Search Funded: The ETA Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis
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Interviews with acquisition entrepreneurs and investors to distill the best practices for acquiring and operating established businesses.
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See allScore global : 62%
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Building a Search Fund in China: No Playbook, Local Trust, and What Actually Works - Sally Tian, Snowtide Capital
Season 2 · Episode 11
mardi 28 avril 2026 • Duration 30:29
Sally Tian shares her journey from consulting, tech, and Harvard Business School to building one of the first search funds in China alongside her husband and co-founder. She explains why she walked away from the “immigrant dream” and chose a more uncertain but aligned path in entrepreneurship.
We discuss what it actually takes to do search in China, including how fundraising differs across international and local investors, why credibility matters more than the model itself, and how relationship-driven dynamics shape sourcing and dealmaking. Sally also highlights key cultural differences, from how sellers perceive young operators to why traditional search fund narratives don’t translate directly.
Throughout the conversation, she reflects on identity, returning to China, and how her background across cultures has shaped her approach to building and operating a business in a market where there is no clear playbook.
The End of Financial Engineering and Why AI Won’t Save You - Lee McCabe, Claymore Partners
Season 2 · Episode 10
mardi 21 avril 2026 • Duration 32:08
Most private equity returns over the last decade were not driven by operators. They were driven by cheap debt and multiple expansion. That playbook is breaking.
In this episode, Lee McCabe, partner at Claymore Partners, explains what actually drives value creation now and why most lower middle market businesses are far less prepared than they think. At Claymore, Lee works directly with private equity firms and their portfolio companies to drive value creation across marketing, data, and technology.
Before that, Lee led digital and growth initiatives at companies like eBay, Expedia, Facebook, and Alibaba, giving him a unique perspective on how digital and now AI actually show up inside real businesses, not just pitch decks.
We cover:
- Why most businesses do not actually understand how they make money
- How KPI laundering and broken data lead to bad decisions
- Why AI is mostly a distraction for unprepared companies
- The real value creation playbook: data, systems, marketing, then AI
- How to think about CAC, conversion, and net profit per lead
- Why CEOs, not tech, are usually the biggest bottleneck
- How searchers and independent sponsors should adapt in a post multiple expansion world
Episode 21 - Abhi Golhar, Meridian 84
Season 1 · Episode 21
mardi 29 avril 2025 • Duration 49:10
Abhi Golhar is an entrepreneur, private equity investor, and nationally recognized speaker specializing in business leadership, innovation strategy, and private markets investing. With a track record of founding, scaling, and exiting multiple companies across healthcare, education, and technology sectors, Abhi brings a deep understanding of operational excellence, M&A, and strategic growth execution.
He is the Managing Partner at Meridian 84, an investment platform focused on lower middle market acquisitions and roll-ups across healthcare, professional services, and automotive sectors. Abhi also leads capital formation initiatives and portfolio company operations, helping business owners and operators achieve transformative growth and sustainable value creation.
A three-time nationally syndicated radio host with more than three million daily listeners, Abhi’s insights on Wall Street, private equity, and innovation have been featured in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, and Huffington Post. He is a frequent keynote speaker for corporate events and industry conferences, where he equips leaders and organizations to embrace doubt, drive change, and unlock new pathways to success.
Abhi is passionate about bridging traditional industries with emerging technologies, advocating for a pragmatic approach to change management, AI adoption, and strategic reinvention. His leadership philosophy is grounded in the belief that uncertainty, when navigated skillfully, becomes a catalyst for growth and innovation.
Website links: https://www.lafayetteandoak.com
Episode 18 - LaSean Smith, CAGR Investments
Season 1 · Episode 18
vendredi 25 octobre 2024 • Duration 01:15:38
Lasean Smith is founder of CAGR Investments, a micro-PE firm that is part family office and part product studio.. Lasean holds a bachelor's in media and computer science from Southern Illinois University, a master's from Arizona State University, an MBA from Georgetown, and a professional screenwriting degree from UCLA. LaSean is also a veteran of the US Navy and has worked at Deloitte, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, and while doing so deployed over $450 million deployed across corporate R&D, Lasean also holds several patents and has invested in over 12 companies himself at CAGR.
