ETA Insider Podcast

Coley Andrews, Co-Founder and Managing Member of Pacific Lake, a well regarded institutional investor in search funds, lends his perspective on a wide variety of topics. Beginning with his personal story and the inception of Pacific Lake, he delves into the common traits of successful search entrepreneurs, investment theses that can lead to good outcomes, the importance of having a bias to action, and advice on best practice when serving as a search fund entrepreneur turned CEO.

Dennis Chookasian, Adjunct Professor of Strategic Management at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago and incredibly accomplished executive, shares tactics for juggling multiple professional responsibilities, how to work with your board as a young CEO, and key reasons why companies fail.

Brad Morehead, Adjunct Lecturer of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, recounts his own professional journey, moving through careers in investment banking, private equity, and ultimately to company operator as CFO of FeldCo, and later CEO of LiveWatch Security, which he acquired in 2010. In the conversation he reveals secrets to leading and managing people, the characteristics of successful serial entrepreneurs, and the importance of having mentors.

Alex Schneider, adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University and the founding partner of Clover Capital Partners, talks about his personal career path to becoming an independent sponsor, shares the stories behind his initial investments, touts the merits of having an industry focus, and contrasts the differences between pursuing a business with committed equity funding versus more open ended arrangements.

Matt Taylor, Managing Director of search fund Gypsum Ridge Capital, shares his reasons for pursuing a search fund, working with a partner, choosing your investors, conducting the search from two locations, and tactics to maximize the probability of success.

Search fund entrepreneur Shamus Hines of Silverfield Capital talks about his strategies for finding the right business, how he balances his time between searching, assessing companies, and performing due diligence, getting the most out of interns, intermediated versus proprietary deal flow, communicating with investors, and how to effectively engage with business owners.

Steve Groya, Managing Director of Aldine Capital Partners, discusses best practices when raising debt financing in conjunction with acquiring a company. The conversation covers what information lenders evaluate during their underwriting process, the various different forms of debt - senior debt, mezzanine, and seller paper, and how entrepreneurs can position themselves for success during the process.

Raam Jani, Partner at McDermott, Will & Emery, provides perspective on the legal aspects of the search fund through the full lifecycle, from raising the search capital to closing the acquisition. He covers what legal documents come into play and when, key terms that often receive attention, and when it's appropriate to use your attorney and when to DIY.

Matt Estep of Bosworth Capital shares insights gained from his own experiences as a search fund entrepreneur - deciding on the career path, raising search capital, acquiring a company, serving as the co-CEO, and ultimately selling the business.

During the conversation he touches on a number of interesting topics - how his team positioned themselves to succeed versus other buyers on a basis other than price, the importance of their board of directors, what they did, both right and wrong, in improving the business, finessing the sale of the company to a private equity firm, and his ultimate transition to other endeavors.