Mastermind for ETAs

Member resources:

Frequent asked questions:

What is Searchfunder.com?

Searchfunder.com is an online community of searchers, investors, lenders, brokers and other professionals. Over 80% of those involved in searchfunds maintain a Searchfunder account to help them network, hire, and mentor others.

What are the benefits of membership?

In addition to accessing the most active online network of business buyers, Searchfunder licenses research that is simply not cost effective for individuals. Access over 15,000 industry reports and 50,000 transaction financials. You also get monthly credits for contact information for your company sourcing campaign with the option to purchase more at drastically discounted rates. Searchfunder has pre-purchased access from these data providers in order to empower individual buyers and to help searchers level the playing field versus private equity.

Do you have deals?

While we are primarily a buy-side network, we do have hundreds of brokers that regularly post deals to the community.

Can I find an internship on Searchfunder?

Absolutely! We have the industry's largest intern job board. If you are considering a search, the first step is to help another business buyer so you can hit the ground running.

What does it cost?

Searchfunder is a subscription service. We offer flexible monthly, annual and lifetime memberships.

Monthly

$79 / month

Annual

$19 / month

Lifetime

$432 / once

Those who maintain an account with us for over 4 continuous years are permanently added to the community without the need for a membership.

Do I need an MBA to join?

While a large number of our members come from dedicated programs at Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, Chicago Booth, and other top programs, searching is no longer reserved for the elite. With the current abundance of dry powder in private equity, and an increasing number of business owners reaching retirement age, good deals rarely go unfunded.

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by a searcher from University of Massachusetts Amherst - Isenberg School of Management
in Bothell, Washington, USA

1yr ago

Mastermind for ETAs

I’m looking to join a mastermind group for acquisition entrepreneurs. I’m currently pursuing my MBA and eager to deepen my understanding of deal-making beyond just reading and research. My husband and I were pre-qualified for an SBA loan to buy a business, but I feel I still need more hands-on knowledge before moving forward. I’ve considered becoming a business broker to gain real-world experience and better understand the industry from the inside. I’m based in Seattle for now but planning to relocate to Florida. If anyone has recommendations or is part of a group that supports aspiring acquisition entrepreneurs, I’d love to connect. Thanks in advance!

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reply by a searcher 1yr ago
from The University of Michigan in Snohomish, WA, USA

I think it comes down to how much support you want/need throughout the process. SMBootcamp Live gives you a good foundation of the basics to get started and you can learn the rest as you go, but if you want more ongoing support then you can do the SMBootcamp Accelerated Success program which includes ongoing support throughout the search. I attended SMBootcamp Live and don't know as much about Acquisition Lab but have heard generally good things; I think it is more comparable to the SMBootcamp Accelerated Success program as it includes ongoing support calls. Austin, not sure I follow your comment about brokers and what is meant by having one foot out the door. From what I've seen, most searchers end up finding deals through a broker, even if they originally start looking off-market. Both can be good but brokered deals are generally more actionable and don't take the time & effort to prepare the seller to get ready to sell (in my opinion worth paying a bit more for that). The choice of deal sourcing can be driven by the size of market where you are searching and other factors as well - there isn't a single right answer.

reply by a searcher 1yr ago
from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Captain Cook, HI, USA

I joined Kyle Mallien’s deal community about a month ago and it’s already been worth the hefty price tag IMO. They have a quarterly 3 day in person event that I was able to go to a week after I joined and the quality of people was fantastic, not only professionally accomplished but just good helpful people and easy to talk to. His in person events usually have a few hundred people. But the real value in joining the higher tier for me is there are calls every weekday that you can join and get feedback on your deals live with the mentors, and Kyle himself does the Wednesday calls which can run for 3 hours. More specifically being part of the community helped me clarify my search very quickly. I had been searching for about 6 weeks before joining and I was all over the place as far as what I was looking for. Kyle and the community has a specific buy box that they strongly encourage us to stay within to minimize risk and maximize chances of success: at least 10 years in business, 10 employees, $1M+ revenue (really $3+), and 20% net profit. But these are just guidelines and every deal has its own nuances so getting real live feedback is helpful particularly if a deal doesn’t mean all the criteria. I now have a deal I’m excited about under exclusive LOI and I probably wouldn’t have considered this business if I hadn’t joined the community. Happy to answer any questions about it.