In this episode, we discuss Lasean’s philosophy on what startups and SMEs can learn from corporate practices (and vice versa), how AI can help search fund acquisitions, and why he's focusing on Malaysia for his non-US investments. Lasean also shares valuable insights on attaining financial independence, diligencing culture, and building scalable processes for long-term success.
Lasean is the author of Values-Based Business Design, a book on product development for modern high growth companies: https://www.amazon.com/Values-Based-Business-Design-Development-High-Growth/dp/1623010012
Episode 20 - Kevin Bibelhausen, Fruition Capital (and Heritage Fabrics)
Season 1 · Episode 20
vendredi 23 août 2024 • Duration 44:20
Kevin Bibelhausen is an investor and business owner based in High Point, North Carolina. He frequently consults on digital strategy & operations, is a sought after conference speaker, frequent podcast guest and author. Kevin is passionate about professionalizing the "wild west" that was once SMB acquisitions.
He has helped dozens of entrepreneurs find, finance and acquire small businesses and escape corporate America. Kevin received his MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
Link to his substack: https://bibelhausen.substack.com/
Interview starts at 9:08.
Episode 17 - Gabriel Chick, Service-Tech Corporation
Season 1 · Episode 17
vendredi 12 avril 2024 • Duration 32:55
Gabriel Chick is the President and CEO of Cleveland, Ohio-based HVAC and industrial cleaning services company Service Tech Corporation (STC). Prior to STC, Gabriel served over 4 years as a Field Artillery Officer in the US Army where he led and oversaw a 40+ personnel team. Gabriel is a co-founder of GT Entrepreneurs, which he helped create while enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper Business School's full-time MBA program.
Episode 16 - Tom Gilroy, GKG Risk
Season 1 · Episode 16
lundi 8 avril 2024 • Duration 17:31
In this episode, Tom Gilroy, representing the fourth generation at GKG Risk, shares invaluable insights into the critical role of insurance due diligence in the process of acquiring a business and often-overlooked aspects of insurance in ensuring the long-term success and stability of an acquisition.
Episode 15 - Saumil Jariwala, Feta Fund
Season 1 · Episode 15
vendredi 5 avril 2024 • Duration 39:14
Saumil Jariwala, of Feta Fund, (Founder-focused Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition) joins us on this episode to talk about his mission to help one thousand entrepreneurs acquire businesses in his lifetime.
We dive deep into the philosophy behind Feta Fund, highlighting its unique approach to specializing in providing support during the search phase of the EtA journey, as well as stories of EtA entrepreneurs Saumil has helped in their journey to make exceptional financial returns and change employee and customer lives.
Episode 14 - Javier Puig, Arada Capital Partners
Season 1 · Episode 14
jeudi 30 novembre 2023 • Duration 27:39
Arada Capital Partners is a multidisciplinary team that invests in search funds across Europe.
Javier Puig, Partner at Arada Capital Partners, joined me to discuss Arada's value add and his journey launching a search fund investor after his MBA.
Episode 13 - Bakari Akil, Graves Hall Capital
Season 1 · Episode 13
mardi 7 novembre 2023 • Duration 27:48
In this episode, host Nick Lall interviews Bakari Akil, Managing Director of Graves Hall Capital.
They discuss Bakari's unique path to becoming a successful acquisition entrepreneur, including his most recent acquisition of a $30 million burlap bag manufacturing company.
Bakari also shares his experiences as a lecturer at Cornell and Columbia Business Schools, his founding of New York's largest private equity hedge fund group on meetup.com, and what led him to launch Nomad Noir, a community for black digital nomads.
Bakari offers extremely valuable insights on leveraging unconventional routes in entrepreneurship and business acquisitions, forging strong relationships with prominent figures like Dr. Cornel West and Tim Bovard without prior connections, how to approach deal analysis, and his daily habits that have led to his success.
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