal of integrating them into the Unit4 ecosystem.”
It was a lesson in both discipline and creativity, balancing strategic logic with entrepreneurial instinct. That blend would later define his approach at ACT Commodities and now at Smile Sail.
“At a strategic buyer like Unit4, you can pay more for an acquisition because of the synergies you can create – cross and -upsell, shared R&D, operational efficiencies, etc. As a financial investor, you have to create that value independently. That’s what makes the Smile Sail model so interesting: we combine long-term capital with operational depth and execution.”
A focused thesis
Smile Sail’s thesis is clear: invest in high growth, cashflow-positive or near-profitable companies that are already proving their market fit. The firm doesn’t chase early-stage startups or moonshots; instead, it looks for companies ready to accelerate.
“We’re not a venture investor”, Joost says. “We look for companies that can become category leaders: companies that are already growing fast, but where we can help them build the next layer: internationalization, marketing and sales, add-on acquisitions, operational improvements, and scalability.”
The fund’s sector focus reflects this pragmatism. In healthcare, Smile Sail sees both moral urgency and market potential.
“Healthcare represents a huge and rising share of GDP in Europe”, he explains. “Improving accessibility and affordability through technology is critical. Software for remote patient monitoring, data analytics, and compliance can make a fundamental difference.”
But Smile Sail looks beyond the clinic walls. “We’re also active in pharma and life sciences, where big data can accelerate regulatory approvals”, he adds. “We also look at hybrid models: software combined with hardware, as in remote diagnostics.”
“Improving accessibility and affordability through technology is critical in healthcare."
The logic of software
Across sectors, Smile Sail applies a consistent lens: recurring revenue, mission-critical use cases, and scalability.
“What matters to us is the underlying quality of the use case”, says Joost. “If a solution is mission-critical, it tends to have stickiness, customers can’t easily switch. That creates recurring revenue, strong margins, and long-term value.”
This approach translates into active interest in FinTech and RegTech, from payment automation to compliance and legal software, and in business services like HR, payroll, and accounting platforms.
“Those are categories we know well”, he says. “Software that automates essential, repeatable processes. It’s not about chasing hype, but it’s about backing strong fundamentals.”
The team’s credibility in these verticals ensures robust deal flow. “We see nearly all transactions in our space”, he says. “Our network – from advisors like Corporate Finance advisors, the Big Four, to our own investors – keeps us close to what’s happening. Then we prioritize opportunities that fit our thesis best.”
Human meets machine
If software is Smile Sail’s backbone, AI is its nervous system. But Joost’s view of artificial intelligence is measured rather than evangelical.
“We look at AI in two ways”, he says. “Native AI companies – born with AI as their core – and software companies that are integrating AI into existing products. For the latter, we ask: where does AI create real value? Does it make recruitment faster, legal workflows smarter, procurement more efficient? Are customers willing to pay for it?”
In the mid-market, he adds, ambition must meet realism. “In our segment you can’t hire hundred AI engineers. You have to be discerning. The key is to enhance specific processes, commercially or operationally, where AI can actually move the needle.”
“In our segment you can’t hire hundred AI engineers. The key is to enhance specific processes, commercially or operationally, where AI can actually move the needle.”
The same balance between human and machine is central to Smile Sail’s Industry 5.0 investments. “Industry 5.0 brings back the human element to technology”, Joost notes. “We’re looking at use cases in manufacturing and logistics: product optimization, simulation tools, and digital twins. Our chairman, Urbain Vandeurzen, sold his industrial software company to Siemens. That experience gives us deep roots in industrial tech.”
He pauses, then adds: “We’re even exploring opportunities in maritime and logistics – areas where software, AI, and human operations intersect. These are not just technological markets, but also geopolitically relevant ones.”
The art of buy-and-build
Beyond organic growth, Smile Sail specializes in buy-and-build strategies; scaling companies through targeted acquisitions.
“We only invest in businesses with strong fundamentals and solid management teams”, says Joost. “We’re not turnaround investors. We help management decide where to make, partner, or buy and we strategize, support and finance those buy-and-build moves alongside them.”
Integration, he insists, is where success is won or lost. “Cultural alignment is critical. Integration planning starts before the deal closes. You need clarity from day one: communications, financial control, and a roadmap to a fully integrated, scalable organization both commercially as technically.”
It’s a philosophy honed over 2 decades of practice; the kind that values cohesion over speed.
A European lens
Smile Sail’s investment footprint starts in the Benelux, expanding into adjacent markets like Germany, France, the UK, and the Nordics. Europe, Joost argues, is fertile ground for software and AI. Not despite its diversity, but because of it.
“Europe has a new generation of tech-native entrepreneurs”, he says. “They’re digital from birth, pragmatic, and globally minded. Over the past 10 to 15 years, technology has claimed an ever-larger share of the economy, and that will continue to do so. Software and AI will keep outpacing GDP growth.”
Still, he cautions against the short-termism that sometimes defines the tech sector. “That’s where our evergreen structure matters”, he adds. “We can hold, grow, and reinvest. That’s how you build true value; not by flipping companies but by nurturing them.”
Looking ahead
In 5 years, Joost hopes Smile Sail will be recognized by the quality and durability of its portfolio. “We don’t want 30 companies”, he says. “We want a manageable number that we can actively support. Each of them should be growing at least 20 percent a year; healthy, sustainable growth, a clear defensible moat, with strong management teams. That’s what long-term value looks like.”
“Ultimately, our goal is simple”, he concludes. “To partner with great people and build lasting European champions in software and AI.”
