This month’s episode features Rob LeBlanc, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at ambit partners. The discussion highlights the growing momentum of ETA in various countries and delves into fund deployment, geographic investment distribution, and the potential for ETA in major economies outside of North America. The conversation also underscores an optimi…

This month’s episode features Sara Rosenthal, partner at TTCER Partners and co-founder of the Women's Search Network, who shares her journey in the search fund ecosystem and her efforts to promote diversity and mentorship. Brian and Sara discuss the culture of search funds, fostering leadership qualities, evolving models in the industry, and the ne…

This month’s episode features Chris Richling, MBA ’14, owner of a franchise business in Seattle. Chris shares his entrepreneurial journey from search fund pursuits to self-funded acquisition. He discusses the challenges faced, the transition to a management program, and ultimately acquiring a franchise. Chris reflects on lessons learned, emphasizin…

This month’s episode features a live recording from the Harper Center with Aizik Zimerman, MBA ’23, CEO of J Blanton Plumbing, a business he acquired during his second year at Booth. Unlike many ETA students focused on quick exits, Zimerman is dedicated to long-term growth, aiming to build the business into the nation's largest home services compan…

This month’s episode features a discussion with AJ Wasserstein, Professor, Yale School of Management, on the rapidly changing world of search funds. They explore the normalization of search funds, demographic trends, and the evolution of search fund models. Delving into the investor landscape, they discuss the shift from individual to institutional…

This month’s episode features Peter Jackson, the owner and CEO of Miller Industrial, as he shares his remarkable journey from the world of Wall Street to becoming a key player in Main Street entrepreneurship. The discussion delves into Peter’s diverse career experiences, from corporate finance to his pivotal role at Groupon, leading up to the acqui…

This month’s episode of the ETA Insider Podcast features Marc Shiffman, MBA ’94, Former President & CEO of SMS Assist. In this episode, we explore the dynamic career journey of a finance professional who transitioned into the realm of innovation and leadership. Beginning in New York with McAndrews & Forbes owned and operated businesses, Marc played…

This month’s episode of the ETA Insider Podcast features Manvendra Saxena, Founder and Chairman at Mars Energy Group. Manny discusses navigating the challenges of moving acrosscontinents to his experiences in corporate America and the startup world. Through this discussion, you learn the pivotal decision-making moments that led him to embrace ETA a…

This month’s episode of the ETA Insider Podcast features Lisa Forrest, Director of Live Oak Bank. At the time of the taping last March, the LMM SBA market was in the throws of adjusting to the interest rate shocks. Deal flow at that time was in a state of disarray as buyers, sellers, and lenders were all trying to figure out acquisition structures …

This month’s episode of the ETA Insider Podcast features Tim Lahey, CEO of r:Home, a technology concierge company, who shares his journey into entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA) from a finance career. He stresses the significance of personal risk assessment in ETA and discusses his acquisition process, including location and size criteria. …

This month’s episode of the ETA Insider Podcast features Clement Lucas, Principal of Relay Investment, a diverse firm based out of Boston that focuses on ETA investments. Clement’s unique perspective as a former operator is a value add to his team and the searchers Relay works with. Clement shares with Brian how diversity is beneficial within your …

This month’s episode of the ETA Insider Podcast features Jan Simon, the Managing Partner of Vonzeo Capital, a Professor of the Practice of Management in Entrepreneurship at IESE, and the Academic Director of its International Search Fund Center. Jan’s expertise and research focuses on investment strategies, mergers and acquisitions, and entrepreneu…

In this episode of the ETA Insider Podcast, Brian interviews Nick Oberhouse, MBA ‘20, CEO of DAWGS (Door and Window Guard Systems, Inc.). After graduating from Chicago Booth, Nick partnered with NextGen Growth Partners (NGP) to acquire a business, eventually acquiring DAWGS in October 2021. DAWGS serves municipal and commercial property owners by s…

This special edition, live episode of the ETA Insider Podcast features Brian Vanderheyden, MBA ‘14, Founder and CEO of Glass Lake Holdings. When Brian joined the podcast in 2020, he was CEO of the Richmond Alarm Company, which he acquired in July 2017 out of his search fund. In this episode, recorded live at the Chicago Booth Harper Center in front…

This episode features Mia Jackson, CEO of Vital Care Industries, a medical surgical supplies manufacturer. With a background in operations, supply chain, and finance, Mia discusses how acquiring Vital Care Industries combined her expertise with her passion for healthcare. In this episode, Brian interviews Mia on her career in entrepreneurship throu…

Brian interviews Jason Pananos and Jay Davis, cofounders of the Nashton Company, on their careers in entrepreneurship through acquisition. Jason and Jay discuss how they developed a serial acquisition strategy, the benefits of long-term growth, and how their experience with ETA has informed how they think about investing today.…

