A new study published in Harvard Business Review seems to confirm what we've known intuitively -- valuing how you spend your time over money can lead to happier outcomes. (Are New Graduates Happier Making More Money or Having More Time?) This valuing of time may be the driver behind the trend toward search funds. While business acquisition may be more profitable than the traditional career paths of MBAs, searching for 2+ years for the right business to purchase and operate as CEO means that you're willing to make a substantial upfront commitment in your time to pursue a desirable outcome that balances your personal needs, your family needs and your professional objectives. Having made this commitment, it's no wonder so many CEO operators mention how much fun they are having running their own business. Just two examples are ^Searchfunder member‌ Interview, Having Fun Learning My Business and ^Searchfunder member‌ Interview The Fun of Operating.


In our last report six months ago, the data indicated that there was a dip in search fund formations between 2017 and###-###-#### That is still holding, although the gap has narrowed considerably. Below is a chart with the data for the first half of###-###-#### As there is a lag between a dealing closing and when it's reported to Searchfunder, we believe that formations for 2019 for the full year are likely on pace with or slightly higher than last year's.


We're making a general call out to the search fund community to help us with crowdsourcing data on search funds, especially for 2018 and the first half###-###-#### Please check your search fund's information for accuracy and update it as needed. If you're aware of someone else's new search fund or an acquisition that's not listed, please direct message me through Searchfunder.





* Search fund formations data collected as of 7/25/2019