beware the circling sharks
March 18, 2025
by an intermediary from Harvard University in Boston, MA, USA
This is prob super obvious but I feel it needs to be restated...apologies in advance for any I offend...
First, some context: after building, selling my own little construction co 17 years ago, I worked for 2 years as traditional business broker at Alpine before going deep into tech - where I then got to be part of some really exciting PE/VC/YC backed organic growth and exits, with plenty of inorganic action to juice it - Oracle (145 acquisitions), Qualtrics (19X! to SAP, then Silver Lake), InMoment (Madison Dearborn), Lob (YC S13, YC Continuity Fund (RIP), First Round, Polaris). All combined, way better education than anything I gathered at Harvard (sorry guys). In each case, all parties to a transaction had years of experience and teams of advisors. And even then, I saw some of the biggest and baddest PEs get completely bamboozled. Caveat emptor, not venditor; there is no consumer protection.
Now as I've returned directly to the intermediary space almost 2 decades later, searching has become a beautiful and growing thing - which I LOVE. Nothing is better (and harder) than entrepreneurship. 50% of the US is employed by small businesses. You are the future, don't give up on those searches and dreams! 99% of you should buy, not build. There are so many businesses that need your energy, vision, and progressive skills.
That said, I'm surprised by the number of new services that have exploded to "service" searchers. Some of you have great educations but are very new to business and really need good street counsel - a local CPA, attorney, SCORE, SBDC, and a salty mentor (Uncle Jimmy) are critical to your future success, now and beyond, and usually worth every dime (though the last 3 should be free...). This searchfunder community is an incredible tool (kudos ^redacted!). A QOE makes sense in some situations. BUT PLEASE be thoughtful about some of the broader educational programs and services available. Some of it might be good, a lot of it is garbage. I hope you know that already. Be wise stewards of your funds. Know your blind spots. If in doubt - pay for transaction advice, not seminars. I'm speaking as someone who generally reps sell-side - but we all win in a healthy ecosystem.
from INSEAD in San Francisco, CA, USA
Taking a step back, I've come to two conclusions about these "services" (how-to guides, accelerators, mastermind groups, advisors, etc...):
1. They prey upon the fearful and insecure nature of the searcher by offering to 100% de-risk the process. Unfortunately, the reality is nothing is 100% guaranteed when it comes to search. And while you should always attempt to mitigate that risk, you also have to just do it.
2. At the extreme, they hinder the creative, ingenuity, and perseverance that you NEED to be successful not only as a searcher, but also as a business owner. Even if you are somehow able to outsource the search process by having an accelerator, buyer's agent, mentor, and such how are you going to fare as an operator?
from Harvard University in Boston, MA, USA