Search Funds | IESE Business School

Search funds

A unique path to entrepreneurship

Search funds provide an opportunity for young entrepreneurs to become equity-owning CEOs and for experienced search fund investors to support those young entrepreneurs in their first CEO roles.

IESE International Search Fund Center is committed to supporting entrepreneurs and investors from around the world who are involved in search funds. Working since 2011 in conjunction with the Stanford Graduate School of Business, IESE International Search Fund Center identifies and tracks international search funds and publishes a biennial report on the results of international search funds. Stanford’s biennial study covers search funds in the United States and Canada, while the IESE study covers search funds in all other countries around the world.

Since 2015 IESE has hosted the biennial International Search Fund Conference, bringing together search-CEOs, searchers and investors to discuss issues that individuals in the search fund community face. The International Search Fund Conference alternates each year with the Search Fund CEO Conference held at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. These two conferences have become the premier networking events in the international search fund community.

IESE was the first business school outside North America to offer its students an intensive course focused on search funds — now one of the most popular electives at IESE. Over 60 IESE graduates have raised search funds in 20 countries on 5 continents.

IESE International Search Fund Center forms part of IESE’s entrepreneurial ecosystem for the development of new ventures, innovation and growth.

Search Fund Studies and ReturnsTaking Stock.

 

If you would like to stay informed about upcoming IESE search fund community events please click here.

2022 Report

2022 Report

International Search Funds 2022: Selected Observations

IESE Business School in partnership with the Stanford Graduate School of Business has released the results of a biennial study of global search funds, providing important new insights on the financial returns and main characteristics of international search funds, along with the qualities of successful search fund entrepreneurs.

 

Download the Report

The 4th International Search Fund Conference, scheduled to be held at IESE in Barcelona in October 2020, has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

1st International Search Fund Conference. IESE, Barcelona – April 24, 2015
At the inaugural International Search Fund Conference in April 2015, over 180 attendees, including 20 searchers and CEOs from four continents and investors from the United States and Europe, learned from in-depth discussions on ideas and issues involving search funds. As one U.S. serial investor stated, “The event far exceed my expectations, the panels were truly world class, producing valuable insights for all.”

Videos of the sessions:

IESE – International Search Funds – 2020: Selected Observations
IESE – International Search Funds – 2018: Selected Observations
IESE – International Search Funds – 2016: Selected Observations
IESE – International Search Funds – 2013: Selected Observations
IESE – International Search Funds – 2011: Selected Observations
This note is a biennial study completed by IESE Business School on search funds that were formed outside the United States and Canada. It was undertaken in partnership with Stanford Graduate School of Business.

IESE – Search Funds – What Has Made Them Work?
This note highlights the key success factors of search funds based on interviews with past searchers and serial search fund investors.

Letter to a Young Operator on Managing During a Crisis – EN-0034-E A note by professor Jan Simon.

IESE Re-Thinking Search Fund Incentive Structures
This study analyzes several components of the typical search fund acquisition structure, with the aim of strengthening the alignment between the searcher and investors.

IESE – The First 10 Questions for Would-be Searchers
This note answers ten of the most common questions asked by people who are relatively new to the Search Fund model, or have never heard of a Search Fund before.

IESE – Considerations for Entrepreneurial Acquisitions
This note synthesizes interviews with entrepreneurial acquirers and financiers from across the globe and summarizes the considerations any would-be entrepreneur should address as they embark on the journey of acquiring an entrepreneurial opportunity.

VIDEO – IESE Introductory Session on Search Funds​ 
IESE, October 20, 2014: Simon Webster, Rob Johnson, Marc Bartomeus

E-conferences: Search Funds
IESE, November 18, 2013: Rob Johnson, Sandro Mina, Simon Webster

E-conferences: An innovative entrepreneurial acquisition model: the Search Fund
IESE, February 11, 2013: Marc Bartomeus, Pep Casas, Rob Johnson, Will Thorndike, Simon Webster

VIDEO – Global Entrepreneurship Week: Simon Webster, Mark Egan 
A video introducing Search Funds and the Search Fund experience.

2020 Search Fund Study: Selected Observations
A study of the financial returns and key qualities of search funds formed in the United States and Canada since 1984. This study provides data and insights to support the search fund community including current searchers, CEOs, investors and entrepreneurs evaluating whether they want to pursue a search fund.

