Is it Worth Hiring an Intern for Deal Sourcing?

September 08, 2025

by a searcher in New York, NY, USA

I’m considering hiring an intern to help with deal sourcing but unsure if it’s worth it. My concern is whether they can actually find high-quality deals versus just creating more work filtering low-quality ones. Has anyone here done this? Was it helpful or more of a distraction? Any tips on making it work would be appreciated.

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Reply by an investor
from Harvard University in Dallas, TX, USA

Two of my interns ended up being ceos of our operating companies. They also made millions in stock. I was searching in 2009 when the financial crisis was on and when search funds were a very minor thing . I hired via Craigslist ads. But it was unpaid. The difference in quality of unpaid vs when we offered an hourly rate was astonishing. We mainly had people in their 20s and I was teaching them the entire deal process. The broker flow was pretty useful for that. My outreach was physical letters that took a lot of individual effort. It still works today (I send letters to business owners that I personally am interested in buying). But they would tailor them, research the companies and personalize the content. I had interns do the initial letter, the follow up letter, the email (2 week delay between each) and then attempt to call and then schedule my attempted call. The best process i ever say was interns managing interns. Nathan Israel who later searched was the lead intern managing interns. Im sure there's all kinds of perspectives on paying (how much? Benefits? Etc etc) but thr experience they get is a big part of it. The best ones came to meetings, traveled etc.

Reply by a searcher
from Louisiana State University in Atlanta, GA, USA

Make sure your expectations are clear. For an undergrad-level intern, I would set the bar at simply setting up calls for you. For a graduate-level intern, I would set the bar at qualifying the prospect for you.

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