The Found & Funded Podcast

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In the Season 3 finale of the Found & Funded Podcast, Carl Lundberg is joined by Jo Cockburn and Sandy Farmer, co-founding partners of Orca Equity Partners.

Orca is an entrepreneurial investment firm backing the next generation of CEO talent to acquire and grow established SMEs across the UK and Europe. Its approach spans traditional search funds, self-funded acquisitions, management buy-ins and roll-up strategies – all centred on bringing together high-quality entrepreneurs and businesses navigating ownership succession.

Jo and Sandy bring extensive experience across private equity, growth investing, M&A and operating owner-managed businesses. Before launching Orca, both played key roles in developing the search fund investment proposition at Ethos Partners, giving them a front-row seat to the rapid development of entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA) in Europe.

In this episode, they join Carl to explore how that market is evolving, what makes an acquisition entrepreneur worth backing and where they see the biggest opportunities over the decade ahead.

They discuss:

• The London Business School career talk that first introduced Sandy to search funds.
• Why a single high-profile success story could accelerate investor interest in the UK search fund market.
• Orca Equity Partners' investment strategy and why it extends beyond the traditional search fund model.
• How the growing availability of search capital is changing the opportunity for equity gap investors.
• How the UK and European ETA ecosystem could develop over the next 10 years.
• What separates a good acquisition entrepreneur from an exceptional one.

Subscribe to the Gerald Edelman channel for more episodes of the Found & Funded Podcast and insights from entrepreneurs, investors and advisers operating across the search fund and ETA space.

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What does the future of entrepreneurship through acquisition look like?

For the Season 3 finale of Found & Funded, Carl Lundberg sits down with Jo Cockburn and Sandy Farmer, Co-Founding partners at Orca Equity Partners, to explore the opportunities shaping the next generation of business ownership.

From the rise of search capital, to the qualities that separate good acquisition entrepreneurs from exceptional ones, this episode offers practical insights from two investors at the heart of the evolving ETA market.

Tune in to hear: 

🔹 How Orca's investment strategy extends beyond traditional search funds. 

🔹 The changing landscape for equity gap investors.

🔹 Why the UK search fund market may be approaching an inflection point.

🔹 Their outlook for the UK and European ETA ecosystem over the next 10 years.

Missed Episode 5 with Professor Jan Simon? Stream it here. 👇

https://www.foundandfunded.co.uk/episodes/#:~:text=S3%20Episode%205%20%27Lessons%20from%20a%20leading%20search%20fund%20investor%2C%20with%20Jan%20Simon%27

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In this episode of the Found & Funded Podcast, we’re joined by Jan Simon, an investor, academic, and all-round leading voice in the global search fund industry.

To say Jan has a diverse background is something of an understatement. From time in elite military units to senior roles at global investment banks, and from trading emerging markets to shaping the next generation of entrepreneurs in the classroom, his career spans multiple disciplines, industries, and continents.

Today, he is the Managing Partner of Vonzeo Capital, a Professor at the IESE Business School, and the Academic Director of the IESE International Search Fund Center. Plenty to keep him busy, then.

Taking time from his schedule to join the show, Jan provides a masterclass for any aspiring entrepreneur or searcher. We discuss everything – from personal experiences to advice for those starting out, including:

- Learning about search funds from Rob Johnson while teaching in Barcelona
- Why the search fund model stood out to him
- Writing his book, Search Funds & Entrepreneurial Acquisitions: The Roadmap for Buying a Business and Leading it to the Next Level, which has since become a go-to industry resource
- Transitioning from global finance to academia and investing
- What he looks for when backing search fund entrepreneurs
- The most common mistakes people make during their search
- Sectors and markets with untapped potential
- How the special forces shaped his future career

This episode is jam-packed with insights for anyone interested in search funds, entrepreneurship through acquisition, and the realities of becoming a CEO for the first time – something our host, Carl Lundberg, can relate to.

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Jan Simon has spent his career leading, investing, teaching, and helping entrepreneurs succeed.

In this episode of Found & Funded, he shares his perspective on: 

- What investors look for in search fund entrepreneurs
- The biggest mistakes searchers make
- Untapped opportunities in today's market
- The realities of becoming a CEO for the first time

If you're interested in search funds or entrepreneurship through acquisition, you won't want to miss this one.

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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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