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In this episode of The Found & Funded Podcast, host Carl Lundberg is joined by Ben Marcilhacy, CEO of HMDG.

Born and raised in France, Ben’s career has taken him from Google to Harvard’s MBA programme, tech startups, and now, entrepreneurship through acquisition. 

After initially looking at a buy-and-build strategy in the physiotherapy space, Ben shifted away from a roll-up model and towards acquiring a single business. That journey led him to HMDG, now one of the UK’s largest healthcare marketing agencies, trusted by more than 800 clinics across physiotherapy, chiropractic, osteopathy, podiatry and other healthcare professions.

In this conversation, Carl and Ben discuss:

• Ben’s journey from Google to Harvard, startups and search
• Why he moved away from a roll-up strategy
• How the HMDG acquisition came about
• The real value of an MBA network
• Working with a seller to structure a win-win deal

If you’re interested in entrepreneurship through acquisition, Ben’s story may inspire you to take the plunge – this episode is absolutely packed with expert insights, giving you a glimpse behind the curtain of a successful business acquisition.

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What does it take to leave a career at Google, earn an MBA from Harvard, and acquire one of the UK’s largest healthcare marketing agencies?

In our latest episode, Carl Lundberg sits down with Ben Marcilhacy, CEO of HMDG, to discuss his journey into entrepreneurship through acquisition and the lessons learned along the way.

From abandoning a buy-and-build strategy to structuring a successful acquisition, Ben shares candid insights on:

✅ Making the leap into business ownership.

✅ The power of a strong network.

✅ Creating win-win deals with sellers.

✅ Building growth in a specialist healthcare business.

If you’re curious about acquiring a company rather than starting one from scratch, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

Tune in on 22 July for the full extended episode, available to watch and stream on YouTube, Apple and Spotify.

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Season three episode three is here! This time, Carl is joined by Ibrahim Rahim, Managing Partner and co-founder of Moonbase Capital, a global investment firm backing search fund entrepreneurs to acquire and grow established businesses.

Ibrahim shares his journey from growing up in Egypt and working in the family business, through to consulting at McKinsey, and ultimately founding Moonbase, after discovering the search funds model at Stanford. He brings an investors perspective to the series looking at the operational side of a search acquisition. 

This episode unpacks:

• His journey from SME operator to global investor
• Lessons learned scaling a family business and the importance of going slow
• How his investment approach compares to the Stanford search fund model
• Sectors he’s avoiding (and where he sees opportunity)
• The growth of search funds across Europe
• What he looks for in a searcher
• The most common challenges when taking over a business
• Practical advice on scaling and improving operations

Listen now on all podcast streaming platforms, or watch along on YouTube! 

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In episode three, Ibrahim Rahim, Managing Partner at Moonbase Capital, shares a journey that moves well beyond theory. 

From scaling a family business in Egypt, to advising at McKinsey, and ultimately backing search fund entrepreneurs globally - this is an episode grounded in reality, unpacking what it truly takes to grow and transform a business, including the hard lessons, the near misses, and the discipline required to build lasting value.

If you are interested in acquiring, scaling, or investing in businesses, this is a conversation worth your time.

'What search fund investors really look for' is dropping tomorrow. 

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Season three episode two, 'How two HBS graduates built a healthcare holdco' with Claire Nesler and Yoni Wehbe is now live. 

In this episode, the Co-Founders of Kinetico Health sit down with Carl Lundberg to unpack:

• Why they chose the roll-up model.

• How they convinced sellers to take a chance on them.

• The systems needed to manage integrations.

• How they closed two acquisitions in a single day.

• The long-term vision to build a 40-clinic platform.

This is one of our most practical conversations yet on buying and scaling businesses, you don't want to miss it.

Listen now on all podcast streaming platforms, or watch along on YouTube! 

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"You're going to have to be ready to do 20, 30, 40 deals. You’re going to have to be ready to do 20, 30, 40 integrations." 

From business school graduates with entrepreneurial ambitions to operators running simultaneous acquisitions, our upcoming episode with the co-founders of Kinetico Health, Claire and Yoni, explores what it really takes to succeed in the search space — from convincing sellers and managing integrations to closing two deals in a single day. 

Tune in tomorrow for the full episode! 

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Welcome back to a brand new season of The Found & Funded Podcast.

In this first episode of season 3, we welcome Linh Van Deibel, Director of Infrastructure Design Solutions, a B2B telecom services provider. 

From her roots in Vietnam to the high-stakes worlds of JP Morgan and private equity, Linh eventually moved into business operations, where she led five major acquisitions for a fintech scale-up - taking them from 50 to 1,500 employees.

Now, as the co-founder of Acacia Partners, she shares the raw reality of the self-funded search fund model, the mechanics of acquiring a B2B telecom services provider in 2025, and the challenges of being a female searcher in a male-dominated industry.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Moving from investing to operations and why an MBA changed Linh’s trajectory.
• Being advised to bring an "older, strong male figure" to meetings.
• Using interns to build a deal pipeline.
• The heartbreak of a deal falling through.

🕒 Key Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction
• 00:25 Linh’s Background: From Vietnam to the US and the UK
• 03:41 Hearing About Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition
• 08:39 Getting Buy-In From Your Spouse
• 13:01 Why Self-Funded Search Over Other Models?
• 18:04 The Challenge Of Being Female In A Male-Dominated Industry
• 23:45 Using Interns For Proprietary Outreach
• 26:52 The Role Of AI In Outreach
• 27:32 Proprietary Sourced & Brokered Pipeline
• 30:47 Running Two Acquisition Deals In Parallel
• 36:15 Raising Equity
• 41:02 Advice For Other Female Searchers
• 46:30 What Is Linh’s Dream?

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“Search is a binary process — you either make it, or you don’t."

In our upcoming episode with Linh Van Deibel of Acacia Partners Ltd, we dive into the raw, unfiltered reality of Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition:

- No salary.

- No safety net.

- A year (or more) of uncertainty.

- Deals falling apart — even at the 11th hour.

And still… making the decision to keep going.

From discovering ETA as a career path, to navigating bias and testing resilience, this is a story about betting on yourself when nothing is guaranteed.

Tune in on 23 April for season three episode one, 'From JP Morgan to business owner with Linh Van Deibel', available to stream on Apple, Spotify and YouTube. 

https://lnkd.in/eGY_nhP9

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From finance to founder; trading career certainty for autonomy and long-term impact.

In our season finale, Carl Lundberg is joined by Darnell Irozuru, CEO of Birch Faraday Capital and 2024 ETA Award winner, to unpack his ETA journey.

Darnell’s instinct for entrepreneurship has been central to this story, starting with his own tutoring business straight out of university. Initially chasing FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early), he’s now focused on building a long-term hold-co and growing his care business sustainably.

Listen along to find out how he tackled his first acquisition and overcame the challenges of deal sourcing and financing as a first time-buyer.

Episode six, ‘Self-funded, self-doubt, and self-belief: Darnell Irozuru’s acquisition story’ is out now. 

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"I would not want to put my worst enemy through what I went through in that year, in terms of the highs and lows of getting that deal over the line."

Faced with setbacks and challenges, Darnell Irozuru's first acquisition was anything but smooth. As someone who likes to hit the ground running, Darnell found himself doubting his decision to trade a sturdy 9-5 for entrepreneurship. 

Find out what drove Darnell to leave a stable finance career in pursuit of ownership and impact, how he fought through self-doubt to close the deal and how he plans to grow his business in a responsible and sustainable way.

Episode six, 'Self-funded, self-doubt and self-belief: Darnell Irozuru's acquisition story' will be live this Friday! 

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