Search Fund & Entrepreneurship through Acquisition

TLDR: Started self-funded search fund in 2023, acquired business 8 months later, have been successfully scaling it ever since. After being the CEO for two private equity backed companies, I wanted to branch out on my own and control more of the pie. I found that constraints from the PE model sometimes negatively influenced business decisions and I wanted to have more control over how to improve and scale a business (not to mention the capital structure). Six months after beginning my search, I submitted the LOI for the business I ultimately closed on two months later. I've been running that business since June of 2024 and we've been growing it nicely while paying down debt. I explored both traditional and self-funded search and completed diligence across a wide range of industries. I've looked at proprietary and brokered deals, received compelling financing terms from lenders and equity investors alike, and have gone through the full ETA cycle. I'm a regular speaker at SMBootCamp and have robust experience with M&A from my previous investment banking and private equity experience. I feel lucky to be doing what I'm doing right now and would love to help others achieve their goals within the Search Fund/ETA space.

I have experience structuring a self-funded search, evaluating deals, conducting due diligence, working with sellers, and modeling post-transaction financials. I can help those who are considering this path, are mid-search, or are in the final innings of a deal. In 2022, as an MBA student at Yale School of Management, I took three courses on ETA and wrote two papers with A.J. Wasserstein, Pioneer in the world of Search and ETA. I fell in love with the model and determined that I needed to find a way to do this for my career. Following my MBA, I interned at a Traditional Search fund investor for the summer and learned a great deal about what investors look for in Searchers. Following a two-year stint in Management Consulting, I decided to pursue a self-funded search in my home state of Utah. After 6 months of full-time search, I found a small company at which I was hired with the intention to acquire the company (Acqui-hire) and which I will close by late Summer 2025.

With over two decades of experience in finance and business acquisitions, I am passionate about helping aspiring entrepreneurs navigate the search fund process. As the CEO of Owner Actions and an owner in 20+ small businesses, I expertly guide clients through the complexities of acquiring businesses, from deal sourcing to post-acquisition operations. My background in managing high-value portfolios and advising on strategic objectives equips me with the insights needed to support your journey. Having coached well over 100 individuals on their business-buying journey, I am committed to providing personalized guidance to help you achieve your business acquisition goals.

Welcome to my profile! Having successfully acquired 3 businesses (2 personally and 1 as a minority investor), I have a wealth of experience in what worked, what didn't work, mindsets required for success and pitfalls to avoid.

Justin Joffe is a CEO Coach for Search Fund / ETA CEOs, as well as Founders and PE-backed CEOs, specializing in helping businesses scale to $100m+. He is the Founder of RAMP Strategies, and an Operating Advisor with Legate Partners. Justin has been CEO of 3 companies - 1 as Founder and 2 via acquisition. He was formerly Founder & CEO of HENRY The Dentist (acquired by Onsite Dental / Norwest Venture Partners), Co-Founder & CEO of Hudson BLVD Group (acquired by Kuzari Group), President of AME Learning (acquired by Kendall Hunt Publishing), and a Management Consultant with The Boston Consulting Group. Justin has raised over $35m for his ventures, operated businesses from $0 to over $100m of revenue, grown and managed teams of over 250 people, and managed large cross-functional executive teams. Justin holds an HBA (with Distinction) from the Richard Ivey School of Business, an MBA (with Distinction) from Harvard Business School, and a Coaching Certificate from Stanford GSB. Justin was born in South Africa, raised in Canada, and now spends his time between New York and France with his wife Alex and son Leo. He is an avid sports enthusiast, having completed 3 Half Ironman races, over a dozen half marathons in 4 countries, a full marathon, and multiple 100-mile charity rides.

Welcome to my profile! With over two decades of experience in leadership roles across various industries, I bring a wealth of knowledge to aspiring search fund entrepreneurs. As a former Searcher, now CEO and Search Fund Investor, I have successfully navigated the complexities of acquiring and managing a company, backed by a group of Italian and international investors. My journey involved screening over 400 manufacturing companies and negotiating multiple deals, providing me with firsthand insights into the search fund process. I have coached 30+ searchers, helping them refine their strategies and achieve their entrepreneurial goals. If you're looking to embark on your search fund journey, let's connect and craft a tailored plan for your success!

I don't just teach acquisition enterpreneurship — I'm doing it right now. I'm an independent sponsor actively sourcing, evaluating, and closing acquisitions of healthcare and essential-services businesses, and I built the toolkit for it over years as an M&A banker at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and a Vice President in Healthcare Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs, where I advised on deals from $200M to $11B+. That means I can help you with the parts of the journey that actually make or break an ETA practitioner: building an LBO and returns model that holds up under scrutiny, structuring the deal and the financing, running diligence, negotiating the LOI, and thinking clearly about valuation and risk. Whether you're pursuing a self-funded search, a traditional search, or an independent-sponsor model, I'll help you move from thesis to closed deal with institutional-grade rigor and I would be honest with you about which targets are worth chasing and which aren't. More importantly, I bring the perspective of someone signing the documents on his own deals, not advising from the sidelines.

I bring real, lived experience across the full ETA lifecycle. Through my HBS background and long-standing ties to the original search fund community (Rick and Royce, IYKYK), I operate inside a deep network of searchers, operators, and investors active in the space. I’ve personally run a self-funded search and now serve as CEO of a portfolio company, leading real operations and real P&Ls. My coaching is practical, direct, and grounded in what actually works when you’re sourcing, conducting diligence, buying, and scaling a business

I was involved in 2 German buy and build PE backed acquisitions with a total investment capital of EUR 120m. One became one of the largest insurance brokers in Germany valued at over EUR 2bn and the other is the largest German property manager managing 115,000 apartments and will likely sell in the next 24 months

Transitioned from traditional finance (IB / PE / HF) to a lower middle market independent sponsor focused on B2B services buy-and-build strategy. Successfully raised pool of capital from HNWIs, Family Offices, etc. and have closed on / am operating multiple businesses/ Knowledgeable on sourcing, capital raising, LMM debt financing, diligence process and watchouts, LMM / SMB CEO role, building executive layer to run business, etc.