Resources
A curated collection of the reads, listens, and papers that matter in ETA. Drawn from academic research, leading voices in the field, and the global ETA conference circuit.
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paper
How are Search Fund Investors Really Faring?
ETA from the investor side: portfolio returns and how allocation shapes MOICs.
paper
Exploring the CEO's Leadership Role in a Search Fund–Acquired Small Business
Focuses on what happens after you close the deal. Makes leadership concrete for first-time CEOs.
paper
2024 Search Fund Study (Stanford GSB)
The most cited benchmark on search fund outcomes. Survey data on 681 funds.
paper
Exploring Various Search Fund Structures
Maps out the main search fund structures - traditional, self-funded, accelerator, and hybrids - w...
paper
Stanford Search Fund Primer
The default reference doc for first-time searchers. Covers personal fit, fundraising, economics, ...
| Title | Type | Description | Year | Tags | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Search for Opportunity: Michael Aubrey's Story of Entrepreneurship and Growth | podcast | Michael Aubrey on his 11x return with StatLab and scaling Mission Veterinary Partners to 300+ hospitals. A real look at what operating and scaling through acquisition involves. | 2025 | Operator Story Search Journey Scaling Leadership Capital Constraints | |
| How are Search Fund Investors Really Faring? | paper | ETA from the investor side: portfolio returns and how allocation shapes MOICs. | 2025 | Investor Returns MOIC Portfolio Construction Selection Allocation Strategy | |
| Exploring the CEO's Leadership Role in a Search Fund–Acquired Small Business | paper | Focuses on what happens after you close the deal. Makes leadership concrete for first-time CEOs. | 2024 | CEO Leadership Operating Phase Culture Team Management | |
| 2024 Search Fund Study (Stanford GSB) | paper | The most cited benchmark on search fund outcomes. Survey data on 681 funds. | 2024 | Industry Data Returns Fundraising Acquisition Stats Core Search Funds | |
| On the Nature of Modeling and Valuation in a Search Fund Acquisition | paper | Practical guide to building a search fund acquisition model - operating model, financial model, valuation ranges, and capital structure. Especially helpful for non-finance searchers. | 2022 | Modeling Valuation Due Diligence Capital Structure Leverage | |
| Exploring Various Search Fund Structures | paper | Maps out the main search fund structures - traditional, self-funded, accelerator, and hybrids - with clear tradeoffs to help you pick the right model. | 2021 | Structures Self-Funded Accelerator Traditional Search Governance | |
| Stanford Search Fund Primer | paper | The default reference doc for first-time searchers. Covers personal fit, fundraising, economics, sourcing, diligence, and first-100-days playbooks. | 2021 | Primer Fundraising Search Process Due Diligence First 100 Days Governance | |
| HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business | book | The book that brought ETA to the mainstream. Ruback and Yudkoff (HBS) walk through sourcing, diligence, deal structuring, and the CEO transition in one practical guide. | 2017 | ETA Basics Acquisition Due Diligence Deal Structuring Operator Transition |