Search Fund Accelerator Interview Questions

7 total interview insight submissions
Interview Experience (82%)

The Interview Experience is a score from 1 star (very negative) to 5 stars (very positive) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the donut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire dataset.

3.9
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (75%)

The Interview Difficulty is a score ranging from very difficult (red) to very easy (green) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more insights, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire data set.

2.7
  • Very Easy
  • Easy
  • Average
  • Difficult
  • Very Difficult
% Interns - FT Offers (28%)

The % of Interns Getting a Full Time Offer chart is meant to provide a realistic estimate of the hiring practices of the company based on the reviews at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few reviews). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to the simple company average and away from the average of the entire data set.

20%
  • 0%
  • 10%
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 40%
  • 50%
  • 60%
  • 70%
  • 80%
  • 90%
  • 100%

Interviews at Search Fund Accelerator

Filter by:
Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
Intern
Year 2019
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Supply Chain
Location Boston
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2019
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Mergers and Acquisitions
Location Boston
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
Intern
Year 2019
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Private Equity
Location Boston
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Easy
Intern
Year 2018
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Mergers and Acquisitions
Location Boston
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Easy
Intern
Year 2018
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Generalist
Location Boston
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Easy
Intern
Year 2018
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Generalist
Location Boston
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Easy
Intern
Year 2017
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Private Equity
Location Boston
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Difficult

Interview Questions & Answers - Search Fund Accelerator Examples

Private Equity Intern Interview - Supply Chain

Anonymous employee in Boston
Interviewed: July 2019
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Skills Test
Interview
I saw the position online through LinkedIn, and after applying I waited 2 weeks and got invited for a 1-on-1 the following week. I did the 1-on-1 and they asked straightforward simple question, but it was more focused on fit itself. From there there was a case test that was sent out in an excel document that needed to completed by the end of the week. After that you were invited back for another screen to go over your answers ad their reasoning, while also given another case on the spot.
Interview Questions
For behavioral think standard interview questions that you can pull off of any online website (i.e google, vault) from there the first technical question was "What is EBITDA." They also focus a lot on you being able to understand what the company does, and how the business model works. After that, you want to really pay attention when they go through the screen test that they sent you. This is because the on the spot case they ask you is based heavily on the concepts they talk about in the case.

Summer Private Equity Analyst Interview - Mergers and Acquisitions

Anonymous employee in Boston
Interviewed: April 2019
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
2 phone interviews with Analysts and one in-person 1 on 1 interview with MD. 1st phone interview was mostly behavioural, 2nd more technical. Final 1 on 1 interview was mix of both, more technical questions though.
Interview Questions
Asked me to do an industry pitch which fit their thesis- most difficult.
Why private equity?
What made you pick this company specifically?
Where do you think the markets is going to be in the next six months?
Which portfolio company did you find most attractive and why?
Why is your relevant background useful for this role?
What value can you bring to this role- how can you help me?
What is your biggest weakness and what have you done to improve it?
Are you investing in any stocks? If so which are the top 3?

Private Equity Intern Interview - Private Equity

Anonymous employee in Boston
Interviewed: January 2019
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Other
Interview
The interview process consisted of an initial behavior phone call with an analyst at SFA, who then emailed me a list of companies as which I should label as good or bad investments. I then had an in-person interview with a Searcher at SFA, which consisted of behavioral questions such as "Why SFA?" and "where do you see your career going?" We then went over each decision I made regarding the company list I was emailed and discussed why I would or would not invest in each company.
Interview Questions
Search Fund accelerator has a very specific investment criteria for the companies they consider for acquisition and part of the in-person interview with the searcher involved being given a particular company or an industry and describing why they would or would not be good acquisitions for SFA. The company invests primarily in businesses that offer routine or subscription-based services such that they can maintain consistent/predictable revenue. As long as you are familiar with concepts such as cyclicality, seasonality, and B2B business structure then you will do fine. I had little formal education in finance at the time of my interview and so had some small issues justifying my decision process.

Private Equity Summer Analyst Interview - Mergers and Acquisitions

Anonymous employee in Boston
Interviewed: January 2018
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
First round with an intern or analyst. Second round with a searcher. Just get to know the company and search fund world as much as possible bc they'll ask you about it.
Interview Questions
Pitch a few industries that you think would fit our investment criteria here at SFA. Why do you think these industries are worth looking into and how will the benefit the company.

They are also going to ask you what a search fund is... Just say something like it is a mini version of private equity and that there is an individual that raises money from investors to find a company to buy and run it as the partial owner and CEO.

They may also give you a CIM to go through beforehand and they will ask you to tell them if it is worth investing in or not.

Private Equity Intern Interview - Generalist

Anonymous interview candidate in Boston
Interviewed: February 2018
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
The first round was a 1 on 1 phone interview with a prior intern which consisted entirely of fit/behavioral questions. The second round was a 1 on 1 video interview with a senior which had a mix of behavioral and technical questions.
Interview Questions
1. If I were to give you $100,000 to invest in one of Apple, Microsoft, or Amazon which one would you invest in and why?
2. If you were to invest in real estate in a city, which city would you pick and why?

I am extremely confused how this is supposed to be a minimum of 500 characters unless you are getting a case it is extremely unlikely that any question is going to be that long. Not only that, but the add another question button doesn't work. It would make more sense if the total number of characters across all questions had to be 500 so you can give more but it doesn't make sense in the current state.

Private Equity Intern Interview - Generalist

Anonymous interview candidate in Boston
Interviewed: February 2018
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
The first round was a 1 on 1 phone interview with a prior intern which consisted entirely of fit/behavioral questions. The second round was a 1 on 1 video interview with a senior which had a mix of behavioral and technical questions.
Interview Questions
1. If I were to give you $100,000 to invest in one of Apple, Microsoft, or Amazon which one would you invest in and why?
2. If you were to invest in real estate in a city, which city would you pick and why?

I am extremely confused how this is supposed to be a minimum of 500 characters unless you are getting a case it is extremely unlikely that any question is going to be that long. Not only that, but the add another question button doesn't work. It would make more sense if the total number of characters across all questions had to be 500 so you can give more but it doesn't make sense in the current state.

Private Equity Analyst Intern Interview - Private Equity

Anonymous employee in Boston
Interviewed: June 2017
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Applied online via the company website directly. First step was a Skype video interview with a current head analyst. He asked me typical fit questions, what SFA does, how SFA is different from a private equity firm. Second was an in-person interview at the office with a lead Searcher, who asked me the same general questions. Was also given a case between two companies and which one that should be targeted for acquisition.
Interview Questions
You're given two companies, and must decide which would be a better acquisition target. It'll probably be two service-oriented businesses. The interviewer will give you 2-3 minutes to decide, and they will leave the room during that time.

You'll also be asked what the difference is between SFA and a traditional PE firm. This one threw me off guard because I thought they'd only ask about what a search fund does. SFA, is an investor that backs multiple search funds, each of which act as a mini-PE fund.