Search Curious
For people interested in owning a business who have not started looking. Search 101, and the foundations you need before a search is worth beginning.
One day, two tracks, with interactive workshops.
November 7 brings together practical sessions, hands-on workshops, and the conversations that move acquisitions forward.
- Date
- Saturday, November 7, 2026
- Venue
- Limelight Boulder
- Doors
- 8:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
- Welcome happy hour
- Fri, Nov 6 · 5:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Two tracks to meet you where you are.
Two tracks run in parallel through the middle of the day, with hands-on workshops alongside them.
Advanced
For people searching right now, running a company they bought, or advising the people who are. The same day, taken further into the detail.
The day itself
A full day of educational sessions, networking, and breakout workshops.
The workshops are the sessions people talk about afterwards. Real deal packets, mixed groups, and a room that gets loud.
Friday, November 6
The night before the conference, for registered attendees.
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5:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Registered attendees
Welcome happy hour
Start the weekend a night early and meet fellow attendees before the conference. Details will be emailed to registrants.
Saturday, November 7
A full day of sessions, workshops, and networking across the Search Curious and Advanced tracks.
Highlight a track
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8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Everyone
Registration, breakfast, and networking
Doors open. Coffee, breakfast, and the first hour of the day given over to meeting people.
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9:00 – 9:15 a.m.
Everyone
Kickoff
Opening remarks and how to get the most out of the day.
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9:15 – 9:45 a.m.
Opening keynote
Ecosystem and Evolution
Where entrepreneurship through acquisition stands today, how the ecosystem has changed, and what that means for the people entering it now.
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10:00 – 10:45 a.m.
Search Curious
Is ETA Right for Me? Preparing for a Career in ETA
An honest look at what the path asks of you before you commit to it.
Advanced
Building Your Deal Team
Who you need around a deal, when to bring them in, and what to ask of each seat at the table.
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11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Search Curious Workshop
Conducting a Search: Tools and Tips for Finding a Deal Worth Pursuing
Hands-on work on thesis development and the weekly rhythm of generating real deal flow.
Advanced Workshop
Small-Group Deal Review and Valuation
Live deal packets worked through in small mixed groups: industry nuance, where a deal team earns its keep, and making a call quickly.
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12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
Everyone
Lunch and networking
Time to eat, and time with the professionals and vendors in the room.
-
1:30 – 2:15 p.m.
Search Curious
Getting the Deal Done: Search to Close
What carries a deal from first interest through to the day you own it.
Advanced
Legal and Quality of Earnings Deep Dive: Working Smart with Experts
Getting real value from counsel and accountants, and the detail that decides how a deal lands.
-
2:30 – 3:15 p.m.
Everyone
Funding the Deal: Debt, Equity, and the Path to the Upside Case
How acquisitions actually get financed, and what each source of capital expects in return.
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3:15 – 4:00 p.m.
Everyone
Operating Post-Acquisition: Blood, Bruises, and Bias for Action
The part that lasts longest. Owners on what the first years of running the company actually took.
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4:00 – 4:15 p.m.
Everyone
Closing remarks
A close on staying well through this work, and on leaning on the community you just spent the day with.
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4:15 – 6:00 p.m.
Everyone
Happy hour and networking
Continue the conversations from the sessions on the Limelight patio under the Flatirons.
Keynote Speaker
Jacob Hall
Managing Partner, Kando Capital
Jacob Hall is deeply embedded in the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) ecosystem as an investor, educator, and mentor to aspiring business owners. He is the Managing Partner of Kando Capital, where he invests alongside searchers and independent sponsors pursuing lower middle market acquisitions. Jacob also teaches graduate-level Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition courses at The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business, bringing his firsthand investing and operating experience into the classroom.
Jacob’s background spans investing, operations, engineering, and finance. Before founding Kando Capital, he led Decision Analysis at Chevron Technology Ventures, advising senior executives on venture investments, technology commercialization, and major strategic initiatives. Earlier in his career, he served as COO of Sooner B&B Energy, where he led an operational and financial turnaround, and held roles at O’Reilly Automotive. Jacob earned his MBA from UT Austin and holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, and Petroleum Production.
Meet the speakers.
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Adam Markley
CEO and Founder, PROX Capital Group
Founded the Denver ETA Meetup, and has guest lectured on CU Boulder's ETA course.
LinkedIn
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Shannon Jones
Leeds School of Business, CU Boulder
Teaches Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition at Leeds, and founded Halstatt Legacy Partners.
LinkedIn
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Jared W. Johnson
SBA Business Development Officer, First Internet Bank
A business acquisition lending specialist who has passed $500 million in SBA loan production, and hosts the Before You Buy or Sell a Business podcast.
LinkedIn
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Lisa Forrest
Business Development Officer, Northwest Bank
Brings almost 40 years of SBA small business lending to ETA acquisition financing, after leading self-funded search lending at Live Oak Bank.
LinkedIn
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Avnit Sekhon, CPA
Director of M&A, Treewalk
Leads quality of earnings and due diligence work for acquisitions at Treewalk, building on an earlier career at Deloitte.
LinkedIn
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Chris Czarnowski
Head of Partnerships, DealBuff
A former self-funded searcher and CEO who now helps acquisition entrepreneurs reach off-market business owners through proprietary search.
LinkedIn
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Eric B. Pacifici
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, SMB Law Group
Building a law firm focused on lower middle market M&A, after corporate practice at Kirkland & Ellis and Gibson Dunn.
LinkedIn
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Kipp Krukowski
Faculty Director, Institute for Entrepreneurship, Colorado State University
Teaches Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition, M&A, and business exits at CSU's College of Business, and has won multiple teaching awards there.
LinkedIn
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Alex Hodgkin, CFA
Adjunct Professor, Chicago Booth, and EOS Implementer
Helped launch the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition program at Chicago Booth's Polsky Center, and coaches leadership teams as a professional EOS Implementer.
LinkedIn
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Neil Pollard, PhD
Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, MSU Denver
Teaches entrepreneurship at MSU Denver after four years at DU's Daniels College of Business.
LinkedIn
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Erick Mueller
Executive Director, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Leeds School of Business
A serial founder who has led entrepreneurship and innovation at CU Boulder's Leeds School of Business since 2017.
LinkedIn
Speaking at RMETA, or know someone who should be?
Get in touch
Registration is open now.
Saturday, November 7, 2026 · Limelight Boulder · 8:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Registration includes the Friday welcome happy hour, hosted by Northwest Bank and Treewalk.