Search Funded: The ETA Podcast

Hosted by Nick Lall

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Jun 2026

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About the show

Search Funded is the entrepreneurship through acquisition podcast for search fund entrepreneurs, self-funded searchers, independent sponsors, investors, and operators. Hosted by Nick Lall, the show features conversations with acquisition entrepreneurs and ETA investors about how to find, finance, acquire, operate, and grow established small and lower-middle-market businesses.

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31 recent

June 9, 2026Episode 1331 min

Self-Funded ETA in Europe | Alexander Kelm, Buyout Diary

In this episode we are joined by Alexander Kelm, founder of ETA Europe and writer of Buyout Diary, to explore why entrepreneurship through acquisition in Europe requires a very different playbook from the one most searchers know in the United States.Alexander shares his journey from finance and startups into ETA, why he chose independence over the traditional search fund model, and how his MBA research on governance, founder knowledge transfer, and post-acquisition operations shaped his thinking around buying and owning small businesses.They discuss: Why the U.S. ETA model doesn’t cleanly translate to Europe The importance of language, culture, and local trust in European acquisitions How seller financing and government-backed loans differ from SBA financing Why relationship-building matters more in European dealmaking The growing ETA ecosystem across Amsterdam, Brussels, Spain, and beyond How family offices in Europe are slowly waking up to ETA Cross-border investing opportunities between the U.S. and Europe Why Alexander chose a self-funded path instead of a traditional search fund The conversation also dives into a broader theme that often gets overlooked in ETA: how to design an acquisition path that fits the kind of life you actually want to live, not just the one that looks best on paper.Whether you’re interested in international ETA, self-funded acquisition entrepreneurship, or the future of small business succession outside the U.S., this episode offers a rare on-the-ground look at one of the fastest-growing ETA ecosystems in the world.Send us Fan MailSupport the showFind us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube.

April 28, 2026Episode 1130 min

Building a Search Fund in China: No Playbook, Local Trust, and What Actually Works - Sally Tian, Snowtide Capital

Sally Tian shares her journey from consulting, tech, and Harvard Business School to building one of the first search funds in China alongside her husband and co-founder. She explains why she walked away from the “immigrant dream” and chose a more uncertain but aligned path in entrepreneurship. We discuss what it actually takes to do search in China, including how fundraising differs across international and local investors, why credibility matters more than the model itself, and how relationship-driven dynamics shape sourcing and dealmaking. Sally also highlights key cultural differences, from how sellers perceive young operators to why traditional search fund narratives don’t translate directly. Throughout the conversation, she reflects on identity, returning to China, and how her background across cultures has shaped her approach to building and operating a business in a market where there is no clear playbook. Send us Fan MailSupport the showFind us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube.

April 21, 2026Episode 1032 min

The End of Financial Engineering and Why AI Won’t Save You - Lee McCabe, Claymore Partners

Most private equity returns over the last decade were not driven by operators. They were driven by cheap debt and multiple expansion. That playbook is breaking.In this episode, Lee McCabe, partner at Claymore Partners, explains what actually drives value creation now and why most lower middle market businesses are far less prepared than they think. At Claymore, Lee works directly with private equity firms and their portfolio companies to drive value creation across marketing, data, and technology.Before that, Lee led digital and growth initiatives at companies like eBay, Expedia, Facebook, and Alibaba, giving him a unique perspective on how digital and now AI actually show up inside real businesses, not just pitch decks.We cover: Why most businesses do not actually understand how they make money How KPI laundering and broken data lead to bad decisions Why AI is mostly a distraction for unprepared companies The real value creation playbook: data, systems, marketing, then AI How to think about CAC, conversion, and net profit per lead Why CEOs, not tech, are usually the biggest bottleneck How searchers and independent sponsors should adapt in a post multiple expansion world Send us Fan MailSupport the showFind us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube.

