How involved would you like to be through the search process? Are you interested in being an investor in the acquisition, or just the search phase? How involved would you like to be with strategic planning in the business after acquisition? How much are you looking to invest in the search? How about in the acquisition stage? What are your goals & expectations with this investment? What are dealbreakers for you in an acquisition? Which industries do you have strong knowledge in?

Great topic Stefano. I wanted to put this on your radar - we are hosting a town hall on how entrepreneurs and businesses can take on (minority) growth capital from PE without sacrificing control of their business or come under threat of dilution. When your search materializes and you takeover a business that might want to take on additional capital, this is a very important and dynamic topic to consider. I would love for you (and the rest of the SF community) to join us next Wednesday[redacted]) - https://zoom.us/webinar/register[redacted]WN_Pzzm6ExTQRWXD6wZFE-_lg

Hey - I think you want to better understand the investors track record and experiences. How have they helped acquisition entrepreneurs in the past? What role do they play post-acquisition? What areas can they help to address that are potential gaps in your resume. There are always many gaps given the expansive operating challenges in managing a SMB. Understand the ways that investors can get excited about what you are working on and make them part of your team!

I would definitely always ask the investor for searcher references in the SF/ETA space (unless they are new), and of those references i would then weigh highest the feedback/reference given to you by a searcher who is > 1-2 yrs post acquisition. In my experience, the feedback from searchers earlier in the process is substantially less valuable as it tends to be less representative. (Of course such feedback is still better than no feedback).

keep in mind, this is your SF/ETA/business, and you are the largest stakeholder of it, so - of course - investors have the right to vet you, but equally you should vet every one of your investors respectively. You are going into a 5,10 or 15 year partnership here, so this is not to be underestimated. Especially in times where capital is becoming more and more abundant...

hope this experience share helps.

As usual, great insights coming up from the community, thank you all!

Think I will also ask about situations when it didn't go well and what are their takeaways. Who are the searchers they like most, to really grasp their mindset.

I would encourage you to think back to your own experiences in the workplace. What did you like? What did you not like?
This is going to be a long relationship and picking investors that have a similar approach / mindset / working style will be beneficial.

Happy to see you are moving forward!