Building Something Bigger Than My Own Search
Why I’m focusing on community, ownership, and the long game as the year closes.
Hello, and welcome back to Buyout Diary.
This is not a newsletter about a deal, a tactic, or a clever framework. It is not an update in the sense of “here is what happened last week”. It is a reflection, written at a moment where a few different threads of my life have quietly come together.
The past weeks have not been chaotic, but they have been heavy in a calm way. There has been a lot happening at the same time: work, writing, finishing my MBA, thinking more seriously about ownership, and continuing to build something that started almost accidentally and has now become central to how I see my future. This letter is about that shift.
I want to share why I am choosing to put real energy into building an ETA ecosystem, why I believe this matters beyond my own acquisition journey, and why I am now opening the door to a different kind of conversation than I have before.
Where My Attention Is Right Now
There is a difference between being busy and being pulled in many directions. What I have felt recently is not distraction, but convergence. Several paths that I have been walking in parallel are starting to point in the same direction.
Alongside my main work, I have been writing this newsletter every week, documenting my thinking as I move towards buying a business. At the same time, I have been building a local ETA community in Amsterdam, hosting monthly meetups simply because I could not find the kind of conversations I was looking for. In parallel, I have been finishing my MBA, which formally ended only recently when I held the certificate in my hands.
That moment mattered more than I expected, not because of the title, but because it closed a long chapter. I started my academic journey almost two decades ago, always with the idea that one day I would complete a master’s degree. Now that chapter is done. What remains is not ambition, but clarity.
What has become very clear to me is that ownership is not primarily about transactions. It is about responsibility, governance, and the ability to live with decisions over time. That realisation has changed not only how I think about my own future business, but also how I think about the environment in which people learn to become owners.
What The MBA Actually Gave Me
The MBA did not redirect me. It sharpened me.
Finance, valuation, and strategy are useful, but they were not the lasting takeaway. What stayed with me far more deeply were questions of governance, delegation, and stewardship. Writing my thesis forced me to think beyond the moment of acquisition into what happens after closing, when the excitement fades and responsibility remains.
It made me acutely aware of the gap between understanding how deals work and being ready to own something for years. Ownership is not an event. It is a condition. And that condition requires more than intelligence. It requires systems, people, and environments that support good judgement over long periods of time.
As I shared my research publicly and spoke to practitioners across Europe and beyond, something unexpected happened. Conversations multiplied. People reached out. Not because they wanted answers, but because they recognised the questions. That experience planted the seed for something that would grow far beyond a thesis or a newsletter.
From Individual Ambition To Collective Responsibility
Most ETA journeys begin alone. Searching is solitary work. Learning happens quietly. Decisions are made without much external feedback, especially in Europe where the ecosystem is still young and fragmented.
Over the past year, I have spoken with searchers, investors, HoldCo founders, operators, and advisors across borders. The same themes come up again and again. The same uncertainties. The same moments of doubt before and after major decisions. Yet knowledge remains scattered. Experience is local. Lessons are often locked inside private conversations.
In the US, ETA has infrastructure. There are institutions, playbooks, and established communities that create continuity. In Europe, we have pockets of activity, but little connective tissue. Conferences help, but they are moments in time. What is missing is a place where thinking continues between events, where trust builds through repetition, and where learning compounds rather than resets.
This is where my focus began to shift from my own ambition towards something more collective.
Why ETA Amsterdam Exists
ETA Amsterdam did not start as a brand or a strategy. It started as a response to absence. I was looking for people who cared deeply about long-term ownership, and when I could not find that space, I created it.
Amsterdam is symbolic, not exclusive. Historically, this city was one of the birthplaces of modern entrepreneurship. The first stock exchange, the first large multinational company, and a deep culture of trade and openness all emerged here. Today, Amsterdam remains international, connected, and unusually open to new ideas.
But ETA Amsterdam was never meant to be a local club. The name refers to a place, but the ambition goes beyond geography. What I am building is intended to become a European meeting point for serious ownership thinking. Not loud. Not performative. But thoughtful, rigorous, and long-term oriented.
This is not about putting myself at the centre. It is about creating continuity. A place where searchers, owners, investors, and operators can speak honestly, learn from one another, and develop judgement over time.
What Kind Of Ecosystem I Want To Build
There is a fundamental difference between hosting meetups and building an ecosystem. Meetups are events. Ecosystems are relationships.
The ecosystem I am trying to build is based on trust, repetition, and depth. It is not designed for maximum scale. It is designed for meaningful interaction. Not every conversation needs to include everyone, and not every space serves the same purpose.
I imagine different spaces for different stages of the journey. Places where searchers can speak openly before acquisition. Places where owners can reflect after closing. Places where investors engage beyond capital. Places where operators and advisors are treated as partners, not service providers.
This only works if it is collective. Communities do not grow because one person hosts forever. They grow because multiple people invest time, ideas, and resources. ETA Amsterdam should not be “run by” someone. It should be held by the people who care enough to contribute.
The Practical Reality Of Building Something Properly
Building a serious ecosystem requires time. Time requires focus. Focus requires sustainability.
This cannot remain an evenings-and-weekends project forever. Quality events, good speakers, and continuity cost real resources. If ETA Amsterdam is to grow into something durable, it needs structure. And structure requires partners.
I want to commit more deeply to this work. To do that responsibly, it needs to become sustainable. That means working with organisations and individuals who want to invest in the long-term health of the European ETA ecosystem.
This is not about transactional sponsorship or logo placement. It is about partnership. About supporting an institution that can outlast any single person’s involvement.
Who I Am Hoping To Speak With
I am looking to speak with firms, investors, advisors, and institutions who care about entrepreneurship through acquisition in Europe and want to contribute meaningfully. Geography does not matter. Alignment does.
You might be based in Amsterdam, Milan, Madrid, London, Stockholm, Munich, or the US. What matters is that you believe Europe needs stronger ETA infrastructure and that you are willing to engage beyond observation.
This is about long-term collaboration, not one-off support. About building something that others can rely on.
Why I Am Sharing This Now
I am sharing this because transparency matters. Because ecosystems are built through conversation, not announcements. And because I would rather invite thoughtful dialogue than push a pitch.
If this resonates with you, or if you know someone who might care about this work, I would genuinely like to hear from you. You can reply to this email or reach out to me directly.
👉 Let’s talk!
Closing Reflection
I am still on my own ownership journey. I am still searching, learning, and refining my thinking. But I no longer see that journey as separate from the ecosystem around it. The more I move forward, the clearer it becomes that good ownership is rarely built in isolation.
Building alone is possible. Building together is stronger.
As this is the last Buyout Diary before Christmas, I want to end on a quieter note. I hope you are able to step back over the coming days, spend time with your family, and enjoy a few moments away from plans, decisions, and screens. These pauses matter more than we often admit, especially when we are building something for the long term.
Thank you for reading, for thinking deeply, and for staying engaged over the past year. I am grateful for every thoughtful reply and conversation that has come out of this newsletter.
I wish you peaceful holidays, meaningful time with the people close to you, and a good start into the new year.
Hit reply. Share your thoughts. I am happy to read every single one.
Until next Monday,
Alexander