Acquired an SMB 5 months after attending Bootcamp. My experience of the three days was truly immersive and it takes you on a deep dive into finding, financing and ultimately acquiring a small business through ETA. But biggest of all, attending Bootcamp saved me precious time and increased my odds of reaching closing.
The training is no frills, all value. The content is no fluff, just the basics with opportunities to dive deeper. The deal team is worth its weight in gold. And I write this as someone who closed his deal two weeks ago leveraging a lot of the deal team.
Accelerated my search by giving me the foundational knowledge, clear tools, and a strong deal team to work with when I am ready to buy a business. In two months since the bootcamp, I've been able to move forward on multiple businesses and hope to be under contract soon. With hindsight, I'd pay 2-3x what SMBootcamp charges.
After 20+ years in corporate sales, the thought of trading a high-paying job with little equity for a lower-paying one (to start) with 100% equity was daunting. Going through SMBootcamp LIVE changed everything. They give you the resources, the framework, and a team behind you to make one of the biggest transitions of your life with as much confidence as possible.
I've actually attended SMB Bootcamp twice now, once in February and again in June, and I can honestly say it's one of the best investments I've made in myself. After the second bootcamp, I officially went full-time as a self-funded searcher and felt totally ready to hit the ground running.
I had been going it alone for a few months and was mostly struggling with feeling confident about beginning my search in earnest, evaluating deals, and understanding the resources needed to complete an acquisition. The LIVE program gave me the confidence, tools, and resources I needed to move forward with acquiring a business.
Sam, Drew, Matt and team do a terrific job laying out the fundamentals of search, so you are well-equipped out in the field. We had been searching for several months already, but the bootcamp was still highly useful. We even did a live review in front of the group of an LOI we were submitting that Friday.
I had started my search 2 months before attending. After working on my first LOI, I realized how much I still didn't know, which prompted me to attend. The cost of the program compared to the investment in a business is honestly immaterial if you're actually serious.
Incredible accelerator for any searcher at any level. We were on the more experienced side of the search (5 months in) and we found tremendous value that really impacted our processes moving forward. We are far better prepared today after going through the bootcamp than we would have been without it.
SMBootcamp is the ultimate reality check. It exposed blind spots and pitfalls I didn't even know I had. I came in with all the pieces to the process, and left with the connective tissue I was missing to put it all together.
I had attended the Self-Funded Search Conference in Dallas, the HBS ETA Conference at Harvard, and had read the books, listened to the podcasts, and even interviewed many Searchers and Investors. However, the difference between all of that and SMBootcamp is that it puts theory into practice. I left with a full Deal Team as well as all of the information and resources I need to close a deal.
I'm an ex-CEO and still found the content immensely valuable, real world learning via case studies and a deal team to support ongoing search efforts. I was hesitant to front the cost, but it's worth its weight in gold.
As a military veteran, MBA student and ETA Club President, two-time traditional search fund intern, and current Managing Partner of New River Legacy Partners, I was skeptical about the SMBootcamp value prop. And frankly, I knew ~95% of the material. But that 5% and the network that came with SMB was worth every penny.
I had done a lot of research and wasn't sure how much more I would learn, then I probably doubled my knowledge base in 3 days. The deal team connections are huge and have added confidence for me that I can succeed on this path. While there are certainly other hucksters online selling questionable courses, this one is definitely NOT that.
Coming in I was a little bit worried that it was going to be a rehash of what you can already find online. It was not. It takes that material and goes 12 steps deeper. I would 100% recommend taking the plunge to anyone who is on the fence.
The key benefits of SMBootcamp were the expert guidance and resources from a dedicated deal team, networking, peer support, case studies, and real-world examples. A special asterisk goes to the deal team, learning firsthand about the quality of earnings, legal, tax, and insurance providers has left us immensely more confident in the closing process.
It was incredibly valuable hearing from the Deal Team who shared honest perspectives and practical advice. They were very generous with their time and showed a true passion for helping searchers find success. Sam and his team teach you how to be the quarterback of your search and have better conversations with your deal team.
I can't decide which is the most valuable result of SMBootcamp: the knowledge, the templates, the network of searchers, or the intros to world-class service providers. I've called on and used all of the above. Well worth the time and money.
Sam's bootcamp is a mini MBA course into acquiring businesses at 1/50th of the price of an MBA. As someone without a finance/MBA background, it was everything I needed to know about buying a business and worth every dollar.
Sam brings a wealth of real, hard-earned experience that made this bootcamp far more practical and actionable than any course I took in business school. Particularly valuable were the candid conversations with entrepreneurs who had recently completed acquisitions, sharing unfiltered insights about the realities of business ownership post-purchase.
The curriculum covers the key parts of the search process ranging from sourcing and evaluating deals to quality of earnings, due diligence, and SBA financing. It's practical, relevant, and taught by people with real experience. The biggest benefit is the ecosystem and network you become part of.
