Search Funded: The ETA Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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

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.

Ambit Partners is a dedicated Search Fund investor, enabling entrepreneurship through acquisition in traditional and developing markets. They combine a global investment mandate with deep SME transacting and operating experience - supporting a portfolio of exceptional entrepreneurs to find, buy, & build enduring businesses around the world.

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This episode originally appeared on the INSEAD Emerging Market Podcast.

Pete is a former acquisition entrepreneur himself who now backs  aspiring private business owners by co-investing in their businesses and coaching them to make real progress by: distilling the mission; articulating the strategy; building great teams; and then, designing pragmatic plans to put rubber on the road.

In this episode we discuss the Australian market for search funds and dive deep into how successful searchers navigate acquiring and operating businesses.

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Dr. Campos is the Country Director of IE University in Brazil, Professor of Entrepreneurship at FGV EAESP, Visiting Professor at IE Business School (Spain) and ITA (Brazil) and Founder and Managing Partner of Newton Equity Partners, a company that invests in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) via Search Funds worldwide.

Professionally, Newton's life is driven by reshaping Capitalism through entrepreneurship and technology, preparing leaders to thrive relentlessly in their quest to solve local and global business, environmental and social challenges.

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M Capital is the second traditional search fund ever in Japan, where Mitsuya is currently searching for a business to acquire.

Prior to launching his search fund, Mitsuya had an MBA from IE Business school and a Master's in Civil & Environmental Engineering at Waseda University and worked in sales in the construction industry in Japan.

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Bruce Vann is a self-funded searcher who has acquired 3 businesses since launching his search fund journey in 2019.

LuXout Products Inc. is a stage curtain company and he has vertically integrated it with subsequent acquisitions after first taking over in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

In this episode Bruce talks about building an employee culture of ownership and excellence and the self-determination that entrepreneurship allows after getting fired from 3 jobs in 4 years.

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Philip Desrocher, along with his search partner Cameron Roblin, acquired GLP Canada (one of Canada's largest HVAC distributors) less than a year after launching their search fund in 2021. 

Brenden is both a search fund entrepreneur, having acquired Pro Max Fence Systems in 2018, and a search fund investor as co-founder of Generational Transfer Entrepreneurs (GTE), which now has 5 acquisitions under its belt.

Founded in 2017, GT Entrepreneurs (GTE) is a private investment firm that leverages its vast search fund and executive-level expertise to help procure highly favorable outcomes for today's most talented aspiring CEOs. While they primarily look to partner with traditional searchers during their initial capital raise, they also provide gap investment capital to both traditional and self-funded searchers alike.

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Moonbase Capital is a search fund investment group that invests in and provides hands on support to search fund entrepreneurs in Spain, France, and Italy.

Their model is differentiated by providing their entrepreneurs with an advisory board of business operators, consultants, CEOs, and CFOs.

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