Search funds and the entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA) are growing like a weed. As the model grows in popularity and the industry matures, there’s a huge desire for quality content.
Podcasts are my favorite option for learning despite having lots of other things to do. I’m able to plug in and absorb the info, whether I’m eating lunch, on a plane, or on the treadmill.
In the spirit of making things easy for you, here’s my list of my favorites for searchers, acquisition entrepreneurs, and investors alike:
The Top Search Fund Podcasts
So without further delay, let’s dig into the best of the best.
Acquisitions Anonymous
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- The hosts analyze and evaluate real business listings
- Experienced entrepreneurs/investors detail pros and cons of different business deals
- Helps listeners hear how experts approach the acquisition process
Acquisitions Anonymous lets listeners in on thoughtful conversations between veteran entrepreneurs and investors about real-world business acquisition deals. In each episode, hosts Michael Girdley, Mills Snell, Bill D’Alessandro, and Heather Endresen review actual business listings, discussing whether they would buy or pass—and why.
The podcast offers a first-hand look at how experienced searchers and investors evaluate acquisitions. You can hear how they weigh risks and rewards and what factors are most important to them when considering a potential deal. You also get a better sense for the entire acquisition process, from discovering opportunities to due diligence to securing financing.
The show presents each discussion as a casual conversation rather than a dry or academic exercise. Listening feels more like joining the hosts for drinks and talking shop than like sitting through a classroom lecture.
Acquiring Minds
- Interviews with successful business acquirers
- Step-by-step breakdowns of business acquisitions
- Highlights lessons from ETA success stories
Acquiring Minds gives listeners step-by-step breakdowns of successful real-world acquisition stories through interviews with entrepreneurs who are doing them right. Most episodes serve as a case study in a single business. Some discuss elements of a particular model of entrepreneurship through acquisition, including self-funded search, at greater length.
Founder and host Will Smith brings his perspective as a lifelong startup entrepreneur to exploring the world of ETA, hoping to illuminate the path of acquiring and operating established businesses not only for himself but for the audience as well.
Deal-by-Deal
- Focused on independent sponsor deals
- Explores how independent sponsors successfully acquire and operate businesses
- Deep dives into legal, financial, and operational sides of business deals
Deal-by-Deal covers private equity deals, with a particular emphasis on the independent sponsor model. Each episode features interviews with experienced professionals involved in private equity and independent sponsorship, including investment bankers, legal experts, and partners at private equity firms.
Hosted by Greg Hawver, partner at the McGuireWoods law firm, the podcast helps listeners understand the technical side of independent sponsor deals in the lower-middle and middle market. The episodes are under 30 minutes long and drop fairly infrequently, so it’s easy for even an occasional podcast consumer to stay current. It’s well worth the modest time investment if you’re at all interested in the independent sponsor landscape.
ETA Insider
- In-depth conversations with ETA professionals
- Wide variety of guests offers many perspectives
- Offers a mix of academic and practical, real-world insights
The ETA Insider Podcast touches on all aspects of entrepreneurship through acquisition, featuring in-depth conversations with veteran searchers, operators, and search fund investors. It covers topics that matter to search fund professionals, such as how to navigate the evolving ETA landscape, operational and investing advice, deal sourcing strategies, and how to engineer a profitable exit.
The podcast is produced by the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Chicago Booth, and host Brian O’Connor is an MBA graduate from this prestigious business school. It offers a healthy diversity of perspectives from different types of ETA professionals who view the industry from different angles. It’s a big help to the community.
M&A Talk
- Interviews with a variety of M&A experts with different perspectives
- Features business acquisition case studies
- Focused on helping business owners maximize value for eventual sale
M&A Talk is an acquisition-focused podcast that offers case studies and interviews with industry experts to empower entrepreneurs to maximize the value of the companies they operate. The show’s focus is on helping owners grow their small or mid-sized business in order to achieve a successful exit through an eventual sale.
Host Jacob Orosz is the president and founder of Morgan & Westfield, a leading M&A firm, and has participated in the sale of more than 300 private businesses. He knows his stuff. His interviews with a variety of industry experts provide a well-rounded take on the many elements of acquiring, growing, and selling a business, including valuation, legal considerations, fundraising, and unlocking value.
Think Like an Owner
- Focused on search funds and micro private equity
- Emphasizes the operational side of small business ownership
- Experts share best practices and frameworks for operators to help create long-term value
Through a long-running podcast and its companion newsletter and original research, Think Like an Owner has created a searchable database of knowledge related to search funds and micro private equity. The podcast presents conversations with business owners and investors discussing how to acquire and run small companies.
The show is based on sharing ideas and frameworks that operators and investors can use to maximize long-term value in their small businesses. Successful operator and investor guests discuss with host Alex Bridgeman what they’re thinking about and doing to create long-term value in their businesses.
Conclusion
Don’t let the bottomless libraries of content scare you. Although most of the podcasts on this list have catalogs hundreds of episodes deep, you don’t have to go back and listen to any old shows.
Just subscribe and start listening to new episodes as they drop, or scan Twitter (X) for the most talked about new drops.
You can’t go wrong signing up to receive new episodes of any or all of the podcasts mentioned here. That’s plenty to give you the latest insights and most current discussions about the rapidly evolving search fund industry.
And if you can’t keep up with every episode, hand-pick the the ones that sound the most interesting to you. With time at a premium, there’s no rule that says you have to fully consume every episode start to finish. You can freely hop around. Listen at 1.5x speed if you like. The beauty of podcasts is the freedom to listen when and how you want.
