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.
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.
Active in the vibrant ETA community, regularly attending events, and contributing thought leadership.
Highly connected in the ETA ecosystem, both as entrepreneurs and investors
Drawing high-impact investors and former operators to campus to share their wisdom and insights.
Sep 28 | 12:15pm - 1:15pm
From LOI to Close: A Search Fund Perspective Join Robin Mohapatra of Relay Investments, a search fund investor, and Jineet Gandhi, a Kellogg alum and searcher turned CEO, for a conversation on navigating the path from LOI to closing an acquisition.
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Oct 1 | 12:15pm - 1:15pm
Topic: Building Your Right to Acquire: Setting You Up for Success During the Search Phase As search funds have proliferated, sellers and brokers increasingly field offers from multiple searchers on the same deal. Mark will share his perspective, as both a former operator and search fund investor, on what actually earns a searcher the right to acquire a business: how to build credibility before you're in a room with a seller, and what separates the searchers who win competitive deals from the ones who get passed over.
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Oct 1 | 5:00pm - 6:00pm
Missed Intro to ETA? Join us for a virtual session covering the same material! Most people who want to run a company assume they have to start one. There's a second path: buy a small, profitable business and step in as CEO on day one. This virtual session covers the fundamentals of ETA — what it is, how the deals get financed, and what the searcher's economics actually look like. We'll walk through the main models (traditional funded search, self-funded search, independent sponsor, and search accelerators), the typical target profile (small, boring, durable, and cash-generating), and the realistic timeline from raising search capital to acquisition to operating. We'll also be direct about the trade-offs: the compensation cut during the search years, the base rates on finding a deal at all, and the operating reality of running a 30-person business in an unglamorous industry. Open to all students. No prior background required.
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Oct 6 | 12:15pm - 1:15pm
Join the Kellogg ETA Club for lunch with Miramar Equity Partners, a traditional search fund investor. Topic to be announced.
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Oct 8 | 12:15pm - 1:15pm
Join the Kellogg ETA Club for lunch with Peterson Partners, a traditional search fund investor. Topic to be announced.
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Oct 13 | 12:15pm - 1:15pm
Join the Kellogg ETA Club for lunch with Anacapa, a traditional search fund investor. Topic to be announced.
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Oct 15 | 12:15pm - 1:15pm
Join the Kellogg ETA Club for lunch with Trilogy Search Partners, a traditional search fund investor. Topic to be announced.
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Oct 20 | 5:15pm - 6:15pm
NextGen Partners (NGP) will give students a practical look at entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA) and the firm's approach to partnering with aspiring CEOs, with a direct focus on the accelerator model. The session will cover what NGP looks for in entrepreneurs, how candidates can prepare for an ETA path, and what the search and acquisition process looks like from the investor's side of the table. The NGP team will also share opportunities to get involved with the firm. NGP runs a 10-week MBA internship program throughout the year, including a full-time summer term and part-time opportunities during the academic year. Interns work directly alongside NGP's CEOs-in-Residence as they develop investment theses, source businesses, and evaluate acquisition opportunities. NGP also recruits for its full-time CEO-in-Residence program for experienced professionals pursuing the ETA path.
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Oct 22 | 12:15pm - 1:15pm
Join the Kellogg ETA Club for lunch with Paltus Capital, a traditional search fund investor. Topic to be announced.
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Oct 27 | 12:15pm - 1:15pm
Join the Kellogg ETA Club for lunch with Tom & Dave Investments and Kellogg alumn/searcher Daniel Lazier, a traditional search fund investor. Topic to be announced.
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