Search Funded: The ETA Podcast

In this episode of Search Funded, we are joined by Nikita Gossain, founder and principal of PPR Capital, an Australian investor who has acquired, operated, and exited small businesses through a permanent-hold acquisition model focused on durable, founder-led companies.
Nikita shares her path from KPMG, where she worked on large acquisitions, IPOs, and complex transactions, into the much more personal world of small business ownership. After completing her MBA at Cornell, she set out to raise a traditional search fund in Australia, but the ecosystem was still early and investors wanted to see the model proven locally. Rather than waiting, she began searching anyway, cold calling business owners before acquiring Smokeshield, a 40-year-old electronic security business, using her own capital and a personally guaranteed bank loan.
The conversation explores why small business acquisitions require a different lens from large corporate transactions. Nikita explains how the mechanics of M&A still translate, from diligence to working capital to deal documentation, but the real risks often sit in people, culture, undocumented knowledge, and founder dependency.
She discusses:
Why she was drawn to ETA after growing up around small business
What her KPMG transaction experience taught her about acquisitions
Why Australia remains early in its ETA ecosystem
Why she believes the risk of enduring small businesses is often overstated
How she thinks about buying businesses that can remain relevant 20 years from now
Why PPR is built around long-term ownership rather than a five-year exit
How her yield model works through prudent leverage and dividends
Why growth at all costs can damage certain founder-led businesses
How she thinks about replacing founders with the right CEO or general manager
Why founder dependency can be an opportunity rather than only a risk
What operating Smokeshield taught her about culture, systems, and change management
How charity ownership could create a new succession path for enduring small businesses
Why her exposure to poverty in India shaped her commitment to global health and effective giving
Nikita also shares her view that many good small businesses are not meant to be transformed, rolled up, or pushed into aggressive growth. The better path may be to preserve what already works, improve it carefully, and let the business compound over decades.
Whether you’re interested in ETA outside the U.S., permanent-hold acquisition models, small business succession, or the intersection of business ownership and philanthropy, this episode offers a thoughtful look at a very different way to buy and steward enduring small businesses.
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Find us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube.

In this episode, Nick speaks with veteran M&A attorney Joel Ankney, author of Here's the Deal: Everything You Wish a Lawyer Would Tell You About Buying a Small Business. Joel shares his journey from Big Law attorney to running a boutique practice focused on small business acquisitions and explains how an unexpected call from a professor introduced him to the emerging world of entrepreneurship through acquisition. 
Drawing on more than three decades of transaction experience and roughly 125 self-funded ETA deals, Joel discusses how the search ecosystem has evolved from a niche concept into a mainstream path to business ownership. He explains why he is seeing more searchers raise outside capital, how that trend is changing deal structures, and the additional risks and complexity that come with investor-backed acquisitions. 
The conversation focuses on the questions first-time buyers most frequently ask lawyers: when to hire counsel, what lawyers actually do during a transaction, how due diligence should be approached, how long deals really take to close, and what buyers should expect to pay. Joel shares practical examples of mistakes he has seen in letters of intent, why engaging a lawyer early can save significant money and headaches later, and how legal issues can derail a transaction if they are not addressed upfront. 
Joel also discusses the role of AI in dealmaking, the importance of state-specific legal knowledge, how lawyers and accountants should work together during diligence, and the characteristics of the most successful acquisition entrepreneurs he has worked with. 
For anyone considering buying a small business, this episode provides a practical roadmap for navigating the legal side of acquisitions and avoiding some of the most common mistakes first-time buyers make. 
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Find us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube.

In this episode of Search Funded, I speak with Bhavik Rasyara, founder of Pravah Capital and one of the first searchers helping build the entrepreneurship through acquisition ecosystem in India.
Bhavik shares his journey from IIT Madras to BCG, Bain Capital, Scaler, and Harvard Business School, and explains why he entered his MBA already knowing he wanted to return to India and become an entrepreneur. He also discusses why the VC-backed startup path did not fully resonate with him, and why ETA felt more aligned with his desire to build durable businesses over the long term.
We discuss what has surprised him since he started searching in India, including the depth of the intermediary ecosystem, the volume of actionable deal flow, and the challenges around seller valuation expectations. Bhavik also explains why India differs from the U.S. search market, particularly around acquisition financing, seller involvement, growth expectations, and exit opportunities.
Finally, Bhavik shares the types of businesses he is most interested in, why B2B services and technology are attractive areas in India, and how he sees the Indian ETA ecosystem developing over the next decade.
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Find us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube.

David Khalil, Partner and CFO at saas.group, joins Search Funded to discuss the changing economics of SaaS. 
We talk about the collapse of SaaS exceptionalism, the shift away from ARR multiples, why GAAP profitability matters again, how stock-based compensation distorts earnings, and how saas.group acquires and operates profitable product-led software businesses for the long term.  
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Find us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube.

In this episode of Search Funded, I speak with Michael Johns, Managing Director of Ascentro Capital Partners, a New Zealand-based private investment firm focused on buying, building, and growing businesses across New Zealand and Australia.
Michael shares the story of leaving the corporate and finance world to build Ascentro from the ground up, and why that transition was far more humbling than he expected. He explains what it took to raise capital deal by deal, why walking away from bad deals helped build trust with investors, and how putting meaningful personal capital into each transaction shaped the firm’s approach.
We also discuss what makes the New Zealand and Australian lower-middle-market different from the U.S. Michael explains why competition is thinner, why public information on private companies is scarcer, and why good businesses in New Zealand may trade for 4–6x EBITDA compared to much higher multiples in the U.S. At the same time, he is clear that the lower entry multiples are not “free,” because operators still need to attract strong management teams, professionalize the business, and execute effectively after closing.
A major theme of the conversation is people. Michael talks about the importance of hiring high-quality CEOs and management teams, why he is willing to pay above market for exceptional talent, and why diligence needs to go beyond the founder or CEO to understand the real culture and bench strength of a business. He also shares lessons from deals that did not go as planned, including the importance of spending more time with the second layer of management before closing.
We also explore New Zealand’s “tall poppy syndrome” and how it affects entrepreneurship, ambition, and the way successful founders are perceived. Michael reflects on why New Zealanders often under-celebrate business success and why he wants to help normalize ownership, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy for the next generation.
Finally, Michael explains why he sees generative AI as a major opportunity in smaller markets like New Zealand. Because many traditional business owners are older and slower to adopt new technology, Ascentro is focused on using AI across sales, operations, finance, reporting, and compliance to create an operating advantage. He also discusses Ascentro’s long-term ownership philosophy, its approach to platform building and integration, and the appeal of New Zealand as a private capital market in a more uncertain geopolitical world.
Send us Fan Mail
Support the show
Find us on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube.