An increasing supply of investor capital is chasing business-school students contemplating ETA as a career, and "search-curious" MBA candidates should know the risks involved are manifold, but well worth the journey, according to Matthew Conley and Daniel Lazier, Co-Presidents of the Kellogg School of Management's Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Club.
The Kellogg ETA Club was spun out of the school's private equity club in order to raise awareness of ETA, share best practices and help students self-reflect on whether their skills, personalities and life goals align with this non-traditional career path, say Conley and Lazier.
In a frank discussion, the co-presidents discuss the growing popularity of ETA across MBA programs, and the personal qualities that Kellogg ETA club members tend to share, principally a desire to control their own destinies and pursue a more impactful form of business leadership. The search-curious at Kellogg tend to be "motivated by something different than money," notes Lazier.
Conley says ETA tends to offer more "internal goods" than "external goods," meaning that while potential money and status may not be as stratespheric as one might find in private equity or investment banking, the intangible benefits of "seeing your fingerprints all over something" are possible in spades in an ETA career. In particular, having an impact on the lives of your employees and their families can be very gratifying, says Conley.
The co-presidents describe the pleasantly "round-elbowed" ecosystem of the Kellogg ETA search ecosystem.
The ETA club is a locus of activity at Kellogg, with potential investors sometimes visiting the campus several times per week. Lazier estimates that within the three-sided ETA market, demand from investors is highest, followed by interest from MBA students. The supply of available lower-middle-market businesses for sale, notes Lazier, is not increasing, and estimates that some 30% of searchers never find a business to acquire.
Conley says that the ETA club aims to make clear the risks not only of not finding a business, but of being unable to successfully lead the business once acquired. That said, Conley notes that even searchers who do not ultimately become CEO of an ETA-backed business often find related positions in search-owned businesses and at investment firms in need of analytical and due diligence talent.
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