Kent Weaver | Tom Cassutt | Dave Lazier | Rick Taketa

Introducing Ourselves

KTDR is a private holding company that buys, builds, and grows enduring businesses for the long term. As a partnership of entrepreneurs who happen to be investors, our core competency is company building. Distinct from a traditional investment firm, we are defined by a unique personal capital base, multi-decade time horizon, and highly entrepreneurial ethos. We believe that a relentless focus on business building, equity efficiency, ruthlessly pragmatic resource allocation, and a commitment to continuous improvement maximize our odds of long-term value creation.

We are strict in our criteria, choosing to acquire only high-quality businesses with compounding growth characteristics. We focus on companies that benefit from (i) recurring or predictable revenue streams, (ii) strong customer relationships evidenced by low churn, (iii) long-term secular growth tailwinds, and (iv) significant cash flow generation with high returns on capital. 

We have evolved our unique point of view and model over decades participating in the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) ecosystem. We have acquired and built our own successful businesses, mostly through ETA, then went on to back over 400 search fund entrepreneurs using our own capital.

About the Role

We firmly believe exceptional younger talent offers a differentiated perspective and will outperform expectations over a long time horizon. Accordingly, we promise an unusually high degree of responsibility and mentorship. 

As a KTDR Fellow, you’ll work directly with all members of our team to play an integral role in new company formation. Primary responsibilities will include (1) identifying investment themes by conducting industry and market analysis based on our core investment criteria; 2) organizing and executing outreach campaigns to business owners; and 3) conducting company-specific business and financial due diligence.  Post-graduation, there will be opportunities to join our ecosystem full-time at KTDR or at a company of ours, potentially serving as a CEO with significant equity upside down the road.

The fellowship will start in spring of 2023, running through the summer. While the opportunity is remote-first, fellows are encouraged to join partners in our Newport Beach or Santa Barbara offices during the summer break.

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for highly motivated learning machines with a strong interest in company building, entrepreneurship, and investing. We believe that talent is based on what you can do, not what you’ve done, and select candidates largely based on raw attributes like grit, resourcefulness, EQ, reliability, curiosity, and humility. We also value great communication (written and oral), attention to detail, and intellectual honesty. Most importantly, we’re looking for people with high standards who will raise the bar for our team.

Next Steps

Please apply below by Friday, March 17, 2023. To share more about what we’re building, we are hosting a virtual information session at 7pm ET (4pm PT) on Wednesday, February 13, 2023 via Zoom. If you're interested in learning more, please sign up here.

If you can’t tell, we love what we do and we’re incredibly energized by the opportunity to partner with exceptional young people. We look forward to getting to know you!