Anyone Doing A Hypertargetted Geographic Search (Ie Just One City)?

people:

searchers

investors

intermediaries

lenders

lawyers

accountants

consultants

insurance

tasks:

getting started

see job postings

share your PPM

see my deals

read interviews

browse posts:

australia

asia

traditional

acquisitions

getting started

getting funded

tip for the week

africa

case studies

deal sourcing

women in search

europe

corona

latin america

single sponsor

operating

deal making

networking

north america

interview

industry news

accounting and legal

bestof

self funded

06/01/2019 Redacted Redacted

searcher Harvard University - Harvard Business School London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London

ANYONE DOING A HYPERTARGETTED GEOGRAPHIC SEARCH (IE JUST ONE CITY)?

21 likes 363 views 29 comments

investor Harvard University - Harvard Business School Harvard University - 06/02/2019

Happy to discuss. We did a successful & quite narrow geographic search. I’m a big believer in geographic searches. Feel free to email me at [redacted] to set up a time to chat.

like reply | 3 likes

searcher London Business School Fundação Getulio Vargas, São Paulo - Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo San Diego State University - 06/05/2019

Hi Greg, I am currently considering going for a either a broad or narrow search. Would you mind me reaching out as well?

like reply | 0 likes

professional University of Southern California - 06/03/2019

The more narrow your search (especially if you are not already known by your target companies) the bigger benefit you will get by building relationships with sources of referral to potential sellers. Heavy online presence, too, helps. (Everyone Googles everyone to screen them; everyone Googles me. Expect it.)

like reply | 0 likes

searcher The University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business Vanderbilt University - 06/04/2019

I'm limiting my search to a few cities and have spoken to many searchers who did a geographically limited search. Happy to chat about what I've learned, email me at [redacted]

like reply | 2 likes

searcher London Business School Fundação Getulio Vargas, São Paulo - Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo San Diego State University - 06/05/2019

Hi Kevin, I am currently considering going for a either a broad or narrow search. Would you mind me reaching out as well?

like reply | 0 likes

searcher The University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business Vanderbilt University - 06/06/2019

Happy to chat Celso.

like reply | 1 like

searcher Harvard University - Harvard Business School University of Utah - 06/04/2019

I did a search focused on deals within a 45 minute drive from my house. Happy to chat.

like reply | 4 likes

searcher Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria - 06/04/2019

Our search is limited to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, but the focus is definitely on Dubai. Happy to discuss - [redacted]

like reply | 0 likes

professional University of Oregon - Charles H. Lundquist College of Business - 06/05/2019

We have used LI Sales Navigator successfully to laser target specific geos. Assume your already using this?

like reply | 2 likes

searcher Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria - 06/05/2019

Sales navigator is the cornerstone of our sourcing in Dubai. The response rates are much higher than direct outreach and the response times for most of our owners were pretty good.

like reply | 0 likes

professional University of Oregon - Charles H. Lundquist College of Business - 06/07/2019

Have you tried combining LI Outreach and Email in coordination?

like reply | 0 likes

searcher Harvard University - Harvard Business School Duke University - 11/04/2019

Keen to hear and talk more about this as well, Wondering if I'd have to bump out my target radius by another ~50mi to get access to another mid-size (>2.5M population) MSA and gear up for a very long commute every day... Let me know if you want to trade some notes.

like reply | 0 likes

investor University of Virginia University of Florida - 11/06/2019

We focused on a 90 minute drive from Tampa and we thought there was a big enough population of companies to pursue -- but it did mean we had to be flexible about some things (nature of the business, industry, etc.) -- happy to share our experiences if anyone is interested.

like reply | 1 like

searcher Harvard University - Harvard Business School University of Michigan - Ann Arbor - 11/06/2019

I did a super focused search in Pittsburgh and was able to buy a company after a year. Deal flow was extremely slow. Had to be creative on my search parameters.

like reply | 1 like

intermediary ESSEC Business School - 11/06/2019

Sam, what data base do you find to be most productive for a geographical search?

