The Search Fund Podcast

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Stijn De Vriendt spent 14 years at Accenture, then built an advisory firm that guided private companies through their exits. Talking to searchers about their deals felt like holding up a mirror, so he raised a search fund in partnership with SMEVentures and bought CTE, a premium truck body and trailer manufacturer in Drouin, Victoria. He was the first buyer to see the deal, and the founder picked him over a buyer from inside the industry. This episode covers why the founder wanted a different kind of successor, why a trailer business is less capital-hungry than it looks and the staffing call Stijn wishes he'd made three months sooner.

Chapters

• Ghent and a Dad Who Spent 40 Years at One Company (1:56)
• A Two-Year Transfer to Melbourne (5:18)
• Ironman Training and Competing With Yourself (6:26)
• 14 Years at Accenture, From the GFC to Director (8:36)
• Is Consulting Just PowerPoint? (11:13)
• Building Tightrope Consulting (13:22)
• Searchers Held Up a Mirror (16:16)
• The Search, Week to Week (18:15)
• First Look at CTE and the Site Visit Test (19:42)
• Why the Founder Chose a Searcher (21:46)
• What CTE Builds (26:31)
• Capital-Intensive? Fast Cash and Repeat Fleet Buyers (28:40)
• Consultant Instincts vs Don’t Break It (31:46)
• Right People, Right Seats and Moving Sooner (34:59)
• The Smooth-Running Business Myth (37:23)
• What’s Next for CTE (39:21)

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Waldemar Pilch spent two decades pricing derivatives at Morgan Stanley, Citi and Standard Chartered, seven of those years out of Singapore, before moving back to Poland to run his aunt's lighting business. He grew it from 50 to 100 million euros, sold it one month before COVID, then launched a search fund and bought Formeds, a Polish vitamins and supplements company, six months later. He tripled revenue in three years and reached a liquidity event while staying on as CEO and co-owner. This episode covers his chicken nugget framework for breaking down risk, why he bet below standard search fund size thresholds on a single subcategory, and his honest answer on being a micromanager.

Chapters

• Growing Up in Krakow and the Family Lighting Business (2:19)
• Moving to New York with Little English (6:08)
• A Career Pricing Risk (7:23)
• Seven Years in Asia (8:57)
• Choosing Operator Over Adviser (12:11)
• Taking ES System from 50 to 100 Million Euros (15:48)
• Why an Outsider Can Run Any Business (17:33)
• Selling One Month Before COVID (19:20)
• From a Hydration Startup to a Search Fund (22:00)
• The Six-Month Search for Formeds (24:08)
• The Founder Transition (26:29)
• Tripling Revenue in Three Years (28:00)
• The Telescope: On Being a Micromanager (31:19)
• A Liquidity Event in Three Years (32:59)
• The True Cost of Running One of These (35:19)
• The Chicken Nugget Framework for Risk (37:51)
• Advice for Searchers (39:30)

SOME ADVICE FROM VAL

"This might be 9:00 to 4:00 AM sometimes, but also at the same time, the most rewarding thing ever, if you get it right."

"If you're thinking about it, losing your sleep over making a decision whether to go down the entrepreneurial path, you'll never know the answer to that question until you do it. And it doesn't matter what stage of your life or career you are. Five years from now you could be an entrepreneur if you make that decision. So just make sure that you're driven, because it's a lot of hard work."

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Jason Hew went from reviewing 1,000 startups a year at Woolworths' venture arm to searching for a business with SMEVentures and buying two instrument transformer manufacturers, one in Sydney and one in Christchurch, in a single transaction. It was only the second search fund acquisition New Zealand had seen. This episode covers his operator-fit framework for knowing when a business is right for you, how he rebuilt a 20-year factory culture as an outsider, and what happened when his vendor walked out four weeks after settlement.

Chapters

• Early Life in Malaysia and Immigration to Australia (2:37)
• The Petrol Station and Grandad's Influence (5:09)
• Cadetship at HLB Man Judd and Early Career (7:34)
• Record Point and the Iron Mountain Deal (9:52)
• Scaling Woolworths Rewards (11:43)
• Employee Number One at W23 Ventures (14:45)
• Cash Rewards and the ANZ Exit (18:00)
• Why a Risk Averse Person Buys a Business (20:58)
• 15 Months of Search (22:25)
• Operator Fit vs Founder Problem Fit (24:30)
• The Acquisition: TWS and WF Energy Controls (28:19)
• The Cross-Border Complexity (31:43)
• First 18 Months as CEO (35:32)
• Vendor Exits at Week Four (38:13)
• The Brightest Moment (40:15)
• Advice for Searchers in the Grind (41:44)
• What Comes Next (42:44)

SOME ADVICE FROM JASON

"Can you actually see yourself doing this for a long period of time? And that equation becomes more important, not when things are going well, but when things are going bad. Can you see yourself struggling through this for a long period of time in this business, in this industry, in this location?"

"The ETA opportunity is real. And there's a deal out there for everyone who's doing this for genuine reasons. Don't be thrown away too much by criteria and business metrics. Really try and hone in on what you think will bring you joy and what will help you wake up in the morning on the right side of bed."

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Graham Weihmiller's journey from Six Sigma black belt to acquiring Griswold Home Care during the Great Recession exemplifies resilience and strategic leadership. He shares his evolution through franchising, scaling Griswold from 100 to 250 locations, and later steering BNI—a global networking organization with 350,000+ members across 77 countries—through one of business history's most dramatic pivots during the COVID-19 pandemic. This episode unpacks the art of founder transitions, the undervalued potential of franchising in ETA, and why your family are your first customers.

