Search Fund Partners

A search fund is an investment vehicle where an entrepreneur raises capital to search for, acquire, and operate a single privately held company. Search Fund Partners provides the initial 'search capital' — typically $300,000 to $500,000 to cover a searcher's salary, travel, and due-diligence costs over two years — and then commits acquisition equity once a target is identified. This dual-stage commitment aligns the firm with the searcher from inception through operation.

The firm's deal flow originates exclusively through the searchers it backs. Unlike traditional private equity, which sources deals through intermediaries and bankers, Search Fund Partners relies on its network of supported entrepreneurs to identify proprietary, off-market acquisition targets. This makes its pipeline entirely dependent on the quality and reach of the individual operators it funds.

Acquired companies are generally small, profitable, and stable businesses with $5 million to $30 million in annual revenue, operating in fragmented, non-glamorous industries. Common sectors include niche manufacturing, business services, healthcare services, and vertical enterprise software. The unifying thread is a reliable cash-flow profile and a retiring owner seeking a succession solution.

No. The firm's investment activity is exclusively focused on the search fund lifecycle, from funding individual searchers to providing acquisition equity. It does not participate in commingled blind-pool private equity funds, late-stage venture capital, or direct buyouts sourced outside its searcher network.

The firm's limited partner base is concentrated among university endowments and family offices that understand the unique risk-return profile of search fund investing — long hold periods, binary outcomes per investment, and portfolio-level return dispersion that relies on a few large winners across a broad set of small positions. Stanford University's endowment has historically been a notable supporter of the asset class.