I write a monthly newsletter on Search, ETA, SMB, & more.


I thought I'd share an excerpt of the May edition I sent recently - sign-up at bit.ly/etamusings if want to get on the list


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Thanks for all the kind notes after last month's newsletter. We're glad the message of The Brydon Group resonates with so many and it's been fun to formally launch.

Speaking of, our Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) applications are live for our 2022 cohort starting in late August / early September (yes, with our 10-day kick-off in the Caribbean) - more information here.

The deadline is June 15th and you'll find the application here.

Got someone you think would be a good fit? Please feel free to share with them!

Any questions? Send us a note (steve at brydon dot com).

Searcher Opportunities:

Events:

o Mid-Atlantic Happy Hour: We are hosting a Mid-Atlantic search fund community happy hour on Tuesday, June 14th from 5:30-7:30pm in Washington DC. We would love for you to join us at the Blackfinn patio. You can RSVP here.

o JP Morgan: George spoke at JP Morgan's Veteran Leadership & Business Owners events in Dallas and Houston. Always fun to see the intersection of the veteran and search fund communities and George is out there sourcing for our EIRs already!



Conferences:

o Kellogg-Booth: Steve enjoyed attending the Kellogg-Booth ETA conference and connecting with many members of the search ecosystem. Although Chicago's Intelligentsia coffee is great, nothing beats the ETA pitch contest resulting in a massive check (check it out).

o Capital Camp: Steve and Alex traveled to the hot-spot of Columbia, Missouri for the 3rd annual Capital Camp to spend time with a great group of niche allocators, operators, and investors. Alex wrote a short thread summarizing one especially interesting talk on looking for "Ecosystem Control" in evaluating great businesses.

o Run an ETA club / course / conference? We have spoken on topics from financial modeling, advanced due diligence, buying & operating software businesses, veteran search and intro to ETA and are always happy to present at clubs and events.



Jobs & Internships:

We highlight job openings from our portfolio and the broader search community. If you have a career opening you want us to include in a future newsletter, send it our way and we’re happy to share with the broader community.

o Internships:

 MBA Associate Intern: Octapus, a Tara Capital portfolio tech venture, is looking for a Spanish-speaking MBA student interested in either M&A or BD within the Latam cloud and cybersecurity space. Send an email to --@----.com and/or --@----.com if interested in this remote/Mexico City role.

 Search Intern(s): Hive Capital is looking for undergraduate and graduate interns to assist with identifying and acquiring a company in the United States. Reach out to Daniel Besquin --@----.com to apply or learn more.

 Go-to-Market Intern: Cornerstone Support, a RegTech SaaS company acquired by a searcher in 2021, is looking for an intern to support their GTM efforts as they expand their core product into new industries. You can contact Jeff at --@----.com

 Undergrad Interns: Prairie Lake is looking for undergraduate interns. Job description available here and for those interested contact Danny at --@----.com

o Community Roles: Here are a few exciting roles in the broader ETA community.

 VP of Product: ScribSoft, an excellent search-backed student enrollment company, is recruiting for a VP of Product. Reach out to Ben Knoll --@----.com if interested.

 President (& Future CEO): Worklyn Partners is recruiting a right-hand-(wo)man to the CEO of a portfolio company in the Bay Area. The group provides network engineering, integration, and IT services out of the Bay Area and you can apply here (create the free Searchfunder account, it's totally worth it).

 Technical Recruiter: EverOps, a fast-growing tech services business, is building out an in-house recruiting team. Reach out to Stephen Koza --@----.com to apply or learn more.

 Director: Fellow search investor Anacapa Partners is hiring for their next Director.

 Business Development Analyst: Acadian Software, a boutique investment firm, is looking for a Business Development Analyst who is interested in SaaS and start-ups.



Content & Community:

Podcasts:

o Think Like an Owner: Alex (Bridgeman, that is) interviewed Alex about applying lessons learned from large cap private equity to ETA. They discuss buying software businesses, government services and ways to prevent the most common causes of "failure" in search (and how we approach this at Brydon).

o Acquisitions Anonymous: Steve joined a new episode of Acquisitions Anonymous to discuss The Brydon Group and the qualities of a good searcher. Michael Girdley (@Girdley) & Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA) are excellent hosts and must-follow SMB Twitter contributors. Steve also joined "The Michael Girdley Show" this month for a broader jam-session on everything from attending shareholder annual meetings, swag standards, thesis-driven search, & more.

o Polsky Center: The University of Chicago's Booth School of Business presents this thoughtful conversation with industry veteran David Dodson, a student of search fund guru, Irv Grousbeck.



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