The Search Acquisitions Record
1989: Smith Alarm Systems
David Dodson · One of the original search funds, under Irv Grousbeck's model
A Dallas alarm company, bought by the man who had just written the model's first course material.
The proof the model worked; Dodson went on to two more searches and to backing over forty others.
2011: Vector Disease Control International
Jay Davis and Jason Pananos · Nashton Partners, raised 2008
A Little Rock mosquito-control company, grown by fourteen add-on acquisitions under its searcher-CEOs.
Sold to Rentokil in 2017 at roughly $47M of revenue, then the largest North American deal Rentokil had done since Steritech.
2012: Raptor Technologies
Jim Vesterman · Liberty Place Capital
A Houston school-safety software company, bought through a classic funded search.
The 2018 JMI investment returned a reported 13.5x to search investors; the company later traded onward at a reported $1.8B valuation.
2018: Ryzer
Tim Heath and Michael Kahn · Pacific Lake-backed search
A Des Moines events-and-registration platform serving over 25,000 sports camps.
Sold to Scorability in November 2025, with Kahn staying on as president of the combined company.