A deep-dive on the operator-first path to buying a small business. Told through the lessons of investor-turned-operator Tim Ludwig (60+ portfolio companies; now co-runs Majority Search).

Learn how search funds actually work, which industries to invest in, which searchers to back, why EQ beats IQ in a first-time CEO, and the exact playbook from LOI → close → the first 100 days.

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What you’ll learn:
00:00 Intro - buy, run, and compound
02:03 Why study Tim & the origins of search funds
03:40 Tim’s path: from MBA case study to investor
05:18 60+ investments, market gets crowded, lessons learned
06:54 Flipping to buyer/operator; control & alignment
07:59 Search fund 101: traditional vs. self-funded vs. committed capital
09:53 Sponsor: CapitalPad
10:54 Why search funds work: hungry operator × resilient business
12:08 First-time CEO profile: EQ is better than IQ, sales, coachability
14:28 What to buy (and avoid): the “easy to run, hard to break” box + weird niches
15:57 Sponsor: SpaceBar Studios
16:56 from LOI to close: diligence, QoE, papering the deal, seller roll/seller note
19:03 First 100 days: make payroll, listen, cadence & KPIs
20:05 Months 3-12: hire a sales leader, CRM, pipeline & talk tracks
21:56 Post-close priorities: top accounts, upgrade tools, data culture
23:03 Returns math: 4× equity without multiple expansion
24:15 Hold vs. sell; should the seller stay?
24:58 How big is the opportunity? supply/demand & off-market
26:08 Bezos vs. Musk test: singles % doubles are better than moonshots
26:53 Final advice & next steps
27:26 Outro

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This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.