Past Events

Chat with a CEO: Family Planning, Small Group Discussions| October/November 2023

The Women's Search Network hosted small group discussions on Family Planning with Jackie Kopcho, Brittany Collins, and Trista Engel, all current CEOs of search-acquired businesses (and panelists in our 2022 Family Planning Webinar). Prospective and active searchers heard about each CEO's experience with pregnancy and having one or more children during the search and/or operating a company, and benefited from hearing other WSN members’ thoughts and questions on this important topic. 

WSN CEO Offsite | September 2023

The Women's Search Network hosted the first annual offsite for female CEOs of search-acquired companies, with over 15 women in attendance! It was an awesome        evening and half-day of connection, reflection, and shared experience that left our group feeling grounded, recharged, and ready to lead! 

WSN Summer Networking Event | June 2023

The Women's Search Network is pleased to host our Summer Virtual Networking Event for current and prospective searchers to network with, hear from, and be inspired by the examples of current and former women searchers. We are thrilled to have Paige Sopcic and Olivia Utt as our featured panelists!  Paige is the CEO of craft beverage labeling company CanSource, which she acquired in 2019 after a 1.5-year search as an Operating Partner with Broadtree Partners. She received her MBA from HBS in 2018.  Since acquiring CanSource, Paige has overseen a rapid expansion of the business and has great insight to share from her past four years as CEO. Olivia launched her search a year ago and is in the final stages of closing an exciting transaction. She earned her MBA from Wharton in 2022 where she was the head of the Wharton Women in Business Club. Prior to searching she had experiences in investment banking and private equity.

Acquiring a Software Business | June 2023

Recognizing the growing number of searchers acquiring software companies – some 30%+ of deals closed in the past two years – the panel discussion will highlight the     unique dynamics of this sector so searchers go in “eyes wide open” as to the opportunities and challenges of acquiring a software company. Our panelists will share insights learned from their own journeys overseeing innovative software companies.  We will be joined by three talented and inspiring female heads of search software businesses, Courtney Dunn, President of Cerbo EHR, Hannah Greenberg, CEO of Eleven Software, and Carla Larin, CEO of maxRTE – along with Kent Weaver, Founder, CEO, and serial search investor. The panel will be moderated by Tiffany Augustyn, member of the WSN board and partner at Endurance Search Partners.

Recording: Acquiring a Software Business

WSN Winter Networking Event | February 2023

In our winter networking event, we welcomed Trish Higgins, Partner at Chenmark, as our guest!  Chenmark is a holding company that works with retiring owners and current entrepreneurs to acquire companies and position them for long-term success. To date, Chenmark has completed 30+ acquisitions across a variety of industries and geographies throughout North America. At Chenmark, Trish is the CEO of Cap'n Fish's Cruises, located in Boothbay, ME, and also oversees companies in the tourism space. Also joining us was Erin Shuba, a searcher with Exeter Road Capital, who shared her background and stories from the search journey.  After hearing from Trish and Erin, we had an open Q&A session where attendees asked questions and dove deeper into topics they were interested to learn more about regarding this career path.  

Recording: WSN Winter Networking Event

Webinar: Building Alignment During Fundraising | November 2022

This webinar was designed to help searchers write a better and more thoughtful PPM and curate advice for best practices through fundraising. Guest speakers included Austin Yoder, an investor with TTCER Partners, Nikita Sunilkumar, previously CEO of Crown Health, Felipe Corcuera, searcher with Brookline Partners, and Susan Pohlmeyer, an investor with Futaleufu Partners. This session was targeted towards prospective searchers and those interested in learning more about the fundraising process.

Recording: Building Alignment During Fundraising

WSN Fall Networking Event | October 2022

In our fall networking event, we welcomed Mia Jackson, CEO of Vital Care Industries, a medical supply distribution provider to hospitals and surgery centers throughout the United States.  Mia shared her experience searching for a company to buy and ramping up the learning curve in her role as CEO.  Also joining us were two active searchers, Beixi Li with Nine Oaks Partners and Adriana Garcia Ceja with Bolivar Progress Partners.  After hearing from Mia, Beixi, and Adriana, we will have an open Q&A session where you can ask questions and dive deeper into topics you are curious to learn more about regarding the search process. 

