Looking to Speak with Searchers/Sponsors who have brought on interns/VAs successfully in their acquisition / deals.

February 15, 2026

by a searcher from University of California, Berkeley in Seattle Metropolitan Area, WA, USA

As the title says - I'm looking to speak with searchers/sponsors who have brought on interns or VAs, enjoyed their experience, and how they thought it was best structured / what was handled responsibility-wise, and the cadence of interactions. My intrigue arises from helping out some current students, mainly student-athletes, who are looking at finance/ETA as a future career but lack the typical structured time (during summer and breaks) to dedicate to traditional internships. Search seems like a great place, if structured correctly, to flex in that type of help. But I'm curious to hear your experience.

0 Likes

6 Replies

89 Views

Replies

Reply by a searcher
from University of California, Berkeley in Seattle Metropolitan Area, WA, USA

Appreciate some of the comments and conversations I've had from here. I've been looking to develop a program for interns to onboard productively to a search or operating, with an understanding of that search fund / searcher / firm's way of operating and areas to focus that will most help. Currently, these are primarily student athletes who need the flexibility that I believe exists in the ebbs and flows of M&A cycles.

Reply by an intermediary
from Gonzaga University in Lake Stevens, WA, USA

Hi Anthony, I've had tremendous success with interns at High School and University level. Couple of take aways: It's a program you are adding to your company, build it before you bring an intern in. Have routines explicitly worked out and easily communicated with what success looks like - they are still in school don't add so much they feel they are failing at both ends. Get rid of them fast if they don't match. Pay them rather than using the "experience" tag as the incentive. Have possible career path that is easily visualized; include adjacent industry partners. Don't worry about GPA, look at their work desire, especially those who are first in family to graduate High School or go to Community College or University. Promote those who are a strong fit, they will either be your future employee or refer like-minded replacing themselves when they leave your firm. Post for what you need. e.g. Need numbers person for XX job role. Need outgoing personality... Need person for customer facing... Need research person... and so on. There is a side benefit, interns don't see things the way you do, the reverse input is valuable, listen carefully while they are in your employ and at time of exit.

+4 more replies.

Join the discussion