Addie Epstein and Ashley Quisol, principals and cofounders of Benton Place Partners, join Brian to discuss their journey into entrepreneurship through acquisition. Addie and Ashley share their search philosophy and highlight the importance of playing to your strengths, how to market yourself to business owners, and lessons learned from the ups and …

Santiago Perez Teuffer, Managing Partner at Cerralvo Capital - a search fund investment firm based in Mexico City - discusses his journey into the world of ETA as well as his current work at Cerralvo as the firm approaches its third fund. The conversation revolves around the compelling future of ETA in new frontier markets in Europe and Asia, and S…

Graham Weaver, founder and CEO of Alpine Investors, joins the podcast to tell the story of Alpine's evolution. Graham focuses on key times (the Great Recession) and people who made Alpine what it is today. The episode is full of hard earned wisdom from the importance of coaching to how to find incredible talent and is sure to leave the listener ins…

Industry veteran David Dodson joins Brian to talk about his successful and varied career in the Entrepreneurship through Acquisition community. From his time as an early student of Irv Grousbeck to his multiple successful searches, acquisitions to his more recent time as an investor David’s stories are full of earned wisdom and success. David also …

Monica Weaver, MBA '07 talks through her first two years of leadership at TGI Direct, a company that manages direct mail in highly regulated industries. Monica shares her search story from raising and then closing a traditional search fund after two years to keeping her pipeline active and eventually acquiring TGI Direct through a self funded searc…

Robert Graham talks through his busy roles first as the CEO of Pilar Health Group, a company he acquired through a partnered self funded search in 2018, and also as a Partner at Search Investment Group where he advises self funded searchers on diligence, deal sources and raising capital. During the conversation Robert provides insider perspective o…

Andrew Cousin joins to talk about his career as an ETA entrepreneur. His story is full of rich anecdotes from acquiring and building onto a woodworking hardware company in the early 90s to exiting that business and leading one of the largest search acquisitions in history at Circle Graphics. Andrew brings great perspective on how to view manufactur…

Brian Kruse, MBA '18, joins the podcast to talk about his first year as the owner/operator of Legacy Roofing in Ohio. The two talk about how to identify a great industry and weigh the pros and cons of choosing the right size business to acquire. Kruse also concentrates on the importance of building a great team and identifying and prioritizing each…

Brian chats with Trevor Lwin, MBA ’12, about his round trip ETA journey. Trevor discusses his introduction to the model during his time as an executive MBA student at Chicago Booth, his keys to a successful partner search, advice on intermediaries, and his experience operating T Base, a proprietary software company that converts documents for peopl…

Jamie Shah, MBA ’13, joins the podcast to talk about family enterprise and her experiences after joining her family’s company Chem-Impex Intl. Jamie shares the entrepreneurial roots of her father and the laboratory science product supplier, Chem-Implex Intl., that he started from scratch. Jamie discusses her role within the business and the operati…

Brian is joined by frequent podcast guest, Shamus Hines, MBA '15, and Chicago Booth professor Steve Morrissette, MBA '90, to discuss the exciting growth recapitalization of Shamus’ company Applied Data Corporation (ADC). Shamus talks about ADC’s switch to providing their clients with a SaaS platform and the recapitalization that will allow ADC to e…

Reid Tileston, MBA '15, and Brian O'Connor discuss the in depth, and often, involved diligence efforts that Reid went through in purchasing Giddings Hawkins, a company that he acquired through a self-funded search. Reid is a one of a kind guest and his stories are impactful and, at times, humorous-from daily cold showers to racing up skyscraper sta…

On this episode of the ETA podcast Brian re-visits (previously featured on the 2018 episode Navigating Your Search) Booth alums Jessica Markowitz, MBA '13 and Trista Engel, MBA ’13. Jessica and Trista give an update on their acquisition of Paragon Legal, a San Francisco-based legal services firm, and their quick transition from searchers to new ope…

“Well there’s gotta be a better way to do this!” This is the rallying cry of HeatWorks CEO Jerry Callahan, MBA ’88. From cardboard point of purchase displays, to summer bbqs, and hot showers, there is a good chance one of Jerry Callahan’s ideas has made your life easier. Jerry graciously visits the pod to talk about his successful career developing…

Fresh off her new book, Leadership and Life Hacks, Alyssa Rapp joins Brian to talk about her transition from founding and leading every wine drinker’s favorite app, bottlenotes, to moving back to Chicago and takin the reins at Surgical Solutions. Alyssa discusses her “hacks” for learning about the health care services industry, working with an inhe…

Michael Tobey discusses his successful transition from Booth graduate to investment banker to owner/operator of Hose Monster, and the search pivot that he made when a year’s worth of diligence and negotiations fell through right as a unique opportunity became available. Michael also outlines changes Hose Monster has made due to the Covid-19 pandemi…

Booth alum Brian Vanderheyden, CEO of Richmond Alarm Company, reflects on how he began his ETA journey, executing on the herculean task of launching a search and the altruistic element that was influencing his approach and tactics. Recorded during the Covid-19 crisis, Brain discusses his contingency planning during this new and rapidly developing s…

