Over the past year, I have had the opportunity to experience acquisition entrepreneurship from much closer than I originally expected. I graduated from NYU in 2025 and began my career at AlphaSights, where I supported private equity clients across a wide range of industries. Outside of work, however, I had become increasingly focused on entrepreneurship through acquisition. I spent much of my free time studying the model, listening to podcasts such as Acquiring Minds and Acquisitions Anonymous, and building relationships with investors, lenders, searchers, and operators. Through that process, I developed a relationship with an experienced entrepreneur who became a mentor. When he acquired Five Oaks Nursery, a three-location wholesale and retail nursery business in Southeastern North Carolina, I supported diligence, financial projections, and the transition into new ownership. He remained in a board-level role while continuing to work at the PE-backed company he had previously sold, staying removed from Five Oaks’ day-to-day operations. He ultimately gave me the opportunity to leave New York, move to Wilmington, and lead the business as CEO. At Five Oaks, I was given an unusual amount of responsibility for someone early in his career. I oversaw the company’s three locations and held responsibility across operations, hiring, technology, financial performance, inventory, production, logistics, equipment, business development, and strategic growth. During my time here, we scaled the team from 9 to 25 employees and increased monthly revenue from approximately $60,000 to more than $260,000. I helped restructure the operating model by centralizing production and inventory management across the wholesale and retail businesses, creating greater purchasing efficiency and opportunities for improved margins. I also implemented the company’s technology stack across point-of-sale, accounting, payroll, inventory, e-commerce, reporting, and workflow automation. On the growth side, I independently sourced and negotiated a partnership with a 1,000-plus-acre regional turf producer, making Five Oaks an in-city fulfillment hub and one of the few—if not the only—nurseries in Wilmington offering bulk turf supply capabilities. I also developed a pop-up retail strategy that allowed us to bring inventory directly to apartment communities, HOAs, breweries, and other local organizations helping with sales, and expanding brand footprint during the seasonal slowdown. The next transition was not one we originally anticipated. The owner has recently been unexpectedly separated from the PE-backed company he had previously sold, giving him the opportunity to come into to Five Oaks full-time. At the same time, the business is entering its seasonal slowdown after making significant front-loaded investments in inventory, staffing, systems, and infrastructure. The decision was made for him to take on direct day-to-day leadership and operate the business. We are therefore entering a transitional period in which my responsibilities are being reduced as he takes over the operating role. There is no falling out, and I remain grateful for the opportunity. In a short period, I received the equivalent of several years of operating experience and gained a much clearer understanding of what it takes to lead a small business after an acquisition. A professional recommendation letter from the owner is available, and my appointment to the leadership team was also covered by WilmingtonBiz in its reporting on the acquisition (link available upon request). My next goal is to launch a dedicated search for a business of my own. Through the relationships I have developed, I have received verbal acquisition backing from a large and successful capital partner. What I am now working to solve is the search phase itself: building a structure that allows me to support myself while dedicating my full attention to sourcing, evaluating, and ultimately acquiring a great small business. I am open to several paths, including raising a traditional search fund, joining a CEO-in-residence model, partnering with investors who support independent searchers, or finding an operating role that allows me to continue building relevant experience while searching. I would be grateful to connect with search fund investors, acquisition entrepreneurs, lenders, brokers, and operators who may have advice, opportunities, or interest in supporting the next phase of my journey. I am also always happy to share what I learned operating a business immediately following an acquisition. I'd be happy to engage through SearchFunder, text or call atredacted, or email me at redacted This experience confirmed that ETA is not simply an area of interest for me. It is the career I intend to build.