The Case for Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition

Want to be an entrepreneur but don't have a groundbreaking idea? Maybe you lack industry contacts or are unable to take on the risks associated with traditional startups? "Should You Skip the Startup?," published by the Kellogg School of Management, explores entrepreneurship through acquisition with Brad Morehead, a business owner and Adjust Professor at Kellogg. Morehead discusses the advantages of EtA vs. starting-up and details the obstacles a business owner can expect to encounter post-acquisition.

"'A lot of startups are so concerned about demand risk that they keep what they’re doing secret,' Morehead says. “What’s nice about entrepreneurship through acquisition is that there’s no reason not to talk to people about what you’re thinking about buying. You can get real feedback faster to accurately assess demand risk."

"Making changes to an existing company—from changes in staffing to product mix to strategic focus—necessarily comes with some risk. An entrepreneur must be prepared to reassure nervous employees that both parties are working toward the same goals. Understanding their concerns is the first step in reassuring them that your concerns are aligned."

“There was all this fear about the jobs moving,” (Morehead) says. “Depending on the town you’re going into, that can have a real economic impact. But that just wasn’t something I’d thought about. My whole goal in acquiring this business was continuity.”

"Figuring out what style of entrepreneurship is the right fit for your personality is critical to the success of a venture. So while most people may not associate acquisition and passion, being jazzed about your new venture is not just the province of the startup entrepreneur."

Read the full article in KelloggInsight.

Equire is a marketplace for entrepreneurs to find and invest in traditional SMB's with $700k to $7m EBITDA. The Equire DealSource service helps Entrepreneurs find companies to acquire and operate, and the Equire DealFund service then helps entrepreneurs efficiently obtain capital from accredited investors to close their acquisition. For more information please visit equire.co or email info@equire.co.