Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition refers to the process of acquiring and then managing a business after graduating from business school (rather than starting a company from scratch). The typical ETA acquisition has <$5m of EBITDA, and many of the businesses are acquired from retiring entrepreneurs and family businesses. ETA can be an attractive path for someone looking to become both an investor and an operating CEO of a mature business at a relatively young age. Here is an article that provides a basic overview of the process.

There are a number of ways to finance the costs of searching for and purchasing the business. Some of them are summarized below: