ick Akers had had a very full career before learning about "search" — searching for and buying a business.

Like so many of my guests, he was immediately drawn to it. He promptly applied to an accelerator to start this new chapter.

But what actually drew him to search wasn't just the chance at entrepreneurship. He'd been an entrepreneur before, after all.

Nick had experienced toxic work environments, and he had developed a vision of the polar opposite:

A supportive, employee-first environment.

One where people could flourish & self-actualize.

And where employee flourishing would lead to the whole organization flourishing.

Buying a business to lead was the perfect vehicle to realize this vision.

Early indications are positive. He's only two months in, but already his vision is coming to life.

In this episode we also talk about:

• What working with a search accelerator is like;
• Self-funded search vs. a traditional search fund (Nick's accelerator is similar to a traditional search fund);
• And the industry of MSPs, or managed service providers, which has many searcher-friendly attributes and consequently a lot of attention from searchers.

Please enjoy this conversation with Nick Akers, owner of STL Communications.