Stanford Search Fund Primer 
For those contemplating the pursuit of a search fund, the CES has created a practical guide to answer the most frequently asked questions. The Primer aims to provide an unbiased view of the benefits and challenges, explains the model from the entrepreneurs’ and investors’ perspective, and gives many operational and execution tips from previous search fund entrepreneurs.

Stanford Search Fund Page (including historical studies) 
Stanford’s Search Fund Page provides links to their Search Fund Primer and Search Fund Studies.

VIDEO – Search Fund Videos from Stanford GSB 
A series of videos from classes and panels focused on Search Funds.

What it Takes to be a Search Fund Entrepreneur
The search fund model explained by experienced investor Coley Andrews.

Intern Training Manual & Director’s Training Manual
These two manuals were developed by a US-based search fund and have since been used by numerous searchers. They provide a step-by-step guide for training interns and the intern manager.

Harvard Search Fund Page 
Harvard’s Search Fund page provides an overview of the model and several good videos that cover topics relating to Search Funds.

Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth – Note on Search Funds
This note provides an abbreviated overview of the Search Fund model and is a good place to start for those who are new to Search Funds.

Search Fund Model in Germany
Platform created by Search Fund investor Jürgen Rilling to spread the Search Fund model to German speaking countries.

Blog – Jim Sharpe, HBS
Jim Sharpe is an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Arthur Rock Center in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at the Harvard Business School. His interests are in the area of search acquisitions.

Search Fund model in France
A platform created by the searcher Bruno Lea to explain and spread the search fund model in France.

April 2015:
Ofering an exit strategy for aging European business owners 
Fortune

March 2015:
Entrepreneurs use business school tool to buy companies globally 
Financial Times

November 2014:
Why You Should Sell Your Business to an MBA
Entrepreneur

November 2014:
Ariol Capital destina 10 millones para hacer crecer Repli
ASCRI

August 2014:
The Search Fund Model: How to Become a 28-Year-Old CEO
Forbes

June 2014:
International Search Funds: Tracking Tomorrow’s Trend 
IESE Insight

April 2014:
Graduates hunt for ‘search fund’ success – FT.com
Financial Times

November 2013:
Booth MBAs Now Have a Pipeline to Investors
Bloomberg Businessweek

October 2013:
Stanford’s B-School Sensation: Plot a Takeover in Two Weeks
Forbes

August 2013:
Prime Minister of Saxony at S-Cape GMBH
S-Cape

February 2013:
Business-Buying Search Funds Gain Momentum  
Entrepreneur

November 2012:
Der Nachfolger 
Brand Eins

October 2012:
Search Funds: The Boys Club You’ve Never Even Heard Of
Forbes

September 2012:
Search Funds: A New Way to Find Returns
LAVCA

August 2012:
Search Funds: An MBA Shortcut to the C-Suite
Bloomberg Businessweek

August 2012:
Search for a Business – Best Practices
Bay Investment Partners

September 2011:
Suche Chefposten, biete mich
Süddeutsche

August 2011:
Doce inversores crean Ariol Capital para entrar en pymes consolidadas
Expansión

August 2011:
Hunting for the Deal: 7 Stages of the Search Fund Model
Business Insider

May 2011:
Finders, keepers
The Deal Magazine

May 2011:
Seek and you will find
The Financial Times

May 2011:
Search Funds: A Financing Option for Business Buyers
Entrepreneur

August 2010:
Business angels put MBA graduates on the fast-track to becoming chief executives
The Telegraph

November 2009:
Enterprising approach to entrepreneurship
The Financial Times

October 2009:
The Secret Of Search Funds
growthbusiness.co.uk

October 2009:
An alternative source of funding
The Financial Times

April 2009:
How to Make Acquisitions in a Down Economy
Bloomberg Businessweek

March 2009:
Paying Entrepreneurs to Find the Right Business
The New York Times

February 2009:
Business Opportunities Abound, Even in Bad Times
The New York Times

Spring 2009:
An Alternative Route to Entrepreneurship
IESE Alumni Magazine

August 2007:
Looking for a Company to Run? Search Funds Could Be the Answer 
Knowledge @ Wharton

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