# Tom & Dave

Two people backing searches with their own money.

Two individuals who have backed traditional search funds since 1992, investing their own capital rather than a fund's. Their own page states 250-plus searches backed and 55 operating businesses currently held, and each principal separately reports more than 210 personal ETA investments. They cap themselves at ten new searches a year and commit to answering major investment decisions within 48 hours. They publish no industry rule at all, encouraging entrepreneurs toward businesses they are passionate about regardless of sector, and they welcome very long holds.

- Category: Capital & Investors
- Pricing model: Custom Pricing
- Where it fits: Set Up & Fund the Search
- Website: https://tom-dave.com
- Last verified: 2026-09-09

## At a Glance

The clearest example on this shelf of the rule that the lane which is approached rather than approaching publishes least: an unusually deep record and a per-year intake cap, with no front door to walk through.

## What It Costs

Investment terms, not fees. The site publishes no check size, no stake and no fee, and states plainly that it is not a fund: "We are not a fund - we're just Tom and Dave investing our own capital." What it does publish on its own side is a capacity cap of ten new searches a year and a 48-hour decision commitment.

## Best For

A traditional searcher who wants individual capital rather than an institution, values a fast decision, and is comfortable approaching a firm that publishes no contact route at all.

## Pros and Cons

- Pro: One of the longest continuous records in the asset class, active since 1992 by its own account, with 55 operating businesses currently held
- Pro: Publishes a capacity cap and a decision SLA, both rare: ten new searches a year and major decisions communicated within 48 hours
- Pro: Explicitly not a fund, so there is no vintage clock and the site welcomes holds it calls extraordinarily long
- Con: No contact page, email, form or phone anywhere on the site, so there is no published way for a searcher to approach them
- Con: No address, city or state published, so a searcher cannot tell where the relationship would sit
- Con: Its Hall of Fame page states a count of seven and then lists ten entries, so that figure cannot be relied on

## What Searchers Say

Named on the backer rosters of multiple independent searchers. Both principals are long-standing operators, one the chairman and former chief executive of a safe manufacturer, the other its finance chief.

## Sources

- https://tom-dave.com

Source: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/tom-and-dave