Harvard Business School · Business

Think Big, Buy Small

Are you looking for an alternative to a career path at a big firm? Does founding your own startup seem too risky? There's another compelling path open to you: acquiring a small business and running it as CEO. Co-hosted by Harvard Business School Professors Richard Ruback and Royce Yudkoff, the show is an extension of their courses on small firms, including Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition, which has been taken by thousands of MBA students, and their highly-regarded book, HBR Guide To Buying A Small Business, which has sold more than 65,000 copies. In this series, Rick and Royce guide listeners through the different milestones of the journey to acquiring an enduringly profitable small business, sharing insights on how to evaluate prospects, raise capital, and ultimately determine if this path is right for you.

Episodes

Franchising offers a distinct, often overlooked pathway for searchers to enter entrepreneurship through acquisition, balancing predictable cash flows with unique operational risks. While established brands provide powerful marketing, operational playbooks, and data-driven benchmarking, they also introduce supplier conc...

Should Searchers Look More Seriously at Franchises?

21 Sep 2026

53m

The Role of Culture in Scaling an ETA Business

14 Sep 2026

51m

The Rise of Long-Term Holding Companies in ETA

31 Aug 2026

52m

AI processed

Long-term holding companies (HoldCos) represent a significant evolution in the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) landscape, offering a framework for building value over 10 to 20 years rather than the traditional five-year exit horizon. Unlike standard search funds, these vehicles utilize permanent equity pools...