What we're seeing at SMBootcamp

We just wrapped up our 16th SMBootcamp LIVE cohort last Friday and figured we'd give a quick download of what we're seeing "on the ground" in self-funded searchland. We had 20 SMBootcamp attendees from 7 different states. Florida and Texas continue to be two of the strongest states in terms of deal flow and the number of ETA participants (at least from what we can see). More broadly, the most active markets among SMBootcamp alumni are Florida, Texas, California, New York, and North Carolina. Even though much of the recent population growth has been in the South, we continue to have Searchers looking in New York and California—and most importantly, they're still getting deals done there. Of all the cohorts we've hosted, April 2025 might have the "strongest" backgrounds we've seen (at least on paper). Historically, we've had a wide range of backgrounds, particularly folks with extensive corporate careers in operations, sales, marketing, HR, etc. This marks the third cohort in a row with representatives from top MBA programs and financial institutions alongside our "corporate escapees." It’s become clear that ETA and self-funded search aren’t just a "getaway from corporate," but a viable career option even for those already near the "top of the totem pole" in traditional career paths, compensation, or optionality. Existing operators are increasingly interested in learning M&A and how to fund acquisitions using SBA debt. Historically, we've only seen a handful of operators come through our cohorts specifically to learn M&A, but that seems to be picking up significantly. February and April 2025 featured numerous operators, and roughly a quarter of our April attendees already own and operate successful businesses. For these attendees, the barrier to entry into M&A felt quite low—they just needed to understand the process to effectively pursue inorganic growth. To illustrate, after dinner Wednesday night, I drove one of the operators home and asked why he came to SMBootcamp. He explained it wasn't about modeling, deal flow, or even community alone (though he found the community valuable). He chose SMBootcamp specifically to learn the M&A process from folks who've actually done it—so he could manage the entire process end-to-end. Even though his business was already successful and growing organically, the current private equity appetite made M&A an obvious next step for him and his partners. He was particularly focused on learning best practices for raising minority growth capita and when/who to call on the M&A Deal Team. On the curriculum side, we covered a wide range of topics distilled into three days: How to Search & Build a Pipeline, Acquisition Finance & Due Diligence, and Capital Raising. Day 1, "How to Search & Build a Pipeline," continues to be the easiest to give concrete action steps-- it's clearly less in the "grey area" that so much of M&A operates in. Yet, it might also be the toughest to master, requiring extraordinary effort and persistence, particularly in building and nurturing broker relationships. It's nearly unanimous among attendees that deal flow remains the largest bottleneck for Searchers—demand has significantly outpaced supply. Day 2, "Acquisition Finance & Due Diligence," is an area we've significantly improved over the past year—mostly due to a need to address gaps in fundamental investment judgment. Often, Searchers dive too quickly into the weeds when analyzing deals. Key strategic questions around fit and business risks frequently get glossed over in favor of prematurely "penciling in" a price and deal structure. Instead, Searchers should first carefully evaluate whether the opportunity warrants their attention at all. Even experienced Searchers find themselves spending substantial time on deals that ultimately won't close or on deals with valuations unsupported by underlying fundamentals. Day 3, "Debt & Equity Capital Raising," dives deep into the nuances of capital raising within self-funded search. On the SBA debt front, the updated SBA SOP continues to confuse and frustrate many. Drew, our SMB Loan Support Lead (who recently did an excellent, detailed SOP review), gave an overview of how these recent changes are playing out in deals we're seeing. However, there hasn't yet been enough time to fully digest practical takeaways, particularly for businesses in regulated or licensed trades. On the equity side, capital raising remains daunting for first-timers. Our view is that while the equity market hasn't evolved dramatically since the start of the year, more sophisticated capital continues to flow into the space. As more pseudo-institutional capital enters the market, we anticipate more liquidity rights that Searchers will need to navigate and incorporate into their search plans. Hope this provides a helpful "state of the union" from the SMBootcamp team for what we're seeing. Let me know if you're seeing similar trends!