Search Party
Search Party is a video-podcast dedicated to elevating knowledge of the Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition (ETA) strategy, an increasingly popular model for private investing and wealth creation. The thought-leadership series is hosted by private capital journalist David Snow, and features expert commentary by Next Coast Legacy’s Dustin Sellers and Anthony Walker, two veterans of the ETA strategy. Search Party explores the ”searcher” model for wealth creation in the lower-middle-market, and offers expert guidance about career building, investment sourcing, due diligence, deal structuring and operating value-creation techniques. Search Party is produced by Elatromme. Season 1 of Search Party is sponsored by Next Coast Legacy, Avidbank, Mayer Brown and Boulay.
Episodes

Tuesday Oct 15, 2024
Tuesday Oct 15, 2024
A career move to the Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition (ETA) search-fund market may result in any combination of bewilderment, disappointment, wealth creation and self-actualization, according to A. J. Wasserstein, a Senior Lecturer at the Yale School of Management.
Wasserstein, himself the builder of two successful businesses, has made entrepreneurship and the search fund community the subject of his teaching and academic work. As Search Party learned in a fascinating conversation, Wasserstein has developed frameworks not only about the potential of an ETA career to pave a way to self-determination and wealth, but to personal fulfillment, what psychologist Abraham Maslow calls self-actualization.
Wasserstein, together with Next Coast Legacy Managing Partners Dustin Sellers and Anthony Walker, discusses the growing awareness of the ETA career path among MBA students, the attributes necessary to embark on a high-risk professional journey. Making sure the entrepreneurial path dovetails with personal values and goals is important, says Wasserstein, because he doesn't want his students to end up "the richest divorced people, or the richest people estranged from their kids."
At the center of the self-actualization possible for CEOs of lower-middle-market businesses is the ability to directly and positively impact the lives of employees and other stakeholders, to create an entity bigger than the personal ambitions of the ETA searcher.
Select works from A. J. Wasserstein:
Exploring Search Fund Entrepreneur Economics https://yale.app.box.com/s/0mo483h9lmfd04bl1om9dkc7oz4xm2s6
Exploring Search Fund Entrepreneurship Using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as a Framework
https://yale.app.box.com/s/gz48z3i3t55oxdzqbxk1ny32v6oq775o
Including Employees in a Search Fund Waterfall https://yale.app.box.com/s/6ouw7vhe9eq6a24y63dy29mjz166o8ht
Search Party Lead Sponsor:
Next Coast Legacy https://www.nextcoastlegacy.com/
Search Party Sponsors: Avidbank https://www.avidbank.com/
Boulay - Contact Boulay's Search Fund Team: https://lnkd.in/eFF88SVf
Mayer Brown https://www.mayerbrown.com/en
Plexus Capital https://plexuscap.com/

Friday Sep 13, 2024
Friday Sep 13, 2024
Dustin Sellers and Anthony Walker, Managing Partners at leading Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition (ETA) investment firm, Next Coast Legacy, share their personal career journeys through the finance industry to become leading practitioners of the ETA strategy, and comment on the exciting growth of the asset class, the attributes necessary for successful searchers, and the rigors of acquiring and running small- and medium-sized businesses.
Dustin, who specializes in mentoring searchers and first-time CEOs, shares the attributes necessary for ETA success, including a willingness to "chew off your own arm" to avoid losing money. He describes the challenge of identifying the right acquisition target as akin to climbing Everest without oxygen, and the challenge of being a first-time CEO as akin to managing while underwater in a scuba suit.
Anthony, a due diligence expert who became "disillusioned" making short-term investments at large hedge funds, talks about his light-bulb moment when he learned about the ETA opportunity for hands-on value creation at small- to medium-sized businesses.
About Search Party
Search Party is a video-podcast created to elevate knowledge about the Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition (ETA) strategy. On a regular basis, the podcast will convene expert conversations about the best practices and opportunities in ETA, a model for business growth, career development and wealth creation that is becoming increasingly popular.
Search Party is hosted by David Snow and produced by Elatromme.
Search Party Lead Sponsor
Next Coast Legacy https://www.nextcoastlegacy.com/
Search Party Sponsors
Avidbank https://www.avidbank.com/
Boulay - Contact Boulay's Search Fund Team: https://lnkd.in/eFF88SVf
Mayer Brown https://www.mayerbrown.com/en
Plexus Capital https://plexuscap.com/
Search Party podcast homepage: https://searchpartypodcast.com/

Wednesday Aug 21, 2024
Wednesday Aug 21, 2024
Financial journalist David Snow explains the impetus for the launch of Search Party, a new video-podcast featuring Next Coast Legacy Managing Partners Dustin Sellers, Anthony Walker and a rotating roster of expert guests.
On a regular basis, Search Party will delve into topics designed to elevate knowledge of the entrepreneurship-through-acquisition (ETA) strategy, a form of investing, value- and wealth-creation that is increasingly popular, especially across business-school networks.
Search Party topics will include models for the alignment of economic interests, deal-sourcing techniques, due diligence, methods for operational value-creation and financing strategies, among many others.
About Search Party
Search Party is a video-podcast created to elevate knowledge about the Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition (ETA) strategy. On a regular basis, the podcast will convene expert conversations about the best practices and opportunities in ETA, a model for business growth, career development and wealth creation that is becoming increasingly popular.
Search Party is hosted by David Snow and produced by Elatromme.
Search Party Lead Sponsor
Next Coast Legacy https://www.nextcoastlegacy.com/
Search Party Sponsors
Avidbank https://www.avidbank.com/
Boulay https://boulaygroup.com/
Mayer Brown https://www.mayerbrown.com/en
Plexus Capital https://plexuscap.com/
Search Party podcast homepage: https://searchpartypodcast.com/

Search Party
Search Party is a video-podcast created to elevate knowledge about the Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition (ETA) strategy. On a regular basis, the podcast will convene expert conversations about the best practices and opportunities in ETA, a model for business growth, career development and wealth creation that is becoming increasingly popular. Search Party is hosted by David Snow and produced by Elatromme.