E231
H. Irving Grousbeck, Mike Harkey
2016
David Dodson started the septic company roll-up Wind River Environmental after mixed results in his previous entrepreneurial ventures. This case tracks three difficult situations faced by Dodson during his tenure as CEO and Chairman of the company. In…
E581
Jim Ellis, Jessica Morgan
2015
Revenue Works tells the story of Mike Sutherland and how he grew the search fund company he acquired from $5 million to over $150 million in revenue. After growing the company with debt and returning dividends to investors through leveraged…
E521
David Dodson, Peter Kelly, H. Irving Grousbeck, Jason Luther, Sara Rosenthal
2014
Since 1996, the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies (CES) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business has conducted a series of studies on the performance of search funds. This study, as well as its predecessors, has endeavored to gather data and gain…
E484
Jim Ellis, Justin Randolph
2014
The case profiles the protagonist, Luke Tashie, CEO of Yobella — a self-serve frozen yogurt retail chain that Tashie acquired via a search fund — as the company struggles post-acquisition.
The case provides an overview of Luke Tashie’s background, his…
E511
H. Irving Grousbeck, Jason Luther
2014
It was March 2013 and one week after James Browder’s sixth board meeting as CEO of Aegis Systems Corp. (Aegis), a vendor management software provider based in Birmingham, Alabama. As Browder sat at his desk, pen and notepad before him, he reflected on…
E472
Robert B. Chess, Austin Kiessig
2013
Brown Robin Capital details the experiences of Stanford GSB graduates Ryan Robinson and Lucas Braun in pursuing a search fund acquisition. The case explains the search fund model and provides historical asset class performance statistics. Then, the…
E450
Peter B. Kelly, Lacey Wismer
2013
The Vestige Capital case follows a search fund team comprised of two 2009 Stanford GSB alumni as they decide to raise a search fund in Mexico, procure search capital from U.S. and Mexican investors, and source deals over the ensuing two years. The case…
E446
H. Irving Grousbeck, Arar Han, Sara Rosenthal
2012
Since 1996, the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies (CES) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business has conducted a series of studies on the performance of search funds. This study, as well as its predecessors in 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, and…
E386
H. Grousbeck, Aimee LaFont Leifer, Tjarko Leifer, Lisa Sweeney
2010
This is an updated version of the Search Fund Study that is done every approximately every two years. The study briefly explains the concept of a Search Fund and surveys all known Search Funds to determine demographics, financial results, and other…
E362B
Bethany Coates, R. Ellis, Lisa Sweeney, Anne Beyer
2010
This fictional case sets up a scenario commonly experienced in the Search Fund process. Two recent GSB graduates founded a search fund and take steps to purchase a small business from the founder, then transition into running the business post-acquisition…
E362C
Bethany Coates, R. Ellis, Lisa Sweeney
2010
This fictional case sets up a scenario commonly experienced in the Search Fund process. Two recent GSB graduates founded a search fund and take steps to purchase a small business from the founder, then transition into running the business post-acquisition…
E362A
Bethany Coates, R. Ellis, Lisa Sweeney
2010
This fictional case sets up a scenario commonly experienced in the Search Fund process. Two recent GSB graduates founded a search fund and take steps to purchase a small business from the founder, then transition into running the business post-acquisition…
E358
Bethany Coates, R. Ellis, Lisa Sweeney
2010
After earning their MBAs from Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2008, Tessa Marks and Jason Church started a search fund, Sierra Capital Partners (SCP), with the goal of purchasing and running a company together. Marks, who had been a management…
E390
H. Grousbeck, Arar Han
2010
Geminus Capital Partners, a search fund, acquired Franklin Warranty, an extended service contract company, in early 2008. When the market crashed, issues with due diligence, Board composition, sales management, and others come to light, setting the stage…
E378
H., Grousbeck, Claire Magat
2010
This case follows Thomas Coughlin and Evan Stern, the new owners of Compass Ventures, through the process of 1) launching a search fund, 2) acquiring two companies in the autism services space and 3) navigating a handful of management issues as new…
E365
R. Ellis, Lacey Wismer
2009
As he nears graduation from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Pat Smith is considering his career plans. He wants to be an entrepreneur, but he has no start-up idea of his own. He is interested in entrepreneurship through acquisition and, based…
E346
H. Grousbeck, Claire Magat
2009
This case follows Peter Kingston, the CEO of Vector Healthcare, through the process of 1) forming a partnership, 2) launching a search fund, 3) acquiring a company in the health insurance space and 4) selling the company through an auction. It explores…
E282
H. Grousbeck, Sean Harrington
2008
A search fund is a pool of capital raised to financially support the efforts of an entrepreneur, or a team of entrepreneurs, to locate a privately held company for acquisition. This study, as well as its predecessors in 1996, 1998, 2001,2003, and 2005…
E289
R. Ellis, Sean Harrington
2008
The case follows Josh Greenberg and John Fowler, two recent graduates from the Stanford GSB, as they complete the entire search fund process. It covers the formation of their search fund vehicle, Montebello Capital, their 16-month search phase, the…
E320
Katherine Bose, R. Ellis
2008
The protagonist,David Dodson, is a second-time search fund entrepreneur who in mid-2004 purchased Mountain Auto, a leading auto parts retailer in the Rocky Mountain United States. The venture started off strong, and Dodson grew the organization along with…
E242
Patrick Arippol, H. Grousbeck
2007
This case describes a series of 3 vignettes confronted by a fast-growing extended warranty services company, Extended Service Plans of America (ESPA). Doug Tudor had become the company’s president after completing its acquisition for Asurion Corporation…
E235
H. Grousbeck, Alex Tauber
2006
This case chronicles the travails of two young entrepreneurs who conducted a search fund in San Juan, Puerto Rico. After running out of acquisition options, the entrepreneurs decided to pursue a start-up in the billboard industry. The case then…
E209
Mark Leslie, James Lattin, Joshua Spitzer
2006
Acquired through a search fund, Presidio Solutions offers an outsourced sales solution for technology companies. Presidio Solutions only sells renewals of service and maintenance contracts on their clients’ hardware and software products. The rapidly…
E215
H. Grousbeck, Mike Harkey
2005
A search fund is a pool of capital raised to financially support the efforts of an entrepreneur, or a team of entrepreneurs, to locate a privately held company for acquisition. This study, as well as its predecessors in 1996, 1998, 2001, and 2003…
