My guest on this episode is Greg Geronemus, co-founder and managing partner of Footbridge Partners, a traditional search investment firm. This is my second episode with Greg, the first being episode 17 back in April 2020, where Greg shared his experience acquiring and operating his search company SmarTours and launching Footbridge.
Well, two years later, Greg and his partner David have raised that fund and are halfway through their investment period with a budding portfolio of searchers. In this second episode, Greg shares his view on the role of a search investor, misconceptions in traditional search, the risk in buying at larger multiples, and a few wild stories from his time running SmarTours. Enjoy.
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Links:
Footbridge Partners
Greg's first appearance on TLAO
SmarTours
Forest Park Capital
The Skin Center
Topics:
(4:45) - Greg’s Background and career
(6:43) - How much did the experience of running smart tours help in your advisement to searchers?
(8:40) - Is there a specific experience from your time with Smart Tours that you reference often with searchers?
(10:21) - Greg’s experience cancelling a season of Ukrainian river cruises
(11:11) - Have you invested in any companies that have the same exposure as Smart Tours?
(12:19) - Are there any themes you’ve noticed in the investments you pursue?
(14:10) - What is your perspective on the role of a search investor?
(18:10) - Can a hands-on investor approach be scaled across 60-70 searchers?
(19:53) - Common misconceptions about the world of search
(25:35) - What risks do you see in searchers buying larger and larger businesses?
(29:30) - What are some interesting changes you’re seeing on the self-funded searcher side?
(33:23) - How can a self-funded searcher or search investor protect themselves during the process?
(37:33) - As an investor, What sorts of numbers, metrics and reports are you looking for from searchers either quarterly or annually?
(40:13) - How frequently do you communicate with searchers?
(42:16) - What’s the best business you’ve ever seen?
