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Search Funded: The ETA Podcast
Interviews with acquisition entrepreneurs and investors to distill the best practices for acquiring and operating established businesses.
Episodes
30 episodes
Building a Search Fund in China: No Playbook, Local Trust, and What Actually Works - Sally Tian, Snowtide Capital
Sally Tian shares her journey from consulting, tech, and Harvard Business School to building one of the first search funds in China alongside her husband and co-founder. She explains why she walked away from the “immigrant dream” and chos...
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The End of Financial Engineering and Why AI Won’t Save You - Lee McCabe, Claymore Partners
Most private equity returns over the last decade were not driven by operators. They were driven by cheap debt and multiple expansion. That playbook is breaking.In this episode, Lee McCabe, partner at Claymore Partners, explains what actu...
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He Built an Industry Leader and Walked Away from Selling It - Eric Whitley, GridSME
In this episode we speak with Eric Whitley, co-founder of GridSME and GridSec, one of the leading providers of grid compliance, engineering, and cybersecurity services for renewable energy operators in the Western United States. After decades w...
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ETA Is Breaking (and Going Global): Investor Conflict, Weak Boards, and Structural Shifts - Ibrahim Abdel Rahim of Moonbase Capital
In this episode, Ibrahim Abdel Rahim returns to share how ETA has evolved from a niche strategy into a rapidly globalizing asset class.Moonbase has expanded beyond Europe into markets like Brazil and India, where activity is accelerating...
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From M&A in Africa to Enterprise Wireless Infrastructure, DC Moore of ATG
DC Moore is a mid-career searcher and the new CEO of Atlantic Technology Group, an enterprise wireless and mobility infrastructure provider benefiting from durable tailwinds tied to 5G densification, in-building connectivity needs, and rising m...
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From Fired Searcher to $50M in Deals in One Year | Kevin Hong, Caprae Capital
Kevin Hong is a former searcher who was fired from the company he acquired and is now the founder of Caprae Capital, a tech-enabled lower middle market investment platform behind SaaSquatch Leads, Search as a Service, and a growing portfolio of...
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Employee Ownership as a Search Fund Advantage, Turner Wyatt of Small Capital
Turner Wyatt is the founder and CEO of Small Capital, an investment firm backing self-funded searchers who want to bake employee ownership into their acquisitions from day one. A lifelong social entrepreneur (food security, food waste/cli...
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What a Legendary Wall Street Insider Looks for in Search Fund Entrepreneurs, William D. Cohan
On this episode of Search Funded, we sit down with William D. Cohan, bestselling author, longtime financial journalist, and former Wall Street M&A banker, for a wide-ranging conversation that spans search fund investing, leadership...
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Buying Spotify artist music rights with Tom Sarig, Antifragile Music
On this episode of Search Funded, we sit down with Tom Sarig, founder and CEO of Antifragile Equity Partners. A Grammy-winning music executive and former SVP at multiple major labels, Tom has worked with artists like The ...
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Is Now The Time for EtA in Emerging Markets?
New SBA rules are making self-funded search tougher—especially for non-U.S. citizens. In this episode, we explore why it might be time to look abroad and my personal reflections after spending the past few months traveling through the Middle Ea...
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Episode 21 - Abhi Golhar, Meridian 84
Abhi Golhar is an entrepreneur, private equity investor, and nationally recognized speaker specializing in business leadership, innovation strategy, and private markets investing. With a track record of founding, scaling, and exiting mult...
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Episode 18 - LaSean Smith, CAGR Investments
Lasean Smith is founder of CAGR Investments, a micro-PE firm that is part family office and part product studio.. Lasean holds a bachelor's in media and computer science from Southern Illinois University, a master's from Arizona State Universit...
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Episode 20 - Kevin Bibelhausen, Fruition Capital (and Heritage Fabrics)
Kevin Bibelhausen is an investor and business owner based in High Point, North Carolina. He frequently consults on digital strategy & operations, is a sought after conference speaker, frequent podcast guest and author. Kevin is passionate a...
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Episode 17 - Gabriel Chick, Service-Tech Corporation
Gabriel Chick is the President and CEO of Cleveland, Ohio-based HVAC and industrial cleaning services company Service Tech Corporation (STC). Prior to STC, Gabriel served over 4 years as a Field Artillery Officer in the US Army where he led and...
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Episode 16 - Tom Gilroy, GKG Risk
In this episode, Tom Gilroy, representing the fourth generation at GKG Risk, shares invaluable insights into the critical role of insurance due diligence in the process of acquiring a business and often-overlooked aspects of insurance in ensuri...
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Episode 15 - Saumil Jariwala, Feta Fund
Saumil Jariwala, of Feta Fund, (Founder-focused Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition) joins us on this episode to talk about his mission to help one thousand entrepreneurs acquire businesses in his lifetime. We dive deep into...
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Episode 14 - Javier Puig, Arada Capital Partners
Arada Capital Partners is a multidisciplinary team that invests in search funds across Europe.Javier Puig, Partner at Arada Capital Partners, joined me to discuss Arada's value add and his journey launching a search fund investor after ...
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Episode 13 - Bakari Akil, Graves Hall Capital
In this episode, host Nick Lall interviews Bakari Akil, Managing Director of Graves Hall Capital. They discuss Bakari's unique path to becoming a successful acquisition entrepreneur, including his most recent acquisition of a $30 m...
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Episode 12 - Jose Moreno, AIJ Holdings
AIJ Global (also known as AIJ Holdings, and formerly known as AI Global) is an international investment group with interests in multiple asset classes, including search funds, private equity, and startup ventures led by highly motivated and tal...
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Episode 11 - Rafael Dufour, Relais du Dirigeant
Rafael is a solo traditional searcher looking to acquire an SME in France. He has 11 years of purchasing, sales, business development, strategy, and general management experience in Manufacturing (Steel, Textile) and FMCG (Personal care, Hygien...
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Episode 10 - Round 2 with Ibrahim and Khaled of Moonbase Capital
Moonbase just raised $5M and Ibrahim and Khaled returned to discuss what they're seeing in the search fund ecosystem.
Episode 9 - Andrew Locke, co-founder of Ambit Partners
Ambit Partners is a dedicated Search Fund investor, enabling entrepreneurship through acquisition in traditional and developing markets. They combine a global investment mandate with deep SME transacting and operating experience - supporting a ...
Episode 8 - Pete Seligman, Australian search investor
Pete is a former acquisition entrepreneur himself who now backs aspiring private business owners by co-investing in their businesses and coaching them to make real progress by: distilling the mission; articulating the strategy; building g...
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Episode 7 - Dr. Newton Campos, Managing Partner of Newton Equity Partners
Dr. Campos is the Country Director of IE University in Brazil, Professor of Entrepreneurship at FGV EAESP, Visiting Professor at IE Business School (Spain) and ITA (Brazil) and Founder and Managing Partner of Newton Equity Partners, a company t...
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Episode 6 - Mitsuya Shimura, Founder and Managing Partner of M Capital
M Capital is the second traditional search fund ever in Japan, where Mitsuya is currently searching for a business to acquire. Prior to launching his search fund, Mitsuya had an MBA from IE Business school and a Master's in Civil & ...