GT Entrepreneurs
At a Glance
A small check with the clearest published arithmetic on the shelf, and a stated price ceiling behind it.
- Pricing
- Custom Pricing, 'We are ideally looking to purchase a total of 1 or 2 units in most situations. This equates to roughly a 6%-16% equity stake assuming an average search fund raise of $480,000 with an average number of 12-16 units being sold.' It adds a price discipline: 'We are ideally not paying above 6x for any particular business.'
- Best For
- A traditional searcher assembling a unit round who wants an investor whose arithmetic is already on the page
- Track Record
- Founded 2017 as a search accelerator that bought five businesses through 2020, then pivoted in 2022 to backing traditional search funds. Its portfolio page carries those five with their years, one searcher's acquired company, and twenty-eight vehicles added since 2023.
- Lane
- Traditional, Self-Funded
- Funds
- The search phase and the deal
- Based
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- Invests
- Searches for businesses anywhere in the United States.
- Buys
- Traditional search funds, with a stated leaning toward construction, advanced manufacturing and supply chain, and gap capital into a deal for traditional and self-funded searchers alike. Asked for a size band it says it has no business size preference at all, offering $1M to $5M of EBITDA only as a guess at what its searchers look for and citing the Stanford observations report for it.
- Before A First Call
- An application, on request. Its FAQ names three indicators it weighs closely, significant experience managing people, a top MBA program and entrepreneurial grit, and says missing one does not preclude a partnership, citing an operator it backed who had no MBA.
- First-Time Operators
- Says in its own words that it backs people running a company for the first time.
- How Long The Search Runs
- No length on the search and nothing about what happens if it ends without a deal, on the pages this review read. Ask what the clock is before you sign anything.
- Published Terms
- One or two units of a search fund, with its approach page stating that it typically looks to take 14% to 16% of the cap table, where its FAQ puts the same stake at 6% to 16%. Its FAQ states a ceiling of not paying above 6x for a business, and its approach page draws the line at 7x, two ceilings on one site. The FAQ also says it sees itself not taking board seats in most partnerships.
- What A Searcher Gets
- Not published on the pages this review read. It is the figure a searcher most wants and most of this shelf does not print it, so ask before the first call rather than after.
- After The Close
- Says it does not take a board seat in most of its partnerships.
- Roadmap Stages
- 3. Set Up & Fund the Search
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Publishes the unit count, the typical raise, the unit spread and the resulting stake, so the check needs no negotiation to understand
- Publishes a maximum multiple, which nothing else on this shelf does
- States the geography in one sentence: businesses anywhere in the United States
- Names five operating companies with the year of each, and lists every search vehicle it has backed with the searcher's name in one sentence beside it
Cons
- One or two units of a typical raise is a small position, so it participates in a round rather than anchoring one
- The earnings band it quotes is drawn from a published study of the asset class rather than being its own mandate
- Applications run through a form, and its roster carries no status marker, so a vehicle that has already bought reads exactly like one still searching
What Searchers Say
The unit arithmetic, the multiple ceiling and the US geography rule all read from its own FAQ. It calls itself multi-family office backed, ran a search accelerator for five years before turning to search fund investing in 2022, and runs a buy-side analyst internship.
How to Approach
Firms do not publish a term sheet you can prepare against, so this is how traditional (investor-backed) search capital comes in, what it weighs, and how to arrive ready.
The Typical Arc
- A first conversation on your background and why search, before any deal.
- A deep dive on your plan: industries, criteria, and how you will source.
- Backing for the search itself, then a fresh underwrite when you bring a live deal.
- A board seat and governance once you close.
What It Weighs
- Whether you will finish a two-year search, not only start one.
- The quality of your thesis and target criteria.
- How you will behave on a cap table over a long hold.
How to Prepare
- Bring a sourcing thesis, not a blank slate. Buyer Profile Builder
- Know which firms lead versus follow, and on what terms. Investors
- Make your operator case on one page. Buyer Profile Builder