The Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) curriculum at Weatherhead School of Management at 星空传媒 is led by ETA entrepreneurs who have acquired dozens of companies and are active owners and investors. The curriculum will expose students to the latest thinking on ETA funding models (i.e., how to fund the acquisition and cover the costs of searching for a company to buy), designing acquisition criteria, strategies to find a company to acquire, and approaches to managing the acquired business.
All three courses emphasize experiential learning components with class guests who are primarily ETA entrepreneurs, and relatable ETA case studies, including examples from the 44+ Weatherhead alumni who have become business owners using various ETA strategies. Students who take all three courses will be exposed to a wide diversity of case studies, guests, and small business leadership scenarios/role plays across all stages of the ETA journey.
These courses are also valuable to professional managers interested in using the strategies and practices of entrepreneurial leaders in larger company settings to excel as 鈥渋ntrapreneurs,鈥 a leadership approach that is highly valued by employers.
*Courses can be taken in any order.
Courses
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ETA 1 - Fall 2025, with Reid Tileston. 1.5 credit Online Course, Tuesday 7 pm - 8:30 pm, August 26th to October 7th, 2025: This course introduces frameworks and real鈥恮orld solutions to pursue the acquisition and leadership of a company using various ETA strategies with focus on "self funded searches.鈥 The class will walk through the lifecycle of a typical path to finding and running a business, including information on raising capital, searching for a company, buying a business, leading that business and then ultimately selling it.
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ETA 2 - Spring 2026, with GJ King. 1.5 credit In-Person Course, Tuesday 6 - 8:30 pm, January 13th to February 24th, 2026: This course focuses on 1) defining the different types of ETA strategies with a particular emphasis on "search funds,鈥 2) exploring the most common industries targeted by ETA entrepreneurs like healthcare and software, and 3) the post-acquisition experience of leading a small business. The course will also utilize in-class role plays of real-world small business leadership scenarios. .
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ETA III - Spring 2026, with Scot Lowry. 1.5 credit In-Person Course, Tuesday 6 - 8:30 pm, March 3rd to April 21st, 2026: This course focuses on 1) ETA journey from employee to business owner, with emphasis on the 鈥渁ligned investor,鈥 funding model 2) how to prepare to become a highly credible ETA buyer 3) introduction to the Promise Partners ETA Incubator (founded by a WSOM professor) and the strategies used by the group that have helped over 70 people become owners in 107+ companies using ETA (including 44 WSOM Alumni) post-graduation. .
Learn more about the ETA Faculty HERE.