---
title: "Search Funds and ETA | Gautam Basu | Neuvottelija 7"
titleOriginal: "Search funds and ETA | Gautam Basu | Negotiator 7"
episodeNumber: "7"
guest: "Gautam Basu"
datePublished: 2020-03-06
duration: "25:26"
youtube: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4"
captionsVtt: https://www.neuvottelija.com/podcast/episodes/ep7-search-funds-ja-eta-gautam-basu/captions.en.vtt
captionsSrt: https://www.neuvottelija.com/podcast/episodes/ep7-search-funds-ja-eta-gautam-basu/captions.en.srt
originalLanguage: "en"
topics: ["ma_exits","investing_markets"]
subtitleMethod: "none"
provenance: "Owner page assembled from YouTube metadata, the neuvottelija.fi episode record and the published Neuvottelija AI edition summary. No transcript imported."
fiCanonical: "https://www.neuvottelija.fi/fi/episodes/11-search-funds-and-eta-gautam-basu-negotiator-7"
canonical: https://www.neuvottelija.com/podcast/episodes/ep7-search-funds-ja-eta-gautam-basu/
---
# Search Funds and ETA | Gautam Basu | Neuvottelija 7

## Chapters

- [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=0s) Gautam Basu's background from consultant to acquirer
- [02:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=120s) ETA as a concept and the three search fund models
- [04:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=240s) True North Search and the age profile of Finnish owners
- [06:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=360s) Buy and build platform companies and learnable skills
- [08:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=480s) Building trust with the seller and moving outside the capital
- [10:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=600s) Psychometric assessment strengths and development areas
- [12:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=720s) Search strategy investment criteria and the screening funnel
- [14:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=840s) Deal structure and financing options
- [16:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=960s) The Nordics and Baltics plus the US statistics
- [18:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=1080s) Experience versus money at the negotiating table
- [20:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=1200s) A long investment horizon and impact investing
- [22:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=1320s) The seller staying on and two person searches
- [24:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=1440s) Community coaching and upcoming events

## Summary

Gautam Basu introduces Sami Miettinen to Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition, the model where you become an entrepreneur by buying an existing company rather than founding a new one. The episode covers the three search fund funding models, the True North Search accelerator concept, and the age profile of Finnish business owners that leaves tens of thousands of companies without a successor. The discussion opens up target screening criteria, the funnel from hundreds of candidates down to a single acquisition, and the psychometric assessment and training of the searcher. It closes on the model's spread across the Nordics and Baltics and its character as impact investing.

## Chapters

- [**00:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=0s) — Gautam Basu's background from consultant to acquirer
- [**02:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=120s) — ETA as a concept and the three search fund models
- [**04:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=240s) — True North Search and the age profile of Finnish owners
- [**06:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=360s) — Buy and build platform companies and learnable skills
- [**08:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=480s) — Building trust with the seller and moving outside the capital
- [**10:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=600s) — Psychometric assessment strengths and development areas
- [**12:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=720s) — Search strategy investment criteria and the screening funnel
- [**14:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=840s) — Deal structure and financing options
- [**16:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=960s) — The Nordics and Baltics plus the US statistics
- [**18:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=1080s) — Experience versus money at the negotiating table
- [**20:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=1200s) — A long investment horizon and impact investing
- [**22:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=1320s) — The seller staying on and two person searches
- [**24:00**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4&t=1440s) — Community coaching and upcoming events

## Watch

The recording lives on the Neuvottelija channel: [Search funds and ETA | Gautam Basu | Negotiator 7](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFk7aafwn4).
A Finnish edition of this episode is published at [www.neuvottelija.fi](https://www.neuvottelija.fi/fi/episodes/11-search-funds-and-eta-gautam-basu-negotiator-7).

---

Cite as: Sami Miettinen, Neuvottelija — Search Funds and ETA | Gautam Basu | Neuvottelija 7, https://www.neuvottelija.com/podcast/episodes/ep7-search-funds-ja-eta-gautam-basu/, 2020-03-06. For quotes include episode 7 and timestamp.