April 14, 2026Episode 958 min

He Built an Industry Leader and Walked Away from Selling It - Eric Whitley, GridSME

In this episode we speak with Eric Whitley, co-founder of GridSME and GridSec, one of the leading providers of grid compliance, engineering, and cybersecurity services for renewable energy operators in the Western United States. After decades working inside the power grid, Eric and team built a highly specialized business that became essential to the rapid growth of solar and other inverter-based resources.But what makes Eric’s story especially compelling isn’t just the business he built, it’s the decision he and his team made not to sell it.After going through a full sale process, meeting with buyers, and receiving multiple offers, they ultimately walked away. Instead of optimizing for an exit, he and his partner and top leadership chose to structure the company for long-term independence, internal ownership, and what he calls a “forever company.” And since Eric stepped aside from leading the company, they chose to fund his buyout of GridSME through the company rather than outside investors, thus creating a succession ownership model for each of the remaining owners when their time is right. Along the way, Eric shares the frameworks that shaped his thinking, from The Pumpkin Plan to Another Way: Building Companies That Last…and Last…and Last, and how they translated those ideas into real decisions: focusing on A-level clients, building almost entirely through referrals, and sharing 50% of profits with employees.More than anything, this conversation is a reminder that behind every acquisition opportunity is a real person who has spent decades building something meaningful. Send us Fan MailSupport the showFind us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube.

April 7, 2026Episode 842 min

ETA Is Breaking (and Going Global): Investor Conflict, Weak Boards, and Structural Shifts - Ibrahim Abdel Rahim of Moonbase Capital

In this episode, Ibrahim Abdel Rahim returns to share how ETA has evolved from a niche strategy into a rapidly globalizing asset class.Moonbase has expanded beyond Europe into markets like Brazil and India, where activity is accelerating, while countries like Spain continue to produce strong deal flow. But as the ecosystem grows, Ibrahim argues that deeper structural issues are emerging.He points to investor dynamics as a key pressure point. What was once a collaborative, trust-based model is, in his view, seeing more misalignment, politics, and investors who underestimate the level of involvement required to support operators.According to Ibrahim, this is most visible in board composition, arguably the most important driver of outcomes in ETA. He suggests that boards are increasingly formed based on check size rather than merit, leading to under-engaged or overly financial oversight, which becomes especially problematic when companies struggle.Ibrahim shares his framework for building effective boards: Prioritize merit over capital Balance experience with hunger Include operational, not just financial, expertise Optimize for trust and responsiveness Zooming out, Ibrahim argues that while ETA is scaling quickly, the model’s success depends on maintaining high-quality investors and strong boards. The key question going forward is whether the ecosystem can grow without losing what makes it work.Send us Fan MailSupport the showFind us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube.

March 24, 2026Episode 548 min

From M&A in Africa to Enterprise Wireless Infrastructure, DC Moore of ATG

DC Moore is a mid-career searcher and the new CEO of Atlantic Technology Group, an enterprise wireless and mobility infrastructure provider benefiting from durable tailwinds tied to 5G densification, in-building connectivity needs, and rising mobile data demand.With a path that includes Georgia Tech (electrical engineering), Wharton, and time at Motorola, Lockheed Martin, and McKinsey, followed by more than a decade in Africa doing M&A and operating leadership, DC brings a fundamentally different profile to ETA than the typical post-MBA searcher.Instead of buying a simple business and replacing the owner, DC deliberately sought out complexity, kept the founder on, and structured real alignment around long-term growth.In this episode, DC discusses:Why ETA appealed to him as a way to combine acquisitions with real operating authority rather than just board-level investingRaising a traditional search as a mid-career operator and challenging some of the stereotypes around who “fits” the modelHow a failed deal process with ATG turned into a better partnership by preserving trust with the sellerStructuring meaningful rollover equity so the founder remains economically and emotionally invested in the next phaseManaging unexpected hockey-stick growth, especially working capital strain and building hiring systems before scaling too fastSend us Fan MailSupport the showFind us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube.

