Search residency

Definition

A firm-backed seat to find and run one business, often without a salary.

Why It Matters

It sits between the two named paths and gets described as neither. The firm supplies the platform, the introductions and usually the acquisition equity; you supply the search itself, so the arrangement costs you time and cash instead of ownership. What decides whether one is worth taking is on the program's own page: how much equity vests when a deal closes, whether the firm has closed one with a resident before, and who owns the thesis when the two of you disagree about a target.

In numbers: A residency might pay nothing for a twelve-month hunt and vest 8% of the equity on close, against the 20% to 30% a searcher earns for raising the money themselves.