Looking at starting my self-funded search. About me:

Hi! My name is Spencer and I am looking at starting a search to acquire a small business. I have a non-traditional background compared to most searchers and that might come with some pros and cons to successfully acquiring an SMB. I am currently a PhD Student at Penn State University pursuing a PhD in Real Estate and Finance. The goal was to get the PhD and then get a job as a Finance Professor in a Business School. It turns out that academia is not for me. I think I have a hard time getting behind thinking like an economist and my research interests are too applied to academia. My academic research has covered CAPEX in real estate, CMBS default risk, and Opportunity Zones.

I have always been interested in entrepreneurship and have a strong family heritage of successful entrepreneurs who have really shaped the way that I think. I am only a few months into an informal, part-time search so I haven't settled on any particular industry, but I do have some preferences on geography since I have a wife and 3 little kids.

I have 2 undergraduate degrees from Brigham Young University in Supply Chain Management and Economics with a Minor in Math. Now I am working through a PhD at Penn State plus a Masters. I hope to connect with a lot of other past, present, and future searchers to build my network. I also hope to connect with potential equity partners should I need to raise LP capital for a deal.

Glad to be here!