Learn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: www.changwenderoth.com
In the past year, host Michael Wenderoth saw a huge jump in Stanford MBAs pursuing an alternative career path. When he sought to learn more, everyone pointed him to today’s guest, Ruby Au, a 2025 Stanford Business School graduate who chose the search fund path. In this episode of 97% Effective, Michael and Ruby discuss search funds, the hot alternative path to entrepreneurship, and why it is experiencing a surge in interest among MBAs, top talent—and investors looking for strong returns. Most people are familiar with private equity and venture capital, but far fewer understand search funds, so Michael and Ruby break down the nuts and bolts of the model, where entrepreneurs raise capital to search for, acquire, and operate an existing small business. Ruby also shares insights she gained from hundreds of coffee chats with industry insiders. If you feel constrained by working in big companies—but don’t have the stomach for a risky start-up, you’ll want to listen to this episode. Search—and Ruby’s insights—may open your eyes to the growth and impact that can come from the small, unsexy businesses that quietly power our economy.
SHOW NOTES
What Search Funds Are – and How They Work
- How Ruby discovered search, and why it felt like a best-fit
- What search fund investors are looking for in the entrepreneurs and companies they back
- The “search phase” and the “acquisition/operating” phase
- Why “boring” companies that don’t make headlines can be great businesses
- Why many business sellers see search as a unique succession plan
Why Search Funds Are Taking Off – and Where They Are Going
- “An asset class that started to post 35% IRRs”
- The most successful search outcome of all time: from roadside rescue to that little purple logo at your Amazon checkout
- As money pours in, does mentorship and the traditional model scale?
Ruby’s Insights – What You Won’t Find in Reports
- How Ruby was taken off guard by the close-knit search ecosystem
- Why she started her blog Succession Story
- Ruby’s sector focus and what she wants to get out of her search process
- 3 insider insights: How new investors are challenging the traditional search model; how to find the right business for you; and how search can reshape how you view social impact
BIO AND LINKS
Ruby Au is a search fund entrepreneur and Principal at Succession Story LLC. Her career began in Nairobi, Kenya, where she founded an edtech venture acquired in 2020. She later launched the African office for San Francisco-based Endless Computers and served as Head of North America for the green search engine, Ecosia. Ruby graduated summa cum laude with dual degrees in Business Administration and Environmental Studies from the University of Southern California and holds an MBA from Stanford, where she served on the leadership of Stanford's Search Fund Club. Ruby enjoys SCUBA diving, salsa dancing, boxing, and traveling, having visited over 35 countries across five continents.
Connect with Ruby
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