MBA Student Exploring ETA and Looking to Learn from Experienced Searchers

Hi everyone, I wanted to introduce myself to the community. My name is Matt Newman and I’m currently finishing my MBA at NYU Stern, graduating this May. Over the past few months I’ve been diving deeper into the search fund and ETA world and have become increasingly excited about the opportunity to acquire and operate a small business. My background is primarily in sales and go-to-market strategy, where I’ve spent several years working with data and AI solutions to help companies improve their operations and decision making. While I’ve learned a lot in tech, I’m looking to pivot toward entrepreneurship through acquisition and ultimately build a career as an owner-operator. Right now I’m focused on learning as much as possible about the deal process and the realities of operating a business post-acquisition. If anyone here would be open to sharing their experience, I’d love to connect. I’m particularly interested in speaking with operators, searchers, and M&A professionals who have been through the process and are willing to share advice with someone early in the journey. I’m also very interested in gaining hands-on experience working on deals with experienced teams, so if there are opportunities to support diligence, sourcing, or analysis I would love to help where I can. Thanks in advance and looking forward to learning from this community.