Search Funds

Currently in PE but have entrepreneurial aspirations to run a software business. I'm not technical, and frankly don't have the appetite to do the whole 0 --> 1 phase, so doing a search seem like a very compelling option. Curious to hear if anybody hear has done a search and what your experience was like. Interested in if you decided to do B-school first, self funded vs. traditional search, financial outcomes etc.

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I've interned at one (so take with a spoonful of salt lol) and it seems pretty competitive. A bunch of these LMM owners get reach outs constantly especially with the development of search funds. Rarely do they reply for an initial meeting, most are shit as you dig deeper into it, and once you're past that, the asking price is almost always way too high where the target IRR won't be achieved. I'd be careful in placing the "entrepreneurship" wants so high because to get there it'll be an absolute grind and not the fun kind either. Fyi out of the 3 search funds I know well, 1 acquired, 2 couldn't.

 

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