How I Left Investment Banking to Build a Search Fund (Luca Hany from Amboro Capital)

Scalepath has a network of over 2,000 business owners across the U.S. and Europe. Book a call with the CEO Rand Larsen, he will introduce you to up to 3 business owners in your area. Relationships run the world, don’t forget that. Sign up for a free call here: https://www.joinscalepath.com/Spacebar Studios is offering your company a free 90-day growth roadmap - Sign up for a free call here: https://www.spacebarstudios.co/Ever wonder what it takes to start a solo search fund in Europe? Luca Hany left investment banking and bet on himself to build Amboro Capital, one of the few traditional search funds in Switzerland.In this raw and practical episode, Luca dives into his strategy, the gaps in the Swiss market, how he raised capital with no operating experience, and how he builds deal flow from scratch in a country with no public company database.In this episode, we cover:00:00:00 - Intro to Luca Hany and Amboro Capital00:00:27 - Why Luca left investment banking after 6 years00:02:22 - Discovering ETA and building a personal mode00:04:44 - Sponsor: Spacebar Studios00:05:16 - Why Switzerland is ripe for ETA—and why no one's doing it00:07:52 - The Swiss succession crisis in SMEs00:11:12 - Educating SME owners on alternatives to selling to competitors00:13:42 - Sponsor: Scalepath00:14:12 - Letter-based outreach strategy and surprising owner reactions00:16:30 - Lack of company databases and why it's actually an advantage00:18:28 - Balancing fundraising, deal sourcing, and strategy00:20:45 - Investor objections: "Does ETA even work in Switzerland?"00:22:34 - Addressing lack of operating experience head-on00:24:49 - Why Luca chose to go solo and how he avoids loneliness00:26:11 - Real costs of doing a solo search in Switzerland00:28:54 - Recruiting and paying top-tier interns00:31:15 - What niches and industries Luca is targeting00:35:49 - How he defines a great business (non-obvious signs)00:38:00 - Adding Southern Germany to the search scope00:40:55 - Real competition in the Swiss deal landscape00:43:04 - Typical deal structures and seller expectations00:48:15 - When to pull the trigger on a business00:50:15 - Red lines, long-term vision, and personal motivation00:54:13 - Best investment advice Luca ever received00:55:00 - Is he under pressure? Why he sees this as a privilege00:56:10 - Favorite book and closing reflections----------------------------------------------Subscribe on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/6lr5bE3SNZF2uEE7Nb0DHhSubscribe on Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/holdco-builders/id1695713724Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy⁠⁠⁠Luca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucahany/This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.