When we invested in our first search fund in 1992, the vehicle was a novel approach to investment built upon the partnerships among exceptional entrepreneurs, mentors, advisors, and board members. We believe that entrepreneurs benefit from distilling the perspectives of many voices, but searches should be entrepreneur-led. That means the entrepreneurs are the single largest shareholders and determine their own outcomes.
Over our 30 years of search investing experience, we screened thousands of potential investments. We know how to work with first time CEO’s and how to create value in small businesses.
We focus on the entrepreneur’s goal and search. Our long-term view and flexible investment mandate help support our entrepreneurs spirit and passion.
No one appreciates waiting weeks for an email response from their investors. We limit our commitments and number of backed searchers so we can be available and helpful to our searchers.
Search is a lonely endeavor and we believe in the partnership model to help searchers find businesses. Whether iterating on industry theses or thinking through growth strategy, we believe more diverse opinions lead to better outcomes.
We know buying a business is tricky and there are many competitors. We help entrepreneurs think about unique deal structures and industry theses that succeed in a crowded field.
We invest capital from our own balance sheet with funds that can be deployed quickly. We can fill equity gaps above our pro rata if needed
We consider investments wherever searchers have differential insight and experience, including non-traditional business models for search. Recent example include: