Dedicated to full-time Search Funds
Are you one of the following?
Being entrepreneurial is so much bigger than starting a company and going from zero to one. I wish more people, especially women, would consider becoming an entrepreneur through acquisition. Doing so is a great idea for an entrepreneurial-minded leader who wants to reduce risk and get a head start with building a business. It's also great for really smart, motivated people who may have been out of the labor market for a while, especially if they've been caring for children and / or aging parents. EtA gives the leverage of an established customer base, revenue streams, and operational processes.
Christy Johnson, Lead of the University of Washington Women in Entrepreneurial Leadership program
Stanford MBA, ex-McKinsey & Company
Source: Stanford Graduate School of Business 2022 Search Fund Study: Selected Observations
32.1% IRR
Average, based on 526 search funds formed since 1984, excluding the top 5 performers.
Key Milestones
1984: Harvard initiated, and Stanford developed, the Search Fund model for entrepreneurship through acquisition (EtA).
1996: Stanford began publishing bi-annual EtA reports. The chart (side) is from the 2022 report, including data up to Dec 31, 2021.
1999: 15-20 investors accounted for the majority of capital investment in EtA.
2011: Booth and Kellogg Northwestern, Chicago’s top business schools, joined the movement.