Will we start to see a decline in the number of traditional searches? I think so

investor profile

March 17, 2026

by an investor from Harvard University - Harvard Business School in San Francisco, CA, USA

At Footbridge Partners, ^redacted‌, ^redacted‌, and I are seeing what feels like a meteoric rise in the number of committed capital vehicles / HoldCos at the expense of entrepreneurs pursuing traditional search. (Note: we're excited about these vehicles and leaning in where there's a compelling thesis, strong entrepreneurial talent, and a right to win in the target industry). I suspect these CCVs / HoldCos will continue to pick up steam, and I bet we'll start to see a decline in the number of traditional searches raised on an annual basis. Hard to say by just how much, but in a handful of years, I think we'll look back at 2025/2026 as a turning point in the ETA ecosystem. What are other people seeing? Do you all agree?
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Reply by an admin
from Stanford University in Honolulu, HI, USA
@redacted‌: In a couple of years, let's grab a coffee and see if you were right. We are definitely at a turning point -- at least in the USA. As PE/independent sponsors/HoldCos move ever down-market, they seem to be effectively squeezing the traditional search space. I'm more frequently hearing from searchers that they can find good companies, just not at the size the traditional search investment needs. Pre-pandemic, the incubators/accelerators developed because successful searchers felt that there were deficiencies in the traditional search fund model that could be ameliorated. That was a clear signal of another gap. And now, we have more and more investors entering the space for funding on self-funded deals. I believe that these factors will place pressure on traditional search to evolve, and I will be curious to see what comes out of it. For instance, will traditional search investors be more aggressive in expanding outside the USA? If I were to bet a latte, I'd bet that more traditional searches are done globally in the coming years, but the USA is likely to represent a smaller proportion of that total.
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