Anyone have any stories about what happened after you acquired a business? I'm particularly interested in how searchers succeeded or failed in growing a search-fund scale business (i.e. a business of the size a searcher could reasonably expect to acquire). Would love to hear lessons learned!
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Searchfunder is an online community and toolkit for searchfunds. Over 80% of those involved in searchfunds maintain a Searchfunder.com account to help them network, problem solve challenges, and keep up with the industry.
We maintain partnerships with database providers that make searching more effective, efficient and affordable along with features that help searchers find deals and investors and vice versa.
We maintain partnerships with database providers that make searching more effective, efficient and affordable along with features that help searchers find deals and investors and vice versa.
The 2020 Stanford Search Fund Study reports a 33% failure (to complete a transaction) rate.
And, of those search funds that bought a business, 25% suffered losses from their investment.
Self-funders, in contrast, quit or fail to buy more often than search funders, according to my observations and interactions with brokers and advisors.
• You have to wonder why so many people begin something destined to fail, don’t you?
Perhaps the better success rate of search funds pertains to the quality of the investors, providing oversight, and sufficient capital to assure positive cash flow.