Transitioning from corporate life to investor/ searcher

searcher profile

December 11, 2019

by a searcher from Columbia University - Columbia Business School in Princeton, NJ, USA

I am currently transitioning from corporate life to investor/searcher. I am interested in partnering to acquire and operate a small or middle market business in the greater New York area. Any tips on where to start or who to talk to would be greatly appreciated. Would also be open to opportunities to join existing SearchFunds as investor/operating partner.


3
4
195
Replies
4
commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from University of Waterloo in Toronto, ON, Canada
1. Get a well-connected lawyer: One key is finding a great lawyer who has been involved in several deals before. Several as in 7+ not 2-3. They tend to know a lot of investors. If you were in Toronto, I'd recommend Mario Nigro. When choosing a lawyer, many claimed they were a good fit, or did a deal or two, or "I'm familiar with the space". But dive deeper to find someone who is truly deeply involved in the Search Fund industry.
2. Attend conferences and meetups like the ETA Chicago conference (http://www.etaconference.com/) or the recent Harvard one. Both finished this year. I think there are others. Also this is a low-cost way to meet investors face to face. Otherwise you'll be traveling a lot and it's hard to coordinate/pay for trips compared to 1 event where everyone is just there.
3. Again I'd definitely check out your local search funder scene. It will take a while to find it in your city. In Toronto it was almost impossible to find. But once you do, you'll know it. Once you're plugged in to it, it's all much easier.
commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from University of Chicago in 20 2nd St, Jersey City, NJ 07302, USA
Do an internship with active searcher
commentor profile
+2 more replies.
Join the discussion