Articles

Nickelsburg, Monica. 2017-03-08. "Search fund founders discover 'best kept secret'' for women who want to become entrepreneurs." GeekWire.

"Two Harvard MBA's, Martinique Grigg and Clara Veniard, launch a self-funded search fund in Seattle a decade after graduation."

Müller, Anja. 2017-01-27. "Search Funds To The Rescue." Handelsblatt Global - The European Business Daily.

"German business owners and politicians have been struggling with for years: Finding qualified people to help run the companies of the German Mittelstand. A few young MBA's are stepping up to follow this path to Entrepreneurship instead of traditional Investment Banking and Private Equity jobs."

Hunter, Glenn. 2017-01. "Why Many Entrepreneurs Are Turning to a ''Search-Fund'' Model."..

"Dallas has had a number of active Entrepreneurship through Acquisition searchers, including searching Simone and Malcolm Collins of Collins Family Ventures, successful acquirers Nick Padlo of Graycourt Capital, Andy Love of Behavioral Health Group, and Clayton Collins of Riomar Capital."

Hunter, Glenn. 2017-01. "Why Many Entrepreneurs Are Turning to a ''Search-Fund' Model." D Magazine.

Ruback, Richard, and Royce Yudkoff. 2017-01. "Buying Your Way into Entrepreneurship." Harvard Business Review.

"Chronicles lessons from three MBAs as they searched for and became CEOs of the businesses they purchased to become entrepreneurs."

Writer, Staff. 2016-09-03. "Private Equity for Absolute Beginners." The Economist - Digital and Print Edition.

"Funded; Searchers: Lucas Braun and Ryan Robinson, GSB-2007; Search Name: Brown Robin Capital; Acquired: OnRamp - IT Services; Location: Austin, TX"

Nohria, Nitin. 2016-09-02. "Appreciating the Big Role of Small Businesses." Wall Street Journal.

"Nitin Nohria, Dean of Harvard Business School, highlights the role of SMEs in the economy and the renewed interest that MBAs have in learning about them in an HBS course."

Sullivan, Paul. 2016-07-15. "Selling a Business Involves More Than Money." New York Times.

"Seller's perspectives on when and how to sell their business."

Ruback, Richard S. and Royce Yudkoff. 2016-03-25. "Why More MBAs Should Buy Small Businesses." Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneurship, March 25, 2016.

"The authors of the HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business (HBR Press, 2016) think that concerns about the "risk" of searching for a business to buy are misplaced and that searching is less risky than other career paths that are traditionally considered more stable for graduating MBAs."

Tugend, Alina. 2016-03-16. "You’ve Bought a Small Business. Now What?." New York Times, Entrepreneurship, March 16, 2016.

"Trish, James, and Palmer Higgins searched and bought Seabreeze Property Services, describing their first 6 months of ownership transition. Randy Shayler, who bought a musical instrument rental company in Reading, Pa., took over the entire ownership of the 93-year-old business, Zeswitz Music, three years ago and related the impact that an HBS course had on his career path."

Johnston, Theresa. 2015-09-25. "What it Takes to be a Search Fund Entrepreneur." Stanford Graduate School of Business, Insights, September 25, 2015.

"Coley Andrews, GSB-2009, Co-Founder of Pacific Lake, says that acquiring an existing company has lower risks than starting your own business."

Tugend, Alina. 2015-09-09. "A Path for Entrepreneurs, When a Start-Up Is Not the Goal." New York Times, September 9, 2015.

"James Higgins, 31, his wife, Trish, 29, and his brother Palmer, 27, formed a self-funded search and purchased a snow removal and landscaping company in southern Maine. Devin Mackoff, 29, also bought a landscaping business, with revenue of $250,000 to $500,000 annually, on Cape Cod."

Moules, Jonathan. 2015-03-29. "Entrepreneurs use business school tools to buy companies globally." Financial Times, Feature of the Week, March 29, 2015.

"IESE published study on Search Funds reviewed. Description of Spanish Searcher Marc Bartomeus, an MBA graduate from MIT Sloan, at Airol purchased a plastics packaging company in Spain."

