Choose the path
Understand the commitments and trade-offs behind entrepreneurship through acquisition.
Search Funds & Entrepreneurial Acquisitions
The Roadmap for Buying a Business and Leading it to the Next Level
View the English editionSearch funds emerged in the mid-1980s as an alternative route into entrepreneurship: acquire an established company, become its CEO, and grow into the responsibilities of long-term ownership.
Drawing on the experience of the search fund community and his own work as an investor and educator, Jan Simon presents a practical roadmap for searchers, acquisition entrepreneurs, investors, and board members.
Chinese edition
Bringing the roadmap into Chinese
The Chinese edition is translated by Leo Wang and published by Shanghai University of Finance and Economics Press. It brings the book's search, acquisition, leadership, and governance roadmap into the context of Chinese readers and business succession.
Leo Wang is the founder of Search Panda™, an ETA community serving Greater China and the wider Asia-Pacific region. He previously worked at China Minsheng Investment Group and U-Tron Group across strategic investment, growth equity, venture incubation, and private-equity secondary transactions, and later advised Chinese SMEs on strategy, M&A, and international expansion.
He holds a BSc in Finance with a minor in Psychology from NYU Shanghai, an MBA from HKUST, and a Master of Advanced Management from Yale School of Management. He was a member of NYU Shanghai's inaugural undergraduate class.
Inside the book
A practical roadmap from search to leadership
Find a company
Develop a disciplined search process and learn how to assess established businesses.
Complete the acquisition
Connect financing, diligence, negotiation, and transition into one coherent process.
Lead the business
Move from buyer to CEO and take responsibility for people, operations, and long-term value creation.
Work with boards
Use investors and directors as partners in governance, decision-making, and growth.
Original edition
Publication details
The English-language edition published by Tellwell Talent in 2021.
- Author
- Jan Simon
- Publisher
- Tellwell Talent
- Publication year
- 2021
- Language
- English
- Print length
- 422 pages
- ISBN
- 978-0-228-86176-8 (paperback)
978-0-228-86403-5 (hardcover)
About the author
Author
Jan Simon
Jan Simon is Professor of the Practice of Management in the Entrepreneurship Department at IESE Business School and Academic Director of the IESE International Search Fund Center. He is also Managing Partner of Vonzeo Capital, a global institutional investor in search funds.
He spent more than two decades in the investment industry, including roles at Salomon Brothers, Goldman Sachs, and Merrill Lynch. He holds law degrees from KU Leuven, an MBA from IESE, a PhD in Finance from the University of Essex, an MSt in Practical Ethics from the University of Oxford, Harvard Business School's AMP credential, and the ICD.D designation for corporate directors.
Praise for the book
From the original English cover and back cover
Well-researched yet decidedly practical, this comprehensive book makes a significant contribution to the literature on Search Funds and Entrepreneurial Acquisitions. It is a seminal reference point for our collaborative ecosystem.
Jan has been a student of search funds for years and this book reflects his deep understanding of the model. This manuscript is a gift to everyone already in the search fund community and to those who are considering joining it.
If you are considering an entrepreneurial acquisition, I would highly recommend this book. It offers great insights and is filled with hands-on suggestions from industry experts and insiders. I wish it was around when I did my search and acquisition!
Never before has such a practical and complete guide to entrepreneurial acquisitions been written. The detail is unbelievable and no stone is left unturned. ‘Search Funds & Entrepreneurial Acquisitions’ is a must read for any aspiring searcher and will likely be an annual re-read for every entrepreneur as they progress through their entrepreneurial journey.
Jan has written a must-read book for anyone interested in learning about a unique and underappreciated community of leaders and investors and the tactics, core values and pay-it-forward ethos that underlie their remarkable success. Buying, then building businesses for the long term, they have created returns uncommon in any environment. This book does them justice.
This book is a pragmatic, informed, and comprehensive exploration into entrepreneurial acquisitions. What is particularly unique is Jan's ability to connect financial analyses with business strategy, leadership, operations management and organizational architecture, integrating the core building blocks of high performing organizations. This book will be a foundational contribution to search fund literature.
Jan has done a masterful job in ‘Search Funds & Entrepreneurial Acquisitions’. It is outstanding and a wonderful how-to roadmap for search fund entrepreneurs. The book is insightful, thorough, and packed with actionable tips and strategies. Jan has penned a compelling must-read for anybody considering the search fund path—it is required reading in my courses.
Purchase
Buy the English edition