Canadian Searchers, how is this current environment?

by a professional from Simon Fraser University

1 year ago

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.

0 likes
52 views
2 comments

searcher from University of British Columbia - Sauder School of Business

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###-###-#### .

1 year ago | like reply | 0 likes

searcher from Queen's University

Hello Avnit. Happy to share my perspectives with you. Message me and we can connect

1 year ago | like reply | 0 likes

More on Searchfunder

Just Closed on My First Deal! Reflections and Takeaways for other Searchers

45,152 transactions are available on Searchfunder (now searchable by keyword)

Family office looking for traditional searchers

2 Best Ways To Find Motivated Sellers, Off-Market Deals

Downsides of "buying a job" below 750k+ EBITDA?

6-7x for a Self-funded Search Deal?

Examples of self-funded searcher websites

Self Funded Acquisition: A few Things I Learned

Searchfunder is an online community and toolkit for searchfunds. Over 80% of those involved in searchfunds maintain a Searchfunder.com account to help them network, problem solve challenges, and keep up with the industry.

We maintain partnerships with database providers that make searching more effective, efficient and affordable along with features that help searchers find deals and investors and vice versa.