Ryan, David. 2014-12-02. "How to Buy a Business When you Have no Collateral." Forbes - Entrepreneurs.

"Self-funded; Searchers: Alex Livingston, HBS-2013 and Eddie Santillan, HBS-2013; Search Name: Redwood Management Partners; Unique: Using SBA funding."

Loder, Vanessa. 2014-08-07. "The Search Fund Model: How To Become A 28-Year-Old CEO." Forbes, August 7, 2014.

"Chris Hendriksen (GSB-2006), who raised a funded search and became the owner/operator of a small healthcare business, which he and his partner grew to over $30 million in revenue and recently sold to a private equity firm."

Posts – Most Recent

Posts – Contemplating a Search

Posts – Launching a Search

Posts – Conducting your Search

Posts – Being CEO/Owner

Random Quote

45-“Strategic partners” are very important to the business searchers.You want to rely on some trusted providers to support your business, you can’t do everything yourself!(See Blog Post-Strategic Partnerships)

42-Start early on legal documents, they often delay closings while under LOIBoth the searcher and the seller are plowing new ground and it takes a while to comprehend the meaning of all of the legal details .(See Blog Post-Getting to closing)

63 Searchers make promises they can meet to build trust with sellers. It is important to provide incremental opportunities to show that you can be counted on to deliver.(See Blog Post-Building Trust with Sellers)

34 Searchers who get access to employees before closing are more likely to close. Once the seller begins to confide in their employees about the sale of the business and introducing you as the “new owner”, they are more likely to proceed to finalize the transaction than to change their mind at the last minute.(See Blog Post-Getting to Close)

07-You are not a PE firm, don’t act like one!
Potential sellers resonate with your taking over their legacy, a PE firm is simply adding to their portfolio. Make sure your website looks personal and non-intimidating.

04-Fight Seller Fatigue in Due Diligence!
Sellers get worn out in this process. It is highly emotional for them, probably their first time at relinquishing their “baby” to someone else. During LOI stage, make it a practice to communicate with them, in person or by phone, every 2 days.

53-Holding monthly “all-hands” meetings indicates your transparency. Trust employees with what is going on with the business and they will trust you more .(See Blog Post-Communicating with Employees)

06-Use metrics to drive decisions
Track what is most important for your search – getting in front of prospective sellers to make offers to buy their business. Track the number prospects, IOI’s, LOI’s and set goals for yourself! If you measure it, you can improve it.

22-When in conflicts arise, remind professional advisors they work for you.
Inevitably, you will disagree with some advice you are getting. After checking multiple sources, do what feels right to you and move forward. You will have to “live” with your own choices, not the professionals!(See Blog Post-Professional Support)

18-Every day that goes by during Due Diligence raises the chance that you won’t close!
Time is of the essence when it comes to moving from a signed LOI to closing on your business. Seller fatigue sets in as the closing date gets extended and the seller constantly re-evaluates their motivation to sell. Only you can push the process along.(See Blog Post-Due Diligence)

44-Plan ahead, give thought to the small details of how you present yourself as the new owner. The first introduction to the employees of the business has a huge impact so you want every word to be rehearsed!(See Blog Post-Taking over the business)

50-Don’t expect immediate “loyalty”, the previous owner earned it, it takes time. You will need to earn the trust of your employees by your actions, not your words. (See Blog Post-Seller Tranisition)

35-Searcher CEO’s need to be prepared to walk away from volume orders if margins will decline. It takes a forward thinking CEO to seek out higher margin, value added opportunities to grow profits, not revenue.(See Blog Post-Wearing the sales hat)

09-Learn from others – read case histories
Over 40 case histories have been written about funded and self funded searchers in a variety of industries and historical settings. Each have great “lessons learned” and are worth the $10 cost to read them. Searchers are learners!

39-The business seller is “hiring” you to run their business. The owner trusts you enough to turnover the “legacy” of their business to you. (See Blog Post-Searcher Profile)