The realm of business education has given rise to a burgeoning trend that has been lauded as the latest frontier in recent years. This trend, known as Entrepreneurship through Acquisition (ETA), is rapidly gaining traction among MBA graduates, particularly those disinterested in conventional MBA career trajectories. Notable individuals such as Max Kleeman and Drake Hill are fervently scouring for small to medium-sized businesses to purchase and manage subsequent to completing their studies at esteemed business schools like Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.
Kleeman and Hill posit that the new crop of MBAs are shunning conventional corporate roles in favour of more gratifying and financially rewarding endeavours in small business ownership. ETA entails the identification, acquisition, and operation of established businesses, often family-owned and offering indispensable services within their communities. The stable and lucrative nature of these business ventures, along with their remarkably low valuations, renders them an appealing prospect for entrepreneurs such as Kleeman and Hill.
This shift towards ETA has not escaped the notice of top-tier business schools. Institutions like Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, the Wharton School, Dartmouth Tuck, Duke Fuqua, Babson, and Case Western’s Weatherhead have all introduced ETA courses and resources to meet the burgeoning demand for entrepreneurship education beyond the conventional startup milieu. This trend is gaining impetus, particularly given that small businesses constitute 99% of U.S. businesses and employ nearly half of the private sector workforce.
The Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis is at the vanguard of this movement, with a pronounced emphasis on entrepreneurship. While the school continues to advocate for startup ventures, it has also implemented specific courses centred on ETA and established the ETA Club, catering to those inclined towards acquisition entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the ETA programme at Olin presents a compelling and viable alternative to the taxing and high-risk path of founding a startup company.
Prospective entrepreneurs like Kleeman and Hill are presently exploring diverse methods of acquiring businesses, ranging from traditional search funds to sponsored searches and self-funded approaches, bolstered by educational programmes and external investment support.
It is lucid that ETA furnishes MBA graduates with a unique opportunity to chart their own course in the business realm, endowing them with greater control and a higher likelihood of success vis-à-vis the precarious and cutthroat nature of startup ventures.
The burgeoning wave of entrepreneurship through business acquisition portends a promising and unconventional career trajectory for MBAs, affording them the chance to directly apply their business acumen and skills to foster the growth of small and family-owned enterprises, thereby effecting meaningful impacts on the community and attaining financial prosperity. The evolving landscape of business school education is exemplified by ETA, which demonstrates how graduates are harnessing traditional business principles in innovative and pragmatic ways.