ETA Insider Podcast

Co-founders and Principals of Calyx Capital Partners, Trista Engel and Jessica Markowitz discuss their ETA journey and how they came together to form a search fund following their time at Chicago Booth School of Business. The pair reflect on their partnership and share insights into how they've been able to maintain both a professional and personal relationship throughout their search. Trista and Jessica speak about the ups and downs of their search and provide valuable advice for those looking to pursue the search fund model.

On this episode, Mike Wallach with Levy Family Partners discusses special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, and provides listeners with an in-depth look into how the investment vehicles are structured and can be used to carry out a transaction. Mike speaks about his experience with the Levy Acquisition Corp. and their ultimate acquisition of Del Taco in 2015.

Co-Founding Managing Directors of Relay Investments, Sandro Mina and Martin Steber, touch on a variety of topics including launching an international search, working with a partner, and managing your search budget. Sandro and Martin have over 45 years combined experience in search fund investing, participated in 100+ deals, and invested in 16 countries on 5 continents.

This episode features Michael Miles, Co-Founder and Partner at the Operand Group, a fund that exclusively invests in search funds. A longtime search fund investor and operator, Michael shares his insights on forming a search fund, attracting investors, and closing a deal. He also goes through some do's and don'ts for budding entrepreneurs.

Devin Matthews, Partner at ParkerGale Capital, discusses his firm's investment strategy and the significance of a portfolio company's management team. He highlights the importance of putting together the right team and the qualities he looks for in an operator when evaluating a potential investment.

CEO of an Oregon-based company that provides educational marketing services for registered investment advisors speaks about the three roles of an entrepreneur. He discusses his path to pursuing entrepreneurship, why he chose to assemble a diversified group of investors to fund his search, and how he’s made the transition from investor to operator of a company.

Chris Killackey, Partner at Prairie Capital, has over 23 years of experience in private equity and middle-market lending, including time with Banc One Mezzanine Corporation (now part of Chase Mezzanine) and American National Bank. In this episode, Chris speaks from the point of view as an investor in search funds and provides insight into what behavioral qualities Prairie Capital looks for in the searchers and entrepreneurs they fund.

Patrick Dickinson, co-founder and Managing Partner of Ninth Street Capital Partners, discusses his early exposure to ETA through working with a merchant banking group specializing in acquiring and operating companies, and his eventual decision to pursue an MBA and round-off his business skills. He went on to found Ninth Street Capital Partners with Michael Weiner, which now has a diverse investment portfolio and successfully exited Castronics in 2012. Patrick reveals the secret behind his firm’s investment strategy as well as their individual takes on different roles in order to play to their own strengths.

Mark Egan, a founder and Managing Partner of Boston-based investment firm Marion Equity Partners, recounts the last 30 years of the search fund model and how he’s seen both searcher and investor’s approach change over the years. Mark provides his words of wisdom for those looking to start a search fund and emphasizes the power of community in entrepreneurship.

Matt Burr, General Partner at Matland Capital, lends his expertise to discuss the dynamics of the relationship between searcher and investor, and what leads to a rewarding partnership. Matt expounds on his own experiences as an investor in search funds, as well as those of his father, Craig Burr, to provide a glimpse into how the investor thinks. He highlights a key trait their entrepreneurs have, “native intelligence,” and how it separates successful searchers from the rest.