Top Searcher Trait from an Investor Point of View

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August 08, 2023

by an investor in Richmond, VA, USA

From an investor point of view, what is the #1 most important trait of a searcher?

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Reply by an investor
from University of Illinois at Urbana in Chicago, IL, USA
Lots of good stuff above. The question asked is about what investors look for versus what might make one successful, so I'll take a crack at that. They aren't necessarily the same, though perhaps they should be... For investors, obviously ethics, morals, humility, hard work, etc. - but it's hard to figure that out if you haven't known the person very long. So in my experience, investors tend to fall back on pervious experiences, and what the person has done there. Have they lived in a smallco environment? Had success there? Evidence of dealing with challenges, coming up the curve successfully, etc. If you are trying to sell yourself to investors - that's where I would focus. Experiences in your background that are indicative of success in tackling the challenge ahead. If the business and business model are far afield from prior experiences, that can be much harder. But not insurmountable if you focus on circumstances where you had to go in and come up the curve quickly, and operate successfully. For me, that's probably the #1 thing - have they shown evidence of being able to do something like this before? Maybe someone should start a post about the traits that improve chances of success post close : )
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Reply by an investor
from Vanderbilt University in Riverside, Greenwich, CT, USA
Ability to select a deal that is not only attractive in terms of the risk/reward profile (ie. the job of an investor), but fits their own personal skillset and interests. Finding a good deal is step one (and hard), finding a deal that makes sense for you to be the primary focus of your life is similarly challenging, but equally crucial. The acquisition role is hard and even a "great" deal can deliver not "great" results if there isn't a good fit post close. As an example, some searchers might find a great HVAC deal, but needs to be self-aware enough to realize their limited ability/desire to manage a blue collar workforce in a city/state/town that is far away from where you are comfortable living. Deals can look great on paper, but search is unique because you need to confirm that your head/heart/skills are all in the right place.
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