Chapters

• Early Signs of Entrepreneurship and Financial Distress (2:38)
• First Venture and Discovering Search Funds (6:45)
• Acquiring Griswold Home Care During the GFC (10:04)
• Why Franchising Deserves More Attention (15:00)
• Founder Transitions: Lessons from Griswold (19:31)
• Getting the Right People on the Bus (23:59)
• Acquiring BNI: A Different Kind of Transition (31:45)
• The Three Bucket Framework (36:11)
• COVID-19: Pivoting a Global Network Overnight (40:14)
• Endurance Sports, Burnout, and Family First (48:00)

Some advice from Graham:

"Your job is not to fix the processes. Your job is to get the right people in the right seats. And they will fix the processes in a much better way than you'll ever be able to."

"I don't know if this organization is gonna survive this pivot that we're about to do, but I know it's the right thing to do. Nobody is gonna get hurt if I can help it. Nothing to me is worth somebody getting hurt or certainly worse."

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This episode charts the unique path of Adam Johnson, CEO of the critical UK infrastructure company, Water Direct. Adam recounts his journey from an entrepreneurial Texas upbringing to the fast-paced world of Silicon Valley tech sales at startups like WePay and Voxbone, experiences that forged a distinct perspective on adaptability and storytelling. He shares how a Texas blizzard became the "AHA moment" that revealed the hidden value in Water Direct, leading him to acquire the company through the search fund model he discovered during his MBA. This episode highlights the translation of skills between seemingly unrelated industries and the profound challenges and rewards of stepping into the CEO role.

Chapters

Meet Adam Johnson: from Texas to Silicon Valley (0:40)

Adam's early life and influences (2:39)

Navigating career choices and early jobs (8:07)

Sales and startups: lessons from WePay and Voxbone (11:26)

Transition to leadership and private equity insights (20:37)

Discovering the search fund model (23:19)

Getting hooked on ETA (26:22)

The role of an MBA in pursuing a search fund (27:27)

The importance of storytelling in ETA (30:20)

Acquiring Water Direct (31:49)

Understanding Water Direct's business model (32:04)

Challenges and rewards of being a CEO (41:52)

Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs (47:37)

Future plans for Water Direct (49:30)

Conclusion and key takeaways (51:45)

Some advice from Adam:

"It's rare that you you become infatuated with something like this, but it just made sense to me. And I think it's really lucky not a lot of people from a career perspective, at least can say that, they get a bit obsessed with what they're doing. And I, I totally felt that with the search."

"Speak to as many people as you can. Everybody's experience with entrepreneurship broadly is going to be unique. [Try] to form a view of whether or not this is the right path for you can only be done through looking ... into the kaleidoscope because everybody's experience is different and yours will not mimic anybody, but it might at least have quite a few elements from lots of people that you speak to."

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George Berczely's journey from corporate executive to search fund entrepreneur is a testament to adaptability and personal growth. He shares his candid experiences navigating the search process, acquiring SEYSES, and the challenges of integrating into a new role and industry. This episode highlights the personal transformation that comes with embracing entrepreneurship and the invaluable lessons learned along the way.

Chapters

• Early Life and Education (2:20)
• Career Beginnings and McKinsey Experience (9:21)
• Transition to Deutsche Post and DHL (10:56)
• Discovering Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (20:02) 
• The Search and Acquisition of SEYSES (25:10) 
• Operating SEYSES: Challenges and Successes (28:37) 
• Future Plans and Reflections (34:58) 

Some advice from George:

"First, I'm so glad I took this route because it really allowed me to reach my Ikigai. You know, I'm doing what I love, what I'm good at. I think pushing the energy transition is something that the world needs. And I can also profit from it financially in a way that was never possibly in a corporate environment."

"I think that the one thing I overestimated, and I wouldn't do that again, Is how much a company depends on its previous owner. So when, when I bought this company, I thought I would never be able to absorb everything and the company would depend on the owners forever. I don't think that's the case anymore. If you have a proper process in place and hire people, nobody, and also not me is indispensable."

Resources:

• smeventures.com
• https://seyses.com/en/nosotros/
• https://novastone-ca.com/seyses.php
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-berczely/

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In this inspiring episode of "The Search Fund Podcast," we delve into Alexander Schuil's remarkable journey from an early interest in entrepreneurship to achieving a significant exit through a search fund. Alexander shares his beginnings, from diverse early work experiences to pivotal educational moments that shaped his path. He discusses the strategic acquisitions that propelled his business forward, leading to a successful exit. This episode is a must-listen for mid-career professionals seeking to explore entrepreneurship through acquisition, offering valuable insights into the challenges and triumphs of the search fund model. Alexander's reflections post-sale and his ongoing contributions as an investor and board member provide a comprehensive view of the search fund ecosystem. Join us to uncover how Alexander's journey can inspire your own path to entrepreneurial success.

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In this episode, two-time search fund entrepreneur, 20-year search fund investor, Stanford GSB professor, and now author David Dodson joins us to discuss his new book The Manager's Handbook, which derives lessons from his life and experiences with search funds. 

From his humble Colorado upbringing to unconventional early jobs to success as a CEO and investor, Dodson's journey serves as a testament to the power of ambition, collaboration, determination, and solid decision making. Don't miss this insightful episode that explores the life and accomplishments of an exceptional individual.

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In this episode we hear from Sandy Paige, who is the self-proclaimed oldest person to launch a search fund. While I'm not sure that's true anymore, I think it might have been true when he launched a traditional search fund in 2017, focused exclusively on Northern California, at age 48. Most investors actually declined to back his search, possibly due to his unique profile and geographical limitations. But Sandy now has the distinction of being not only the oldest, but also one of the most successful search funds to date, having just sold his company for 295 million dollars.