March 17, 2026Episode 744 min

From Fired Searcher to $50M in Deals in One Year | Kevin Hong, Caprae Capital

Kevin Hong is a former searcher who was fired from the company he acquired and is now the founder of Caprae Capital, a tech-enabled lower middle market investment platform behind SaaSquatch Leads, Search as a Service, and a growing portfolio of businesses.After years as an entrepreneur, Kevin turned to search as a more de-risked path to ownership. But his experience running a data center services business turned into a battle over governance, board control, seller alignment, and strategy. Instead of disappearing after being removed, he went public, interviewed other terminated searchers, and began publishing investor rankings and operator feedback in an effort to bring more transparency to the search ecosystem.In this episode, Kevin discusses:Why search appealed to him, how he approached his acquisition, and what ultimately led to his firingWhat he thinks traditional search gets wrong about governance, boards, and operator-investor alignmentHow Caprae works, what he means by “rewriting LMM PE from the source code,” and why he believes founder-led, tech-enabled models can outperform the traditional playbookWhat he learned from surveying terminated searchers and why he believes the industry needs more transparency as it scalesSend us Fan MailSupport the showFind us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube.

February 18, 2026Episode 434 min

Employee Ownership as a Search Fund Advantage, Turner Wyatt of Small Capital

Turner Wyatt is the founder and CEO of Small Capital, an investment firm backing self-funded searchers who want to bake employee ownership into their acquisitions from day one. A lifelong social entrepreneur (food security, food waste/climate, and founding the Upcycled Food Association), Turner describes his pivot into ETA as a direct response to what he sees as the other defining challenge of this century: income inequality. His core thesis is simple: if ETA is reshaping ownership in America, it’s a missed opportunity if employees remain locked out of wealth creation, and it’s also a missed opportunity for business performance. Send us Fan MailSupport the showFind us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube.

January 6, 2026Episode 330 min

What a Legendary Wall Street Insider Looks for in Search Fund Entrepreneurs, William D. Cohan

On this episode of Search Funded, we sit down with William D. Cohan, bestselling author, longtime financial journalist, and former Wall Street M&A banker, for a wide-ranging conversation that spans search fund investing, leadership, capitalism, and career reinvention.Before bringing moral clarity to the financial world through his journalism and books including Money and Power, House of Cards, The Last Tycoons, and Power Failure, Bill spent nearly two decades as an M&A banker at Lazard, Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan Chase, and GE Capital.But what many people do not know is that he has also been a search fund investor for many years, backing entrepreneurs in the U.S. and internationally, including a decades-long investment that ultimately exited to the Pritzker family.In this episode, we cover:Why search fund investing appealed to Bill compared to traditional private equity, especially around incentives, fees, and alignment (00:03:30)Patterns he has observed across successful and unsuccessful search fund investments, and why outcomes are often unpredictable (00:06:45)The risk of greed creeping into search funds, parallels to SPACs and private equity, and why modesty still matters in entrepreneur compensation (00:17:52)Bill’s career pivot from Wall Street to journalism after being fired post-9/11, and why taking control of his work and time led to a more meaningful life (00:22:35)Send us Fan MailSupport the showFind us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube.

July 10, 2025Episode 247 min

Buying Spotify artist music rights with Tom Sarig, Antifragile Music

On this episode of Search Funded, we sit down with Tom Sarig, founder and CEO of Antifragile Equity Partners. A Grammy-winning music executive and former SVP at multiple major labels, Tom has worked with artists like The Roots, Erykah Badu, and Lou Reed. He now applies his decades of experience to acquiring music catalogs and helping independent artists grow their careers sustainably.In this episode, we cover:Tom’s unusual journey from international tax consultant at Deloitte to A&R executive in the music industry (00:01:39)Lessons from managing legends like Lou Reed, Brian Ferry, and the Violent Femmes—and how that shaped his approach to younger artists (00:10:48)How Antifragile evolved from an artist management firm into a label and now a fund acquiring music IP (00:18:14)Success stories like Cannons and Mipso, and how Tom uses sync licensing and AI to grow streams and fanbases (00:22:24)Why Tom sees investing in music catalogs as similar to acquiring cash-flowing businesses—and why streaming has made this model more predictable (00:32:25)Antifragile’s investment strategy: how they select artists, where the value lies, and how they achieve multiple expansion (00:36:39)Send us Fan MailSupport the showFind us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube.