Key Takeaways
- • Jason Nguyen WG25, a former venture capital investor in San Francisco and New York, pursued a Wharton MBA to transition into entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA), according to his firsthand account published by The Wharton School on February 20, 2025.
- • Nguyen acquired AZTAC in early 2024, a healthcare regulatory compliance business serving intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities across Pennsylvania, during his first year at Wharton.
- • Since the acquisition, Nguyen says he has prioritized organic growth, launched new lines of business, changed the revenue model and pricing strategies, and is evaluating potential tuck-in acquisitions.
- • Nguyen co-presides over the Wharton Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Club, which hosts community events and a spring summit that serves as a launching point for search fund entrepreneurs from Wharton and peer schools.
Summary
Jason Nguyen WG25 describes in a first-person essay published by The Wharton School his path from venture capital to entrepreneurship through acquisition. Before Wharton, Nguyen worked as a venture capital investor in San Francisco and New York, where he invested in startups including Stripe, Guardant Health, and Roblox. He said that exposure led him to a new class of entrepreneurs who acquire small businesses and build larger organizations, in contrast to the zero-to-one founders he had focused on as an investor.
To prepare, Nguyen studied ETA resources such as the HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business and the Stanford Search Fund Primer. At Wharton he took courses including Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition, taught by Professor Bob Chalfin, and Search Fund Entrepreneurship, taught by Professors Jim Vesterman and Charbel Zreik. He also attended Venture Lab events at Tangen Hall featuring acquisition entrepreneurs such as Richard Perlman (W'68) and Vijay Manthripragada (WG'06). Before school, he interned with a search fund that worked on the acquisition of a $2 million EBITDA business in California, and with two traditional search fund investors, Anacapa Partners and ETA Equity, founded by Matthew Zucker WG'06 and Mark Sinatra WG'06.
In early 2024, during his first year at Wharton, Nguyen acquired AZTAC, a healthcare regulatory compliance business that provides administrative support to intermediate care facilities across Pennsylvania. He reports that the company has focused on organic growth, new business lines, revenue model and pricing changes, and evaluation of potential tuck-in acquisitions. The article does not disclose the purchase price.
Nguyen also serves as co-president of the Wharton Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Club, which hosts community events and a spring summit, and has partnered with the Women's Search Network, Black Search Network, and Asian Search Network on outreach events.
To prepare, Nguyen studied ETA resources such as the HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business and the Stanford Search Fund Primer. At Wharton he took courses including Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition, taught by Professor Bob Chalfin, and Search Fund Entrepreneurship, taught by Professors Jim Vesterman and Charbel Zreik. He also attended Venture Lab events at Tangen Hall featuring acquisition entrepreneurs such as Richard Perlman (W'68) and Vijay Manthripragada (WG'06). Before school, he interned with a search fund that worked on the acquisition of a $2 million EBITDA business in California, and with two traditional search fund investors, Anacapa Partners and ETA Equity, founded by Matthew Zucker WG'06 and Mark Sinatra WG'06.
In early 2024, during his first year at Wharton, Nguyen acquired AZTAC, a healthcare regulatory compliance business that provides administrative support to intermediate care facilities across Pennsylvania. He reports that the company has focused on organic growth, new business lines, revenue model and pricing changes, and evaluation of potential tuck-in acquisitions. The article does not disclose the purchase price.
Nguyen also serves as co-president of the Wharton Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Club, which hosts community events and a spring summit, and has partnered with the Women's Search Network, Black Search Network, and Asian Search Network on outreach events.
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