Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. (a.k.a. Learning from other searchers)

When considering launching a search fund, there are a few things you should do:

1. Read my blog.

2. Study the Stanford Search Fund Primer.

3. Read Jim Sharpe’s blog.

4. Speak to searchers.

Speak to searchers.

I recommend speaking to at least a dozen searchers before ultimately deciding to launch a search fund. Try to mix in current and former searchers, as well as successful and unsuccessful searchers. Only a searcher can tell you what it’s really like to be a searcher.

You won’t have the exact same skills, values, or motivations as the searchers you speak to, but conversations can give you a preview of what to expect, and they can help you identify the questions you should be asking as you continue to evaluate the path.

You may also develop relationships that will be mutually beneficial throughout your search. Try to find something of value that you can offer in return - an introduction, data, whatever.

Identifying Searchers

Search fund entrepreneurs are generally open to speaking with prospective searchers. Some of the celebrity searchers receive too many inquiries to handle, but the rest receive a manageable number and will likely take your call.

So how do you find them? These paths are proven:

1. Ask for introductions. If you’ve ever sold anything, you know that introductions are always the best way to enter a conversation in which you have an “ask”. In this case your ask is time and advice. Find anyone you know who might be connected to the search fund ecosystem and ask for introductions, and at the end of every conversation humbly request at least 1-2 more introductions (your second ask).

2. Find their websites. Most searchers, for better or worse, are not very creative when it comes to creating a website. Most use the same feel, the same structure, and even the same language. They usually won’t call themselves search funds, but you can usually spot them by mentions of an “entrepreneurial investment firm” with a goal of buying a “single company,” preserving the seller’s “legacy”, a desire to operate for the “long-term”, and investment criteria that highlight “recurring revenues.” If you find one that lists the search fund’s investors (most do), try Googling these investors’ names, and you’ll likely find other search fund websites. The names that appear most often are likely those investors who have been in the game for a decade or more.

3. Go to conferences. Search fund conferences are held annually by Harvard Business School, IESE, and jointly by University of Chicago Booth and Kellogg, and there may be more on the horizon. These conferences can be a good way to meet a number of people in the search fund ecosystem. Find out in advance who’s attending, and try to schedule meetings with them during and around the conference.

4. Check out searchfunder.com. This is a nifty social network for people in the search fund community.

Ask good questions.

Notice that “speak to searchers” is #4 on the to-do list above. Numbers #1-3 will help you prepare for the conversations you have with searchers. Avoid asking anything covered in #1-3, unless you’re looking for a different perspective. If you do your homework, the conversation is sure to be more mutually interesting and beneficial, and the searcher will be more likely to take your call again in the future. Don’t squander the opportunity by asking something you could have Googled.

You’re about to make a huge decision, one that will have repercussions throughout your career. You should have a ton of questions. If you don’t, think harder!

Action Items

• Identify 15-20 searchers - past, present, successful, and unsuccessful.

• Do your homework.

• Compose a long list of pithy questions to ask these searchers.

• Craft individual messages to them asking for 20 minutes of their time. Remember searchers are experts in cold email prospecting, and they can spot a mail merge from a mile away. Give them each a preview of the topics you’d like to cover.

• After the conversations, send thank-you emails. If you offered them anything, like an introduction or industry research, then deliver it ASAP.

• If you developed a good connection to any of the searchers, set yourself a reminder to follow up in a few months.

As a former searcher, I’m happy to be one of your searcher calls! Feel free to schedule a call with me here.