Explore ETA
Acquiring and operating an existing small business is a time-tested path to entrepreneurship. Rather than creating a new venture from scratch, the entrepreneur can search for a current business – which has people, product, and process assets – and acquire those assets to mitigate the start-up risks. The entrepreneur can focus instead on executing a turnaround, scaling the business, or whatever strategy best positions the company for success. The search process and the acquisition itself may be funded by outside investors. This path to entrepreneurship is often called Entrepreneurship through Acquisition, or ETA.
NEW COURSE Entrepreneurship through Acquisition (Independent Study, offered Fall 2) – Interested in becoming an entrepreneur but don’t have an idea for a startup? This course is for you. This class introduces students to ETA, the process of becoming an entrepreneur by buying an existing business. Students will cover the entire process, beginning with exploring different funding models for ETA, conducting a search, negotiating a purchase transaction, the first 100 days on the job, and exiting a successful business. Class will include a mix of background reading, case discussion, meetings with guest speakers, and industry analysis. The course includes a final project that identifies a candidate industry or geography for a targeted search, or else identifies a candidate acquisition target and potential deal structure. This course is an independent study only. You must sign up here for information on how to enroll.
INTERVIEWS WITH ETA PRACTITIONERS
Start here: An introduction to this series of interviews and an accompanying slide deck Introduction to ETA by Prof. Shawn Munday
In this interview with CJ Casseli MBA'19, get a perspective from a "searcher"—an entrepreneur actively searching for a business to acquire.
Perspective from a Search Fund investor: Interview with Badge Stone, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, WSC & Company
Perspective from an entrepreneur actively operating an acquired business (“Operator”): Interview with Brian Alvarez, CEO of Manley’s Boiler
Perspective from legal counsel: Interview with Raam Jani, Shareholder and member of the Corporate practice area at Vedder Price.
If you are interested in learning how to get started with ETA, including recommendations on Fuqua courses to take, student clubs, and other activities to consider, take a look at Scaling Middle-Market Firms on our Learn & Engage page.