x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

ETA Insider Podcast

Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

A podcast series featuring all things related to search funds and entrepreneurship through acquisition. Hosted by Brian O"Connor, Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago"s Booth School of Business and Managing Partner of NextGen Growth Partners.

business

All Episodes

00:36:51

Celebrating an Exit at T Base Communications

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2021/07/29

Brian chats with Trevor Lwin, MBA ’12, about his round trip ETA journey. Trevor discusses his introduction to the model during his time as an executive MBA student at Chicago Booth, his keys to a successful partner search, advice on intermediaries, and his experience operating T Base, a proprietary software company that converts documents for people who have vision impairments. Trevor also goes into detail about his recent sale of T Base to Thompson Street Partners and what he has planned next.

en

00:32:08

Family Business Lessons for ETA Searchers and Operators

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2021/01/25

Jamie Shah, MBA ’13, joins the podcast to talk about family enterprise and her experiences after joining her family’s company Chem-Impex Intl. Jamie shares the entrepreneurial roots of her father and the laboratory science product supplier, Chem-Implex Intl., that he started from scratch. Jamie discusses her role within the business and the operational strategies and impulses that guide her work as she tries to support growth within the company. Jamie also shares advice for searchers approaching

en

00:35:47

Celebrating a Growth Recapitalization at Applied Data...

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2020/12/14

Brian is joined by frequent podcast guest, Shamus Hines, MBA '15, and Chicago Booth professor Steve Morrissette, MBA '90, to discuss the exciting growth recapitalization of Shamus’ company Applied Data Corporation (ADC). Shamus talks about ADC’s switch to providing their clients with a SaaS platform and the recapitalization that will allow ADC to enter a new growth stage. Professor Morrissette recounts his history with Shamus from the classroom, where as a student, Shamus actually introduced him to

en

00:31:58

Reid Tileston's Self-Funded Search "An A+ in Diligence"

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2020/10/08

Reid Tileston, MBA '15, and Brian O'Connor discuss the in depth, and often, involved diligence efforts that Reid went through in purchasing Giddings Hawkins, a company that he acquired through a self-funded search. Reid is a one of a kind guest and his stories are impactful and, at times, humorous-from daily cold showers to racing up skyscraper stairs and cleaning Southern Wisconsin's grease traps. Reid's stories from his first year as an operator cover a number of lessons about assessing risk and

en

00:29:42

Update on the ETA Journey: New Operators During Covid 19

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2020/09/24

On this episode of the ETA podcast Brian re-visits (previously featured on the 2018 episode Navigating Your Search) Booth alums Jessica Markowitz, MBA '13 and Trista Engel, MBA ’13. Jessica and Trista give an update on their acquisition of Paragon Legal, a San Francisco-based legal services firm, and their quick transition from searchers to new operators to business leaders during a pandemic. Jessica and Trista also discuss some lessons on building a great partnership, their focus on a culture of

en

00:35:58

Creating Better Products and Businesses-Jerry...

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2020/09/10

“Well there’s gotta be a better way to do this!” This is the rallying cry of HeatWorks CEO Jerry Callahan, MBA ’88. From cardboard point of purchase displays, to summer bbqs, and hot showers, there is a good chance one of Jerry Callahan’s ideas has made your life easier. Jerry graciously visits the pod to talk about his successful career developing and improving products and companies through invention and acquisition.

en

00:23:36

CEO Hacks with Alyssa Rapp

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2020/08/28

Fresh off her new book, Leadership and Life Hacks, Alyssa Rapp joins Brian to talk about her transition from founding and leading every wine drinker’s favorite app, bottlenotes, to moving back to Chicago and takin the reins at Surgical Solutions. Alyssa discusses her “hacks” for learning about the health care services industry, working with an inherited board and juggling family and personal life outside of work. She also speaks about her work at Booth as a lecturer for the capstone class Women as

en

00:25:50

The Power of the Search Pivot

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2020/05/19

Michael Tobey discusses his successful transition from Booth graduate to investment banker to owner/operator of Hose Monster, and the search pivot that he made when a year’s worth of diligence and negotiations fell through right as a unique opportunity became available. Michael also outlines changes Hose Monster has made due to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as his long term plans regarding growth, spending and debt structure during the pandemic.

en

00:29:05

Operating During the Covid-19 Crisis

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2020/04/08

Booth alum Brian Vanderheyden, CEO of Richmond Alarm Company, reflects on how he began his ETA journey, executing on the herculean task of launching a search and the altruistic element that was influencing his approach and tactics. Recorded during the Covid-19 crisis, Brain discusses his contingency planning during this new and rapidly developing situation, and its associated economic challenges.

en

00:56:31

Live from the 2019 Booth-Kellogg ETA Conference:...

