Canadian Searchers, how is this current environment?

professional profile

March 02, 2023

by a professional from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC, Canada

Curious to see how our Canadian folks have fared in their search the past few months. Any major hurdles? How do you feel things differ compared to down south? Would love to hear how everyone is progressing and what stage they are in. Feel like the community in Canada could use some dialogue and learnt experiences from one another.

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Reply by a searcher
from University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, Canada
Hi Avnit, I’m currently gearing up for starting the search later this year. I’m mostly focused on building my network and getting connected with as many people within the community as I can to learn their stories, perspectives and advice about the EtA space, challenges, and opportunities. Currently, I can think of 3 main challenges in relation to the Canadian market (pretty sure no surprise to most Canadian Searchers): 1) Canadian Universities/Colleges are lacking ETA education. Unsurprisingly, and unfortunately, our universities are currently in no position to act as EtA hubs, unlike many educational institutions in US and some in Europe. In my opinion, this is one of the major factors limiting the growth and acceleration of the Canadian Search Funding community. 2) The Canadian search fund ecosystem is far less professionalized and is heavily dependent on US capital given the fact we do not have an SBA equivalent program in Canada. We are lucking infrastructure to support the Canadian Search Funding community – a limited number of local investment search funds, pretty much no accelerators, and incubators. I strongly believe this is an incredible time for Search Fund investors to establish in the local market. 3) Proprietary search in Canada has far less competition than in US. However, our market is much smaller and sellers/brokers are far less accustomed to Search Funding. I think we are 7-10 years behind the US. That being said, I have doubts ETA and Search Funding present incredible opportunities in Canada. The local ecosystem is in far better shape compared to###-###-#### .
commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from Queen's University in Toronto, ON, Canada
Hello Avnit. Happy to share my perspectives with you. Message me and we can connect
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