Who has lessons learned from a search that closed without acquiring?
March 25, 2022
by a searcher from The University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business in Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Hello, Search Funders,
I'm interested in learning from searchers who closed a search without acquiring, for any number of reasons. I would not call these "failed searches" because I'm sure the searchers who lived these experiences have incredible tenacity and fortitude, but learned some valuable lessons along the way. Does someone have this experience or know someone who did? Thank you for your help!
from Harvard University in Fort Wayne, IN, USA
Both of the other guys didn’t close a deal, BUT both (interestingly) have started brand new businesses and both are killing it.
Both guys worked hard, found multiple deals, bid on multiple deals, and even had several signed LOIs. One was weeks away from closing when his buyer decided he wanted a few more pennies and put it on the open market (where my friend was outbid).
I would say the key differences between the two outcomes were willingness to stay close to the buyer (I spent almost a month in a hotel room before close to make sure the sellers got over the line), willingness to accept some “junk” (these LMM deals always have something that needs to be cleaned up), and some luck (I was introduced to the owners of my business by a guy I was courting hard to sell his business, and I only was able to close on time because another owner I tried to court earlier in my search ended up investing in my deal.)
from Northwestern University in Chicago, IL, USA