What jobs best prepare you for Searchfund success?

searcher profile

April 12, 2022

by a searcher from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in Toronto, ON, Canada

Curious to know what kind of roles/jobs in your opinion prepare a person best for SearchFund success? For eg. would Deal Making be better or Sales or Product Manager or Project management or Operations? I would be moving to Canada and initially for 6-12 months might need to get a Full Time job to settle financially. I have both deal making and operating experience in multiple industries (almost too varied an experience maybe). Your opinions might help me chose the role I seek.

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commentor profile
Reply by a professional
from University of Akron in Charlotte, NC, USA
To be honest, the searchfund process is the easy part. What I see many many people on here miss... It's the post acquisition part or the Owner part. The goal isn't to just successfully buy a business. Actually, owning, leading and scaling a business is the real, true goal, which is also by far the hardest part.

I see many people almost just viewing this whole thing as if it's just about numbers. Unfortunately, it's sooooo much more. And, for me, it starts with the type of business / industry you target. I have mentioned it on here before but different industries and business types are easier to own and operate (I call it operational viscosity) compared to others yet I see many people buying into those very difficult businesses all the time. Many businesses are just predisposed to being nightmares.

Not to mention the people. Success in business starts with success with people and relationships. Being able to lead people to follow your vision and want to be better for you and themselves is vital... Not many people can do it, but creating a culture and environment that unleashes people to grow and maximize their potential is huge. While also being able to get them to buy into and give their all to achieve the vision / goals you set forth... These are the skills and abilities that matter way more than the acquisition transaction.

So, again, the searchfund process is relatively easy... all the above is hard.

For me... the better question is.. What should you do to prepare to be an owner?
commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from University of Western Ontario in Toronto, ON, Canada
I had mid-market PE and M&A background prior to starting my search. During the deal sourcing and closing phase, I felt my PE experience was incredibly helpful in a number of ways: legal, valuation, assessing qualitative and quantitative factors of the business, arranging financing, etc. Although I had some great exposure to fast-growing portfolio companies and their management teams, I admit that post-close, I am learning some of the nuances of people management and executing on operational initiatives on the fly. I think it is important to make the most of your experience and see how your experience can provide value in a deal, as well as to recognize where your weaknesses are and how to seek help/strengthen them.
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