Search Fund Accelerator

Search Fund Accelerator was honored to join the first of what we hope to be many Accelerator Networking Nights hosted by Alora (Martin) Cash and the Yale School of Management! We had an engaged group of students and investors seeking to learn more about the benefits of the accelerator path in ETA.

The Search Fund Accelerator team is very excited to congratulate Jared Lenner on the acquisition of Grade Potential Tutoring! Grade Potential, founded in 2002, is one of the largest actors in in-person, at-home tutoring in the US, operating in over 50 metro areas and focusing on K-6 students and their families. We couldn't be happier to support Jared Lenner and partner with Grade Potential's founder, David Serwitz, on this journey!!

Search Fund Accelerator was thrilled to sponsor the annual Southeast Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Conference hosted by Georgetown University McDonough School of Business over the weekend. Every year, the teams at Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, University of Virginia Darden School of Business, Duke University - The Fuqua School of Business (Duke Innovation and Entrepreneurship) and UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School host this informative conference for students, entrepreneurs, investors, and professionals to gather and discuss all things related to search funds. Thomas Campbell, CEO of Metric Marine, Inc., participated in the Operations panel and Sean O'Neill, Partner at Search Fund Accelerator, moderated a panel discussion on Investment Strategy & Searcher Attributes with Saumil Jariwala, Brian Axelrad, Linh Tran, and Stephanie Warner.

The Search Fund Accelerator team could not be happier to have hosted another invigorating CEO retreat in Denver this week with 26 of our hardworking colleagues!!! We are humbled and motivated by the contributions of the SFA community and look forward to another great year ahead!

The Search Fund Accelerator team recently gathered together for our annual Searcher Retreat, filled with practical workshops, round table discussions, and a challenging hike up Mt. Sanitas in Boulder. Great to see the team together for a fun and productive team-building event!!

May 2024 Search Fund Accelerator is pleased to announce that Cory Prott,?a member of SFA’s 2021 cohort, has acquired HRtoGO. HRtoGO, founded in 2001, provides a full-suite, white-glove HR solution tailored to small- and medium-sized businesses with between 20 and 150 employees. The company’s services include HR outsourcing, payroll processing and benefits administration. Located in Sacramento, California, HRtoGO has a diverse mix of end customers and an ever-growing national footprint. Cory Prott, incoming CEO, said, "I couldn't be more excited by this opportunity. Dave [Allman] and team have created a great company and we're excited to take it to the next level." Cory started his career working in public accounting as an auditor at a regional accounting firm, then worked at Stifel Financial, a middle market investment bank, as a sell-side equity research associate. Immediately prior to joining SFA, he spent two years at KPMG doing strategy consulting. Cory earned a bachelor’s degree from Saint Louis University, double majoring in Accounting and Finance; a Master of Accounting from Saint Louis University; and an MBA from Columbia Business School. Cory is also a CFA charterholder and a licensed CPA. The pairing of Cory’s professional experience in white collar services and deep understanding of accounting and finance makes him an excellent fit for leading HRtoGO and capitalizing on its abundant growth opportunities. We could not be happier to partner with Cory on this leg of his ETA journey! Finally, we want to thank our partners who helped make this acquisition possible: Jerry Zhou, CPA at Hood & Strong LLP (financial due diligence), Andy Lock at Goodwin (legal), and Michael Woody at?Vista Bank (debt financing).