A Failed Traditional Search Fund to a CEO Path & Two Exits

When I graduated from business school in 2007, I knew more about what I didn’t want to do than what I did. I didn’t want to be an investment banker like my brother. I didn’t want to be a consultant or a traditional PE associate either. What intrigued me instead was the idea of operating businesses — stepping into messy situations and helping transform them. As the financial crisis (GFC) emerged, I unexpectedly found myself in India as both the CIO of a billion-dollar glass manufacturing company and the CEO of a struggling chemicals subsidiary that was effectively bankrupt. That turnaround became my real business education. Since then, I’ve operated businesses across healthcare, manufacturing, and now large-format printing. Different industries, different geographies — but in the lower middle market, the patterns are surprisingly similar. People issues, cash flow issues, operational inefficiencies, family dynamics, weak controls, untapped potential. The details change; the playbook often doesn’t. In 2013, I discovered search funds, back when only ~150 had ever been raised according to Stanford’s study. The model immediately resonated with me, so I raised a traditional search fund and spent over two years pursuing acquisitions. It was one of the most challenging and frustrating experiences of my career. Despite 11 executed LOIs, I never closed on a business. In many cases, I walked away because the numbers or fundamentals didn’t hold up. Ironically, one of those failed deals became the defining operating experience of my career. After a painful diligence process killed the acquisition, the founder convinced me to come run the company instead. I joined the business, rebuilt the accounting and revenue cycle functions, reduced significant waste, professionalized operations, and ultimately helped grow EBITDA from under $1.5M to over $6M organically - in 6 years. Along the way, there were lots of ups and downs. About a year and a half in, when some of the big changes I was making were starting to have a positive impact and just as things were stabilizing, the founder — who was like a mother to me — passed away unexpectedly. The family ultimately chose to sell the business rather than let me acquire it. I stayed on through the sale process and continued leading the company afterward with the new sponsor-backed ownership fund, helping drive another phase of growth before eventually exiting myself. Today, I own and operate a large-format printing and tradeshows business in the DC area with a partner. And yes — it’s still a grind! That’s probably the biggest lesson I’ve learned after nearly two decades as an operator: running businesses is almost always harder, messier, and more emotionally draining than it looks from the outside. But it can also be deeply fulfilling and financially transformative. What’s fascinating to me now is watching ETA and search funds become mainstream. I genuinely wonder: are more people pursuing ETA because they truly want to operate businesses — or because traditional career paths no longer feel as compelling financially or professionally? https://www.axial.net/forum/home-care-company-said-no-sale-yes-new-ceo/ https://www.axial.net/forum/4-takeaways-from-taking-over-a-family-business/ https://www.paragonventures.com/market-pulse-posts/alpine-investors-acquires-circle-of-life-home-care-anishinaabe/