ASSET CLASS OVERVIEW
A Hidden Gem.
A search fund is an investment vehicle formed by individuals (often called "searchers") who deploy privately raised capital to search for, acquire, and actively lead privately held companies for the medium term.
This form of entrepreneurship-through-acquisistion was developed & pioneered in 1984 by Irv Grousbeck and has produced an aggregate IRR of 35% and return on invested capital of 4.5X over the past 40 years.
Per 2024 Stanford Search Study.
The Search Fund Process
~6 Months
Raise
A searcher raises ~$500K in search capital from 8-20 investors. Capital raised covers searcher salary, admin, and deal expenses.
~1-2 Years
Search
The searcher spends 1-2 years sourcing and diligencing a company to purchase at an attractive price.
~3-7 Years
Operate
After securing acquisition capital from investors, the searcher acquires a company and becomes its CEO.
~6 Months
Exit
Searcher-CEO sells the firm, generating on average a ~35% IRR for investors (source: Stanford Search Study).
By the Numbers.
Search funds combine resilience with superior returns – outperforming other asset classes.
Aggregate Search Fund % IRR Since 1984
10 year Expected % IRR By Asset Class
Frequently Asked Questions
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A search fund is an investment vehicle formed by individuals who deploy privately raised capital to search for, acquire, and actively lead privately held companies for the medium term. In the traditional search fund model, 8-20 investors fund 1-2 talented leaders or “searchers” to search for, acquire, and operate a single business.
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The typical searcher is energetic and highly capable, bringing the necessary skills, vision, and leadership to steward a business through its next stage. Searchers often come from elite institutions (top MBAs, military special forces) and competitive industries (private equity, consulting).
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Companies acquired by search funds are much more like private equity businesses than venture capital businesses. These are profitable small-to-medium sized businesses, which tend to be founder-owned. Search businesses are typically B2B, with a lean toward services businesses with simple business models. They span all sectors, with the most common including healthcare, business services, software & other technology, and tech-enabled services.
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The ideal search company is:
- Large, but not too large – on average, $1.5-5M EBITDA
- High industry growth (at least 2x GDP)
- Double-digit revenue growth
- High degree of recurring revenue
- High EBITDA margins
- Solid middle management
- Low customer concentration
- Multiple avenues for growth -
According to the 2024 Stanford Search Fund Study, roughly 37% of traditional searchers in 2023 identified as non-White, and 18% were women. Both the diversity and overall number of searchers have grown in recent years. The Stanford Search Study identified 94 traditional search funds launched in 2023, with some investors contacting north of 100 searchers per year in recent years.
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No. We firmly believe our “impact” angle actually will result in higher returns than the average.
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Connect with us on Linkedin, or send us an email directly. We’d love to hear from you!
Resources
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Stanford Search Study
Research
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HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business
Guide
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Search Funds: A Rising Asset Class Outperforming PE and VC
Article