I'm curious which route people here have taken: traditional search or independent sponsor. I want to acquire and grow companies with a GM running the day to day. My focus would be the long-term strategy: executing a roll-up, acquiring businesses, and targeting 5-10% annual growth in each business, ideally 10%. For those who've done either, which route did you take and why? How did you handle hiring and paying the GM, and what did investors expect your involvement to look like, especially in the first year? Would you choose the same route again, or approach it differently?