Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition

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 identifying smaller cap companies and being able to narrow his search to a specific geography.

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 the success of Lou’s to the commitment of the people working at the company and their ability to innovate and lead from within.

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 are looking to operate a business.

In this episode, Mary Josephs, founder and CEO of Verit Advisors, discusses employee stock ownership plans (ESOP) and their role in ETA. She provides listeners with an overview of ESOPs, how they work, and their role as a corporate finance alternative to acquiring a business.

Co-founders and Principals of Calyx Capital Partners, Trista Engel and Jessica Markowitz discuss their ETA journey and how they came together to form a search fund following their time at Chicago Booth School of Business. The pair reflect on their partnership and share insights into how they've been able to maintain both a professional and personal relationship throughout their search. Trista and Jessica speak about the ups and downs of their search and provide valuable advice for those looking to pursue the search fund model.

On this episode, Mike Wallach with Levy Family Partners discusses special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, and provides listeners with an in-depth look into how the investment vehicles are structured and can be used to carry out a transaction. Mike speaks about his experience with the Levy Acquisition Corp. and their ultimate acquisition of Del Taco in 2015.

Co-Founding Managing Directors of Relay Investments, Sandro Mina and Martin Steber, touch on a variety of topics including launching an international search, working with a partner, and managing your search budget. Sandro and Martin have over 45 years combined experience in search fund investing, participated in 100+ deals, and invested in 16 countries on 5 continents.

This episode features Michael Miles, Co-Founder and Partner at the Operand Group, a fund that exclusively invests in search funds. A longtime search fund investor and operator, Michael shares his insights on forming a search fund, attracting investors, and closing a deal. He also goes through some do's and don'ts for budding entrepreneurs.

Devin Matthews, Partner at ParkerGale Capital, discusses his firm's investment strategy and the significance of a portfolio company's management team. He highlights the importance of putting together the right team and the qualities he looks for in an operator when evaluating a potential investment.

CEO of an Oregon-based company that provides educational marketing services for registered investment advisors speaks about the three roles of an entrepreneur. He discusses his path to pursuing entrepreneurship, why he chose to assemble a diversified group of investors to fund his search, and how he’s made the transition from investor to operator of a company.

Chris Killackey, Partner at Prairie Capital, has over 23 years of experience in private equity and middle-market lending, including time with Banc One Mezzanine Corporation (now part of Chase Mezzanine) and American National Bank. In this episode, Chris speaks from the point of view as an investor in search funds and provides insight into what behavioral qualities Prairie Capital looks for in the searchers and entrepreneurs they fund.

Patrick Dickinson, co-founder and Managing Partner of Ninth Street Capital Partners, discusses his early exposure to ETA through working with a merchant banking group specializing in acquiring and operating companies, and his eventual decision to pursue an MBA and round-off his business skills. He went on to found Ninth Street Capital Partners with Michael Weiner, which now has a diverse investment portfolio and successfully exited Castronics in 2012. Patrick reveals the secret behind his firm’s investment strategy as well as their individual takes on different roles in order to play to their own strengths.

Mark Egan, a founder and Managing Partner of Boston-based investment firm Marion Equity Partners, recounts the last 30 years of the search fund model and how he’s seen both searcher and investor’s approach change over the years. Mark provides his words of wisdom for those looking to start a search fund and emphasizes the power of community in entrepreneurship.

Matt Burr, General Partner at Matland Capital, lends his expertise to discuss the dynamics of the relationship between searcher and investor, and what leads to a rewarding partnership. Matt expounds on his own experiences as an investor in search funds, as well as those of his father, Craig Burr, to provide a glimpse into how the investor thinks. He highlights a key trait their entrepreneurs have, “native intelligence,” and how it separates successful searchers from the rest.

Austin Hall, Founder and Director of Brick Street Partners, reflects on the first six months of his search, looking back to his initial motivation to pursue entrepreneurship through acquisition, why he chose a self-funded search, and how he’s measured success thus far. Austin openly discusses the challenges of focusing his search in a confined geography, and explains the benefits of the self-funded model.

This episode features Chuck Mishoulam, Founder of Alert Protective Services, and David Silberstein, Managing Principal of Anchor Light Partners, and CEO of Alert Protective Services. The duo provide a 360-view of the acquisition process – from making the decision to sell, working through a broker to source and execute the deal, and how they’ve ensured a smooth transition post-acquisition.