How's it going? The daily grind of a search fund entrepreneur

After the search fund is raised and the search officially begins, the searcher often dives into the work. Friends and family stop hearing from her, and very few people have visibility into what is happening behind the curtains of that search.

Having witnessed the searcher’s saga unfold a number of times from behind that curtain, I finally had the opportunity with Rob Gaunt to capture its essence in real time. At several points during his search, Rob was kind enough to record a candid video detailing his experiences in what we call a “How’s it going?” video.

Searchers are often asked “How’s it going?” during the search process, and this question can grow to irritate the searcher due to the iterative, binary nature of the search. You’ve either bought something or you haven’t, and until you’ve bought something you’re just searching - generating leads, managing pipeline, and trying to push your favorite deals toward the finish line.

But behind the bit-size report of the search (e.g. “still plugging away!”), the searcher experiences a number of emotions, develops many relationships, and digs into a number of businesses, creating fodder for memorable stories.

In this first clip, Rob is one month into the search and has entered what searchers commonly refer to as “the grind”, that daily work of speaking with business owners, knowing that most of them will be disqualified because of size, industry, motivations, timing, or a million other reasons. You will notice he’s tired already, but that hope of doing the right deal continues to propel him forward.