Acquiring businesses with a non-MBA/finance background?

April 27, 2021

by a searcher from University of Southern California in San Francisco, CA, USA

Hey everyone – I recently joined the community, as I am extremely interested in the acquisition entrepreneur route. I've noticed a large amount of folks here either have an MBA, business or finance background.

I however, do not. My professional background is in marketing, as I've led and managed marketing for a couple FinTech companies in the Bay Area (Robinhood, Chime). Being at these companies early on, I was however exposed to a large portion of the business.

I am curious if there is anyone who has a non-business background, who has successfully acquired a business or started/partnered in a search fund? And if so, how did you leverage your existing skill set, and what are some steps you took to acquire new skills that were vital to your success in search funding/acquiring a business?

Reply by a searcher
from Western Governors University in Castle Rock, CO, USA

I don't have an MBA, just my bachelors in business mgt. Steps I've taken are network with people on sites like this, Twitter, YT-related channels who have experience in the deal flow process. I have performed DD on several listings so far, which is very enlightening and educational in and of itself. I've also taken a few "how to buy a business courses." It does seem like this site is has a lot of emphasis on MBA related searchers, just an observation. My corp experience from the last 10 years has been product and project mgr focused heavily around digital/software products and managing large teams of people. I feel confident based off of that real world experience and all the books I've read, groups I've joined, and the team I have been slowly putting together. Pay for access is a thing.

Reply by a searcher
from National Defense University in Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459, USA

Chelsea, you may want to connect with ^redacted‌ who started small and has been building very successfully. He may be able to provide some useful advice and mentoring. He's in the SF area also.

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