Recording: WSN Fall Networking Event

Webinar: Strengthening Your Negotiation Skills: The Challenges and Surprising Opportunities When Women Negotiate| October 2022

The WSN was thrilled to host Maggie Neale, Stanford GSB Professor of Management and author of Getting What You Want, a comprehensive guide to negotiating tactics and strategies that help you get more out of every day interactions. Maggie relies on extensive cross-disciplinary research in the fields of psychology, organizational behavior, and economics, among others, to provide practical frameworks for approaching daily personal and business negotiations with confidence to get the most out of what we want. 

Webinar: Acquiring a Healthcare Business| October 2022

This virtual panel discussion on acquiring health care-based businesses was moderated by Tiffany Augustyn (Partner, Endurance Search Partners), with Brittany Collins (CEO, Pacific Fertility Center), Laura Franklin (CEO, Shandy Clinic), and Jenna Whigham (President, Abound Health) as our panelists.  Recognizing the number of female searchers who are interested in health care and the growing number of searchers finding businesses in the health care provider space (some 20-30% of deals closed in the past two years), the panel discussion highlighted the unique dynamics of this sector so searchers go in “eyes wide open” as to the opportunities and challenges of acquiring a health care business.  

Recording: Acquiring a Healthcare Business

Webinar: 5 Key Traits for CEOs | April 2022

This webinar featured special guest David Dodson, a search fund operator and longtime investor in the space. He, along with panelists Sarah Rowell and Laura Franklin, talked about the five critical traits of successful CEOs. Sarah and Laura shared specific experiences about the five traits from their time running companies and offered tactical advice to the webinar guests on how to more quickly and efficiently address each of the five traits.

Recording: 5 Key Traits for CEOs

WSN Winter Networking Event | March 2022

In our winter networking event, we heard from Elise Polezel, CEO of HigherMe which provides hiring software for quick-service restaurants.  Elise shared her experience searching for a company to buy and ramping up the learning curve in her role as CEO.  We were also joined by partnered searchers Ashley Quisol and Adeline Epstein who shared their experiences about why they chose search as a career path, and then spent time diving deeper into topics our audience members were curious to learn more about regarding the search process. 

WSN Lunch at the Stanford Search Fund CEO Conference

Wednesday, December 15th at 11:45 am

WSN Fall Networking Event | November 2021

In our fall networking event, we heard from Courtney Ellenbogen, co-CEO of Aesthetic Partners based in Miami, Florida, which acquires medical aesthetics, cosmetic dermatology, and plastic surgery clinics.  Courtney shared her experience searching for a company to buy, ramping up the learning curve in her role as CEO, and navigating through COVID, among other topics.  We were also joined by searchers Jessica Palfrey and Tarra Sharp who shared their experiences about why they chose search as a career path, and then spent time diving deeper into topics our audience members were curious to learn more about regarding the search process. 

    Recording: WSN Fall Networking event

Webinar: Family Planning in Search | October 2021

Our family planning webinar centered around a candid conversation with three female search fund entrepreneurs (Jackie Kopcho, Brittany Collins and Trista Engel) about how they handled family planning either while searching or running a company. We covered a range of topics including informing investors about pregnancy, communicating with sellers, forming a Parental Leave policy at acquired companies and how to plan ahead for balancing child birth and time off with a busy workload.

Recording: Family Planning in Search

Parental Leave Framework

Webinar: Board of Directors Best Practices with Jim Sharpe (WSN Members only) | June 2021

We are delighted to host a webinar with Jim Sharpe, Visiting Executive and longtime Lecturer on Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition at Harvard Business School, during which he will lead a discussion on best practices for building and engaging Boards of Directors for search fund acquired businesses.  Upon exiting their business, many CEOs point to their board of directors as the primary guide through the years from transitioning to new ownership, making significant decisions about growth opportunities and acquisitions, and finally, guiding the process through the exit.  

This panel discussion will present a variety of viewpoints about the care and feeding of your board of directors once you start operating the business you acquire.  CEO Trista Engel at Paragon Legal and her partner have a board of directors comprised of experienced and knowledgeable traditional investors.  Lia Majid at Acorn Legal Solutions is part of the Search Fund Accelerator and has two "internal" board members, but has found value in an additional outsider she recruited to serve on the board.  And finally, Rina Vernovskaya took the self-funded route and pulled together a board from her investor group.   

