How To Buy a Business With Little to No Money (Acquisition, Search Funds & Rollups Explained) ft. Codie Sanchez
16 February 2026

How To Buy a Business With Little to No Money (Acquisition, Search Funds & Rollups Explained) ft. Codie Sanchez

Tiger Sisters

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What if the fastest way to become a CEO isn’t launching a startup, climbing the corporate ladder, or building a personal brand, but buying a business that already works?


In this episode of Tiger Sisters, Jean and Cherie break down Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA), also known as “M&A for Hot People,” and how people buy “boring” cash flow businesses that quietly create millionaires.


Tune in as we cover:

    Why “buy then build” can beat starting from zeroSearch funds explained, how they work, & who they are forThe boring businesses that print cash and what to look forThe biggest red flags, and who should not do this


Then special correspondent Codie Sanchez, the internet’s biggest advocate for buying boring businesses, joins Jean and Cherie for a big picture conversation about building financial freedom and how women can leverage their strengths to thrive as CEOs.


Whether you’re climbing the corporate ladder, an aspiring founder, a burnt out startup employee, or just curious about how wealth gets built outside of Silicon Valley & Wall Street, this episode will change how you think about ownership.


... because sometimes the hottest move is buying something boring 💅


Timestamps:

00:01:18 Our episode outline

00:01:55 Buying & then build the business

00:02:30 What is a search fund?

00:05:18 Jean’s experience with search funds

00:10:24 Factors to balance during acquisition

00:11:46 Stanford vs. Harvard search fund history

00:19:05 Who this is for and NOT for

00:19:57 Welcome Codie Sanchez

00:22:34 How to buy a business with $0

00:29:19 The risk for women in entrepreneurship

00:35:45 There is no last best deal

00:36:30 Learn on someone else’s dime

00:37:50 How women are losing as investors

00:44:09 Why women in business should wear makeup

00:48:20 Codie’s secret to negotiation

00:50:27 There are 3 types of men to negotiate with

00:55:54 Rollups and economies of scale

1:00:00 - Cherie’s traffic cone business anecdote

1:06:05 - Outro


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▫️ Cherie Brooke Luo — 100M+ views demystifying tech, finance & MBAs

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▫️ Together: 4 Ivy League degrees • built billion-dollar products • two startups — decoded for you


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