Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Club (ETA@Kellogg)

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Mission

The purpose of ETA@Kellogg is to educate, equip, and inspire Kellogg MBA students to pursue Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition upon graduation or within 5 years of graduating from KSM through community, alumni, and professional support.

100+ Members

Active in the vibrant ETA community, regularly attending events, and contributing thought leadership.

Hundreds of Alumni

Highly connected in the ETA ecosystem, both as entrepreneurs and investors

Dozens of Events

Drawing high-impact investors and former operators to campus to share their wisdom and insights.

Upcoming Events

Oct 23 | 12:15pm - 1:15pm

ETA Lunch & Learn: Miramar Equity Partners

Miramar Equity Partners is a Dallas-based search fund investor co-founded by Kurt Leedy and Kyle Coots with ~30 active search funds and 70+ search-acquired companies in its portfolio. Miramar is an engaged investor and active throughout the search fund lifecycle: search, acquire, and operate. Miramar invests across industries and geographies (both the U.S. and internationally) and brings a track record of investment experience, an ability to commit large ($30M+) or small equity checks, a network of experts and advisors, and a collaborative approach to working with searcher executives (including sharing Miramar deal flow). Miramar typically accounts for 15-25% of a given search fund and, because it’s a family office, can have indefinite investment time horizons.

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Oct 28 | 12:15pm - 1:15pm

ETA Lunch & Learn: Footbridge Partners

Join Footbridge Managing Partner Greg Geronemus, Greg is a Goldman Sachs and HBS alum. He and his partner searched for, acquired, operated & sold smarTours, a value-oriented tour operator, generating an outsized return for investors.

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Oct 30 | 12:15pm - 1:15pm

ETA Lunch & Learn: WSC & Company

WSC & Company is a private investment firm focused on building exceptional businesses through the traditional search fund model and through middle-market buyouts.

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Nov 4 | 12:15pm - 1:15pm

ETA Lunch & Learn: Relay Investments

Relay established its first official fund in 2013 in Boston. With a U.S. focus and an international reach, the firm now has $200M in AUM that it uses to exclusively invest into search funds and their target companies.

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Nov 6 | 12:15pm - 1:15pm

ETA Lunch & Learn: M2O Search

M²O was founded in 1992 and took a hands-on approach to its first investment, directly managing the National Lines Bureau for five years. During that period, the company’s operations were improved and streamlined, generating a 100% return on invested capital annually by the time of its sale in 1997. That same year, M²O invested in its first search fund. At the time, a search fund was a novel and ambitious concept hatched by a small group of business school professors, students, and private investors. Over time, search funds became the foundation of M²O’s investment activities. Since then, M²O has invested in over 200 search funds around the world and continues to evaluate dozens of new opportunities annually.

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Nov 7 | 12:15pm - 1:15pm

ETA Lunch & Learn: Search Fund Accelerator

Want to be a CEO? SFA has only one mission: to help searchers and CEOs succeed. If you have the motivation, skill and character to acquire and run a business, SFA is designed for you. SFA provides its searchers and CEOs with unparalleled coaching and support from a team of experienced professionals and outside advisors. SFA offers a high-energy, collaborative environment where you work alongside other future CEOs while taking advantage of the firm’s best practices and technologies. When you are ready to close your deal, SFA provides the equity from a fund of committed capital.

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Nov 11 | 12:15pm - 1:15pm

ETA Lunch & Learn: Trilogy Search Partners

Trilogy invests in leaders with distinctive backgrounds, who have the entrepreneurial drive, demonstrated leadership skills, and commercial aptitude to achieve their dream of owning and growing a successful business.

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Nov 13 | 12:15pm - 1:15pm

ETA Lunch & Learn: Anacapa Partners

Anacapa's strategic focus is to invest in operating companies that have been identified by principals operating within the search fund business model. They take a proactive role with search fund entrepreneurs in all phases of the investment process, including business screening, due diligence, negotiation of deal structure, operating oversight, and exploration of exit strategies.

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Nov 17 | 12:15pm - 1:15pm

ETA Club and BMA Present: Jason Jackson on Impact-focused Leadership as CEO

Over the last two decades, money has poured in to invest in search funds, but not enough experienced operators with the time and interest to mentor. So when Futaleufu Partners decided to raise a fund, it wanted to do things a little differently. It wanted to use the idea of an investment fund to organize talent to support search fund entrepreneurs, with experts in operating support, not as a way to raise capital. As result, Futaleufu raised money from seventeen former operators, most of them from the search fund world. In return for investing in its fund, they promised a commitment and enthusiasm to mentor, join boards, and help the next generation of search fund entrepreneurs—and that’s what Futaleufu is about. Co-hosted with BMA!

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Our Team

Gabby Fong Profile

Gabby Fong

Co-President
Bobby Khouz Profile

Bobby Khouz

Co-President
Luke Villermin Profile

Luke Villermin

VP Events
Samuel Bernhardt Profile

Samuel Bernhardt

VP Events
James Epperson Profile

James Epperson

VP Operations
Rodrigo Gonzalez Barbara Profile

Rodrigo Gonzalez Barbara

VP Communications
Amir Alizadeh Profile

Amir Alizadeh

VP International
Samridhi Sood Profile

Samridhi Sood

VP International
Nishant Patel Profile

Nishant Patel

VP Alumni

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Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Club (ETA@Kellogg)

2211 Campus Drive
Evanston IL 60208
United States