Looking for input on people who have attended ETA conferences

March 14, 2024

by an investor from University of Florida in Atlanta, GA, USA

Hi,
I joined searchfunder last month. I am a prior software SaaS entrepreneur who raised VC money and sold the business 7 yrs later. I have done a few other 0 to 1 businesses including starting and selling a trucking business. I am late to the ETA/Search Fund model and I wish I would have done this before instead of starting from scratch. I am looking to invest in 5 to 10 self funded searchers in the next 3 yrs. But, I am looking to meet more people in the ETA/Search Fund community. I live in Atlanta and I am starting to meet a few people here, but we need a lot more networking events in my opinion.

I would appreciate any comments from people who have actually attended ETA conferences in the past. I am looking to connect with searchers and investors. What conferences would you recommend? I want to learn the POV of a searcher as much as possible so that I could be a better investor. I am an operator at heart, so this is not just about writing a check. I want to advice and help as well. I see a few conferences coming up like:
- Wharton ETA Conference on Mar 21, 2024 $100.
- SMBash in April. Salt Lake City, UT. $3,500 to attend

South East ETA Conference in September. Georgetown University in DC.
ETA Conference Booth-Kellog in Chicago in November 2024
HBS ETA Conference in Oct 2024
Any recommendations if these conferences are worth the travel, cost and time? Can someone also comment on the SMBash which is 3 days and costs more than the others?

Thank you in advance,
Mario

Reply by an investor
from McGill University in San Diego, CA, USA

Thanks for the tag ^redacted‌. In the last 3 years we have seen a material increase in attendance at all ETA conferences (SEETA in particular). A typical conference will now have 500+ attendees. Booths are set up for the sponsors (Search fund investors, lenders, and the various service providers in the space) right outside the conference Hall, and if you coordinate with the organizers, they can also help you set up some one-on-one conversations with aspiring entrepreneurs. In advance of the conference, and thereafter, there are always events you can attend to mingle/meet folks in the ecosystem. The programming is similar give or take. The key difference between them is that aspiring entrepreneurs rarely attend all of them. The Booth/Kellogg conference, for example, will largely attract aspiring entrepreneurs that attend (or attended) those universities or live in the Mid-West. While you may have entrepreneurs from the East/West coast attend the Booth/Kellogg conference, you are FAR more likely to see them at conferences closer to home.

Reply by a searcher
from INSEAD in Warsaw, Poland

I have only attended one in the US (MIT ETA conference and Feb) and one in Europe (IE University conference in Nov). I found networking to be excellent on both and would wholeheartedly recommend. Others will be in a better place to comment on the remaining conferences. In terms of what’s coming up, my focus is on Europe and I am looking forward to INSEAD conference in May and IESE in October. Regarding SMB Bash, I heard that it has excellent reviews, a lot of content, and that this year it will feature dual track - one for searcher and one for CEOs - which sounds like a great idea to further improve content lineup. However, that’s second hand knowledge. Aside from conferences, I would recommend that you reach out to searchers, search fund CEOs and maybe even other investors (there is a branch of them on this platform). This is a generous community and many may be open to a quick chat. I will be happy to chat if you are interested in views from Someone who just finished fundraising. Best of luck!

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