The Long Middle of Search

February 14, 2026

by a searcher from Babson College in Nashua, NH, USA

Most self-funded search conversations are about deals, lenders, and timelines. But there is a part of the journey I find is not talked about much - the long middle. When months pass, progress is uncertain, and the weight of the future sits quietly on your shoulders. Most of us show the confident version.
The honest version sometimes is: “This is heavier than I expected.”
I have been reminded recently that the hardest part of search is not finding a deal, it is carrying uncertainty for a long time.If you are in that phase, you are not alone. And if anyone is open to occasional conversations about the human side of the process (not deal talk), I would be glad to connect.

Reply by a searcher
from The University of Michigan in Chicago, IL, USA

Thanks for this post and thoughts, Jana. I spoke with a few searchers last week at a conference and a similar sentiment was weighing on all of us. Are we going to buy a business, is this worth it, where will I live, what will life look like, etc.? These questions bring a lot of uncertainty and doubt to the search process. Life continues on during the search and it's hard to plan with so many unknowns. I certainly feel them - if you ever want to connect and chat to a fellow searcher going through it, send me a message!

Reply by an investor
from Wesleyan University in Dedham, MA, USA

Jana beautiful post. I am reminded not just of the long middle of search, but of the long middle of life (or, in my case, the late middle, very late). I have often found, as still and stupid as it sounds, that it is truer darkest before the dawn, and that just when I was about to give up all hope, something shifted, and the miraculous happened. Sometimes it is just having that patience to endure the suffering, which is the difference between average and great. Stay true to yourself.

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