Webinar: Fireside Chat with Irv Grousbeck (WSN Members only) | April 2021

We are delighted to host a fireside chat with Irv Grousbeck, adjunct professor of management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the brains behind the search fund model.  Irv's reputation precedes him but a few highlights from his vast personal and professional accomplishments include: co-founding Continental Cablevision in 1964 which he helped build into a multimillion-dollar company over 20 years; creating and teaching two of the most popular classes at the Stanford GSB and co-founding Stanford's Center for Entrepreneurial Studies; co-owner of the Boston Celtics; sage whose wisdom and advice serves to help others be their best.  We are honored to host Irv as he shares his insights about leadership, building organizations, growing into the role of CEO, and more.

WSN Networking | March 2021

We heard from Nikita Sunilkumar, CEO of Crown Health, a mobile healthcare provider for assisted living facilities in the state of Washington. Nikita will share her experience of searching for a company to buy, navigating the uncertainties of COVID, and ramping up the learning curve in her new role as CEO.  After hearing from Nikita, we will have an open Q&A session where you can ask Nikita and two current searchers, Jackie Kopcho and Courtney Dunn, about why they chose search as a career path and learn more about their experience so far. 

Recording: WSN March 2021 Networking

Webinar: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Part 3: Stories from the Field and Lessons Learned from Search Fund CEOs | January 2021

Our DEI series concluded with a conversation with CEOs (Peter Flick, Laura Franklin, and Keith Burns) from the search fund community who shared their perspectives on the challenges and opportunities inherent in building a diverse and inclusive company. We used their stories as a jumping-off point to field the audience's questions and with Chaka Booker, author and managing director of the Broad Center, facilitated a conversation about how to take the lessons we’ve learned during this series back to the companies you currently or will one day lead.   

Recording: Stories from the Field and Lessons Learned from Search Fund CEOs 

WSN Networking | November 2020

Our first networking event to meet other female prospective searchers, current searchers, and investors.  We heard Laura Franklin, CEO of Shandy Clinic, who is in her first 100 days as CEO after a two-year search with her partner, William. Laura shared her experience of searching for a company to buy, navigating the purchase process through COVID, and ramping up the learning curve in her new role as CEO.  After hearing from Laura, we had an open Q&A session where WSN members asked Laura and 2 current searchers, Jessica Palfrey and Elise Polezel, about why they chose search as a career path and their experience so far. 

Recording: WSN Fall Networking

Webinar: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Part 2: Inclusive Hiring | November 2020

In Part 2 of our series, we explored the topic of Inclusive Hiring presented by Paradigm Consulting.  In this session, Paradigm discussed the barriers that undermine inclusive hiring and share evidence-based strategies to help us navigate these barriers to create a more open and productive experience for our current and prospective employees.  This highly tactical session shared tools for creating job descriptions and interview questions, conducting post-interview debriefs, and managing the hiring process as a whole, to make sure the most diverse pool of high-quality candidates is being tapped into. 

Handout: Inclusive Hiring

Webinar: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Part 1: Best Practices from High-Performing Teams | October 2020

In Part 1 of our series, we heard from Anthony Abraham, Global Director of People Services at Google, John Powenski, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Asurion, and Yanika Smith-Bartley, Chief Diversity & Talent Strategy Officer at Asurion, who shared their perspectives on the evolution of diversity, equity, and inclusion from a “poster on the wall” concept to a key competitive advantage and core value.  Through real-life stories of success and failure over their decades in people operations, Anthony, Yanika, and John provided an aspirational and inspiring look at how a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce is essential to achieving a high-performance organization.

Recording: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Best Practices from High-Performing Teams 

Webinar: The Legal Side of Search | August 2020 

Goodwin Proctor's Partner Stephen Goodwin, current searcher Carla Larin, and current CEO Nikita Sunikumar provided an overview of the key terms searchers and investors work through when forming a fund and when closing on an acquisition. Stephen lead us through key terms searchers need to understand as they manage closing docs with investors and some important nuances around approach and tone. Carla shared her experience discussing terms with investors as she closed her search fund, and Nikita touched on the process she went through with investors on her recent acquisition. 

Webinar: The Power of Mentorship for Female Leaders | May 2020

Anna Robinson, CEO and Founder of Ceresa, shared why mentorship is so transformative for individuals, why current options are falling short particularly for women, and what we can do about.  In this highly informative webinar, Anna described detailed strategies for both serving as a strong mentor with impact and getting the most out of mentorship. 

Recording: Mentoring Matters