Eric Roza is executive-in-residence with General Catalyst (one of the country’s leading venture capital firms) and serves as Chairman of TrueCoach (the leading SaaS platform for personal trainers). He recently stepped down as the general manager of Oracle Data Cloud, a post he assumed following his sale of Datalogix to Oracle for $1.25B in 2015, de…

This episode of the ETA podcast features Nick Somers, MBA ’88, managing partner of Somers Investment Partners. After getting his start in investment banking, Nick transitioned to private equity in quite an entrepreneurial way. He reflects on lessons learned in building out teams and capabilities, his approach to investing and evaluating companies, …

This edition of the ETA podcast features Booth alum Shamus Hines, CEO of Applied Data Corporation (ADC), a fresh item management software company. Featured on the podcast in 2016 while in the thick of his search, Shamus returns to update on his search, diligence, acquisition, and his transition to CEO. Shamus discusses the unexpected challenges and…

This episode of the ETA podcast features Ryan Jones, CEO of Dynamic Growth Dental Support, a dental support organization that was formed to provide the business resources and support dentists need to focus on quality dental care. Having launched his business five years out of business school, Ryan speaks to the importance of pairing with the right …

Chicago Booth alums Erick Laseca and Giovanni Barbat discuss their partnered search experience and the important characteristics of their team that led them to the acquisition of American Vision Group, a leading eyecare services platform. In addition to addressing the challenges of consolidating three disparate companies at time of acquisition, Eri…

Booth alum Nathan Dey, discusses how his investment banking experience led him to take the entrepreneurial leap and pursue ETA, eventually stepping into the CEO role of a 50 year old logistics company. In an industry undergoing a huge digital transformation, Nathan discusses how his company is building on its rich history, positioning themselves to…

Booth alum Gabe Barkley, CEO of MHW, reflects on his early entrepreneurial aspirations that led him from a post-college position at a wine shop to the role of CEO of a leading alcoholic beverage service platform. Gabe discusses why he decided to pursue an incubated search, and how he found MHW and formed a valuable partnership with the owner as the…

Booth alum Charles Mullenger, CEO of Ethos Evacuation Strategies d/b/a MedSled, discusses the correlations between leading a team in a military environment and leading in a corporate environment, and what aspects of his military background that have translated to the business. Charles also shares how his Midwestern roots played a role in this searc…

Chicago Booth alum Michael Curry, CEO of Krueger Gilbert Health Physics and Apex Physics Partners takes us through his entrepreneurial journey from bootstrapping a custom clothing company in the early 2000’s to a successful partner-led search. Now an operator in the health physics landscape, Michael reflects on the importance of servant leadership …

Steve Swinney, CEO of Kodiak Building Partners, speaks to the importance of finding balance between the pace of acquisitions and maintaining an operational focus to build a great business – all while mastering the cyclicality of the construction industry. Additionally, Steve shares lessons learned on the importance of managing a united culture thro…

Chicago Booth alum Phil Colaco, global leader for the corporate finance advisory practice at Deloitte, draws parallels between Deloitte’s investment banking arm and the ETA search. Phil elaborates on strategies to maximize chances of success in a search, the importance of partners, and trends in lower-middle market acquisitions.…

Ivan Zinn, founder and managing partner of Atalaya Capital Management, elaborates on the evolutionary changes in the credit industry as it relates to the launch and growth of Atalaya Capital, trends in the corporate credit landscape, and considers the intentional use of human capital as a means to drive impact and outcomes.…

In this episode, David Rhodes, a technology consultant and active ETA investor, discusses how he advises search entrepreneurs when they have interest in a software-driven company. David emphasizes the importance of evaluating the product, process and team, and highlights some of the challenges and opportunities presented by SaaS.…

In this episode, Chicago Booth alum Darrin Shillair, president of Specialty Sales LLC, discusses his ETA journey and explains the benefits of pursuing a self-funded search and how he was able to acquire Specialty Sales a little over a year after beginning his search. Darrin explains how his search model provided him with a unique advantage in ident…

In this episode, our host Brian O'Connor is joined by Dan Kessler, partner at Cyprium Partners, and Ken Sander, former chairman and CEO of Kellermeyer Building Services. The pair work through the mechanics of a management buyout (MBO) and discuss how Cyprium Partners worked with Ken's team to facilitate the MBO of Kellermeyer Building Services.…

Mark Agnew, president and CEO of Lou Malnati’s and adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at Chicago Booth, speaks about his journey with Lou Malnati’s and the lessons he’s learned as president and CEO of the company. Mark stresses the importance of making every experience a learning opportunity and developing a strong company culture. He attributes…

Successful entrepreneur Rob Swanson, former founder and CEO of RAS & Associates, shares his experience founding a company, driving growth through sales and employee development, and ultimately exiting the business. As an operator, Rob’s insights into his sales and growth strategy for RAS & Associates serves those in the ETA community that have, or …