like reply | 0 likes

investor University of Virginia University of Florida - 11/07/2019

With a geo-focused search we knew the population would be small, so we used everything we could get our hands on (some we paid for, some were free), We scrubbed LI and a few other resources too. I don't think there is a silver bullet here, just a lot of hard work. Happy to discuss more, just DM me.

like reply | 0 likes

searcher Dartmouth College University of Oxford - 11/06/2019

I am focusing on driving distance from Austin, TX. One thing I've found helpful is taking a high-touch approach...there isn't an endless list of prospects, but if you can get coffee with someone and build a relationship, that can unlock networked opportunities that would be harder to uncover through email/phone calls only.

like reply | 2 likes

searcher Harvard University - Harvard Business School McGill University - 11/07/2019

Email me and we can discuss

like reply | 1 like

searcher Harvard University - Harvard Business School Northeastern University - 11/10/2020

Thank you everyone for the thoughts above. This is great. I'm contemplating a search focused in New England.

like reply | 0 likes

searcher The University of Chicago - Booth School of Business University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - 11/10/2020

I did a self funded search in the Indianapolis area for nearly 18 months, but felt like limiting to just this area was too constraining. A couple LOIs but no close.

like reply | 1 like

searcher Rowan University Richard Stockton College of New Jersey - 11/10/2020

Have been testing this for the past 2 months, deals are around but not in the ideal revenue range I'm seeking

like reply | 0 likes

searcher HEC School of Management, Paris McGill University - 10/19/2021

It depends on what size of cities and in which country you are looking for. Presumably big cities in the US would work although it will likely take a lot of time before you find an available deal that matches your criteria

like reply | 0 likes

searcher University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School Georgetown University - 10/19/2021

I'm doing a narrow geographic search, happy to pass along what I've learned: [redacted]

like reply | 0 likes

searcher Emory University - Goizueta Business School - 10/20/2021

Gut tells me a search in a major metro like NYC is likely to disappoint due to several reasons: competitiveness, higher costs, higher price, etc. Any advice?

like reply | 0 likes

investor Harvard University - Harvard Business School Harvard University - 10/20/2021

Hi ^[redacted]‌ - While I am generally open to geographic searches, I wouldn’t recommend searching in just one metro area. I don’t believe that a searcher can generate a large enough opportunity set with one metro alone.

That said, if you were going to search in just one metro area, I would absolutely choose NYC. From personal experience, I don’t think it’s necessarily more competitive than other parts of the country (I think that’s a myth). Yes, there

like reply | 0 likes

searcher University of California, Berkeley - Haas School of Business - 10/22/2021

I did a very targeted search in a rather small city. If you have patience, and are relatively industry agnostic, you will eventually be successful. If you are on a tight timeline or have very specific requirements, you are better off being less hyper-targeted.

like reply | 1 like

searcher Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT Sloan School of Management - 10/22/2021

It's doable but not the best approach as search is a numbers game: the more companies you reach out to, the more likely you are to find the right one for you.

like reply | 0 likes

searcher Massachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT Sloan School of Management - 10/22/2021

You are absolutely correct ^[redacted]‌. Patience is a great virtue! On the other hand, we all have preferences and time tables. We got to live and enjoy this life - we can't postpone things. At the end of the day, industry agnostic might mean considering 2 or 3 industries. Assertive, disciplined, and open to learning new business models would be the desirable characteristics for improving the success metrics.

like reply | 0 likes

intermediary Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management The University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business - 10/22/2021

I strongly believe in leveraging the power of a searcher's personal/extended network to obtain warm introductions/referrals resulting in FTF meetings with business owners and participants in the target industry's ecosystem (customers, vendors, associations) in the searcher's targeted geographic industry (e.g., a mid- to large city). I suggest the searcher then systematically broaden the search geographically (e.g., major metro area, then state, then region) in roughly concentric circles out to[r

like reply | 1 like

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