I just attended the 6th International Search Fund Conference at IESE last week, and it was absolutely worth it.
I had the chance to chat with other searchers, exchanging opinions and experiences, which was incredibly insightful. It was also really useful for the fundraising stage, as you get to meet potential investors in person, making a much stronger impact than through cold emails. Highly recommend attending Stanford for the 2025 Conference

I went and felt like I made a mistake not reaching out to specific investors and booking times to see them in advance. Being rather new to the scene myself and having come alone, I felt as though everyone other than other new wannabe searchers like me already knew each other, so it was easiest to naturally meet other wannabe searchers, which was from a business perspective fruitless. I found that investors were typically huddled around each other and their close friends/partners/associates, so approaching groups engaged in conversation to introduce myself as someone looking for cash felt awkward and intrusive. Calls are much more effective for this workstream and, ultimately, I felt as though I had wasted the EUR 550 + flight and accommodation because I didn't move closer to my goal. Maybe this would have been different had I planned in advance.