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2020/03/12

Eric Roza is executive-in-residence with General Catalyst (one of the country’s leading venture capital firms) and serves as Chairman of TrueCoach (the leading SaaS platform for personal trainers). He recently stepped down as the general manager of Oracle Data Cloud, a post he assumed following his sale of Datalogix to Oracle for $1.25B in 2015, delivering a 35x return to Series A investors in 5 years. In this keynote conversation moderated by Chicago Booth alum Alex Hodgkin, Eric reflects on his

en

00:40:30

An Entrepreneurial Transition to Private Equity

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2020/03/12

This episode of the ETA podcast features Nick Somers, MBA ’88, managing partner of Somers Investment Partners. After getting his start in investment banking, Nick transitioned to private equity in quite an entrepreneurial way. He reflects on lessons learned in building out teams and capabilities, his approach to investing and evaluating companies, and exciting trends ahead in the ETA landscape.

en

00:32:10

Update on the ETA Journey: From Searcher to Operator

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2020/02/15

This edition of the ETA podcast features Booth alum Shamus Hines, CEO of Applied Data Corporation (ADC), a fresh item management software company. Featured on the podcast in 2016 while in the thick of his search, Shamus returns to update on his search, diligence, acquisition, and his transition to CEO. Shamus discusses the unexpected challenges and surprises he encountered, how he approached composing ADC’s board, and what the future holds.

en

00:39:23

Growth Strategy: Creatively Approaching Acquisitions

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2019/12/11

This episode of the ETA podcast features Ryan Jones, CEO of Dynamic Growth Dental Support, a dental support organization that was formed to provide the business resources and support dentists need to focus on quality dental care. Having launched his business five years out of business school, Ryan speaks to the importance of pairing with the right investors and how his focused approach and strong thesis helped him navigate the increasing competition in the search fund landscape, ultimately leading

en

00:30:13

The Partner Led Search – Complementary Skill Sets and...

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2019/10/16

Chicago Booth alums Erick Laseca and Giovanni Barbat discuss their partnered search experience and the important characteristics of their team that led them to the acquisition of American Vision Group, a leading eyecare services platform. In addition to addressing the challenges of consolidating three disparate companies at time of acquisition, Erick and Giovanni discuss healthcare rollups and their strategic plan behind vertical integration.

en

00:28:25

Democratizing the Digital Supply Chain

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2019/10/02

Booth alum Nathan Dey, discusses how his investment banking experience led him to take the entrepreneurial leap and pursue ETA, eventually stepping into the CEO role of a 50 year old logistics company. In an industry undergoing a huge digital transformation, Nathan discusses how his company is building on its rich history, positioning themselves to be an innovative leader in the shipping and logistics space, and transforming into a tech-forward global supply chain software company.

en

00:38:00

Taking the Leap of Faith to Pursue ETA

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2019/09/16

Booth alum Gabe Barkley, CEO of MHW, reflects on his early entrepreneurial aspirations that led him from a post-college position at a wine shop to the role of CEO of a leading alcoholic beverage service platform. Gabe discusses why he decided to pursue an incubated search, and how he found MHW and formed a valuable partnership with the owner as the incoming CEO.

en

00:26:52

Transitioning from Military Leadership to Business...

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2019/09/04

Booth alum Charles Mullenger, CEO of Ethos Evacuation Strategies d/b/a MedSled, discusses the correlations between leading a team in a military environment and leading in a corporate environment, and what aspects of his military background that have translated to the business. Charles also shares how his Midwestern roots played a role in this search, his advice for young CEOs, and important factors to keep in mind when looking for the right business.

en

00:52:55

Finding the Right Fit: Lessons Learned through a...

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2019/08/16

Chicago Booth alum Michael Curry, CEO of Krueger Gilbert Health Physics and Apex Physics Partners takes us through his entrepreneurial journey from bootstrapping a custom clothing company in the early 2000’s to a successful partner-led search. Now an operator in the health physics landscape, Michael reflects on the importance of servant leadership throughout his ETA journey.

en

00:42:07

Beyond the First 100 Days: Building a United Culture

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2019/07/19

Steve Swinney, CEO of Kodiak Building Partners, speaks to the importance of finding balance between the pace of acquisitions and maintaining an operational focus to build a great business – all while mastering the cyclicality of the construction industry. Additionally, Steve shares lessons learned on the importance of managing a united culture through his over 21 acquisitions.

en

00:37:36

Building a Practice to Service Entrepreneurs: The...

ETA Insider Podcast ·

2019/07/19

Chicago Booth alum Phil Colaco, global leader for the corporate finance advisory practice at Deloitte, draws parallels between Deloitte’s investment banking arm and the ETA search. Phil elaborates on strategies to maximize chances of success in a search, the importance of partners, and trends in lower-middle market acquisitions.

en

88 results

Similar Podcasts

TaxTalent.com The Golden Rule Podcast

Adam Golden

TaxTalent.com Podcast

Tony Santiago

Handelsblatt Crime - spannende Streitfälle der deutschen Wirtschaft

Ina Karabasz, Solveig Gode, Sönke Iwersen

Deffner und Zschäpitz – Der Wirtschafts-Talk von WELT

WELT

Black Box - La scatola nera della finanza

Guido Brera e Gian Luca Comandini -...