How It All Started
After business school David Dodson went to work for his mentor, Irv Grousbeck, and David's initial assignment was to write the first business school case on search funds. David had always wanted to be in business for himself, and after writing that case he knew a search fund was a way for him to achieve that dream.
In writing that case, David came to understand that a search fund is about matching a promising entrepreneur with a good company, surrounded by mentorship. He learned you needed all three—and so he's never viewed his role as writing a check.
We don’t want that relationship to change, and we like the way David did it back then. So if you want an old fashioned search fund investor on your team, firmly stuck in the past, please consider Futaleufu Partners.
Our Approach and our Name
For about a decade, David had watched money pouring in to invest in search funds, but not enough experienced operators with the time and interest to mentor. So when David decided to raise a fund, he decided to do things a little differently. He wanted to use the idea of a fund to organize talent to support search fund entrepreneurs, not as a way to raise capital.
So after David found Susan, (a former student of his and one of the best business partners a person could hope for), they sought out a handful of great operators, most of them from the search fund world, to join as limited partners. David and Susan promised a commitment and enthusiasm to mentor, join boards, and help the next generation of search fund entrepreneurs—and that’s who we are about.
Which is also why, in the last twenty-five years, we’ve not increased the number of deals we do each year. We’ve stayed small for a reason: we believe the search fund model depends on mentorship.
As for the name, it comes from a river in Chile that David's family once spent some time on. We love the name because it has a family connection, and no one knows how to pronounce it.
