From ETA Amsterdam to ETA Benelux: What I’m Building in Q1
Expanding beyond one city. Building European acquisition infrastructure together.
Hello, and welcome back to Buyout Diary.
Thank you for engaging with the mistakes series. Parts 1 and 2 resonated more than I expected, and your responses taught me something important: I’m not alone in making these mistakes. Many of you also started searching without a clear plan, underestimated European timelines, or treated community building as separate from deal-making. That’s comforting in a way, knowing we’re all learning the same hard lessons.
But it’s also revealing. If so many of us are making the same mistakes, we need better infrastructure in Europe. We need local knowledge, shared resources, and a community that understands our specific challenges rather than defaulting to American models that don’t quite fit our markets.
Several of you replied asking: what’s next for you? What are you actually building in 2026? Let me show you what’s already in motion.
My Search: Where I Am Now
I’m still searching, and my criteria remain focused on AI-resistant and recession-resistant businesses: craftsmanship, local services, and I’ve recently added healthcare and agribusiness to my scope. Healthcare especially interests me because regardless of economic cycles, people need medical care when they’re ill. It’s fundamental, resilient, and serves a genuine human need.
My wife and I are actively looking for opportunities in our local area, something we can build and run together. But I’ll be honest: the year just started, people are returning from holiday, and things are still ramping up. We’ll see what develops over the coming months. What I’ve learned from 2025 is that even this year I might not purchase a business, and that’s acceptable. The work I’m doing on the community side has value too.
In fact, I had a conversation today with a Dutch acquirer who closed a deal in December, a manufacturing business acquired through a traditional search fund. His search took twenty months from start to close. Twenty months. This reinforces what I wrote about in Mistake #7: European deals take time. The relationships, the trust-building, the careful due diligence, all of it requires patience. Understanding this changes how you approach the entire process.
The Bigger Vision: ETA Amsterdam Becomes ETA Benelux
ETA Amsterdam has been more successful than I anticipated. We’re approaching 200 members, and on 2nd February we’ll host our fifth event. But Amsterdam is just one city, the largest in the Benelux region but still only one city. The opportunity is much bigger.
The Benelux region includes the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, three countries with thousands of SMEs searching for successors, strong business cultures, and geographic proximity that makes cross-border collaboration natural. Benelux makes sense as a unit because we share an EU regulatory framework, we have Brussels as the capital of Europe creating unique opportunities, and we’re dealing with similar acquisition challenges across different languages and business cultures.
What does Benelux mean in practice? Three countries, multiple languages including Dutch, French, German, and English as the common thread. Different business cultures but geographically close enough to meet, collaborate, and share deal flow. Natural cross-border cooperation opportunities that don’t exist if we stay siloed in our individual cities.
The problem I’m solving is this: European acquisition entrepreneurship is too US-centric. We need local knowledge, local networks, and local deal flow. Benelux searchers face similar challenges but lack infrastructure. Germany has the Mittelstand tradition, the Netherlands has strong SMB culture, Belgium has family businesses with deep roots. These are distinct European approaches to business ownership and succession. We can’t just import American search fund models and expect them to work seamlessly here.
My role isn’t just organizing events. I’m building infrastructure for the region. Creating connections between searchers, investors, and operators. Facilitating deal flow through trusted networks. Making acquisition entrepreneurship more accessible across Europe, not just for people in capital cities or those who can afford expensive American conferences.
What This Looks Like: Q1 2026 Plans
Several things are already in progress for the first quarter of 2026.
The 2nd February meetup will be our first official event under the ETA Benelux banner, though it’s still hosted in Amsterdam. We’re partnering with Newton Campos, and Eric Roelofsen from Search Right Capital Partners is providing their facility which has an excellent bar and office space for networking. The format will include an introduction and interactive session with Newton, followed by a discussion panel between investors and first-time acquirers. We have 13 of 25 seats filled, so there’s still space if you’re in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, or willing to travel to Amsterdam for an evening of genuine conversation about European acquisition challenges.
I’ve also created a WhatsApp group for daily connection. At the moment it’s called ETA Amsterdam but it’s expanding to ETA Benelux. Why WhatsApp? Because it’s European-friendly, immediate, and informal. Everyone uses it, which removes friction. The group is already active with mostly Dutch and German members discussing deal flow, sharing opportunities, and helping each other navigate challenges. We exchange ideas, ask questions, and support each other’s searches. Everyone interested in acquisition entrepreneurship is welcome: MBA students, researchers, operators, investors, brokers, service providers, even sellers who want to understand how searchers think. The WhatsApp group complements the meetups by providing daily connection rather than waiting for quarterly events.
Beyond the 2nd February event, I’m planning more meetups throughout 2026, not just in Amsterdam but also in Brussels, perhaps Antwerp or Rotterdam. The goal isn’t five events per month, that would be unsustainable, but spreading meetups across the region so people can attend without always travelling to Amsterdam. I’m also building a resources page for the community, a central location where searchers can find frameworks, templates, contacts, and knowledge specific to European markets.
I’m actively seeking partnerships and collaborations. If you’re working on something complementary or you see opportunities to collaborate, let me know. This infrastructure works better when we’re building it together rather than in isolation.
I Still Need Your Help
Thirteen of you have taken the survey. Thank you for that, genuinely. But I need more responses before I can share meaningful insights. My goal is fifty-plus responses so I can identify real patterns rather than making conclusions from a small sample. I know you’re coming back from holiday, returning to jobs and business responsibilities, but please take five minutes to complete the survey if you haven’t already. And if you have completed it, share it with friends or colleagues who might benefit from better European acquisition content.
I want to offer you the best content and the most valuable resources possible, but I can only do that if I understand what you actually need. Not what I assume you need, but what you’re genuinely struggling with, what topics would help you most, what’s missing from existing resources. Once I reach fifty responses I’ll share the insights in next week’s newsletter, showing you what the community is telling me and how it’s shaping what I create in 2026.
Three Ways to Join What We’re Building
This isn’t my project anymore. ETA Benelux only works if we build it together, if people show up and contribute and share what they’re learning. Here are three ways to be part of this:
First, join the WhatsApp group. It’s the easiest way to stay connected daily, ask questions, share opportunities, and be part of the conversation. We’re a mix of searchers at different stages, operators thinking about their next move, investors looking for deal flow, and service providers who work with acquisition entrepreneurs. The diversity makes the conversations richer. 👉 Join here
Second, come to the meetup on 2nd February in Amsterdam. We have 13 of 25 seats filled, and I’d love to meet you in person. These conversations are different from online exchanges. You build trust, you understand people’s motivations, you create relationships that lead to deal flow and collaboration. If you’re in the Netherlands, Belgium, or Germany, this is worth the trip. 👉 Register here
Third, take the survey and help shape what I create in 2026. Your voice matters. Your challenges inform the content I write, the events I organize, the resources I build. Five minutes of your time helps everyone in this community. 👉 Take the survey here
Building European Infrastructure Together
European acquisition entrepreneurship needs local champions, people who understand our markets, our cultures, our regulatory environments, and our approach to business succession. We can’t just copy American models and hope they work. We need to build our own infrastructure, share our own knowledge, and support each other’s searches.
That’s what ETA Benelux is about. Not just events and WhatsApp groups, though those are valuable, but creating real infrastructure that makes acquisition entrepreneurship more accessible across Europe. This only works if we build it together. I’m creating the structure, but you bring the community, the knowledge, the deal flow, and the relationships that make it meaningful.
If you’re working on acquisition entrepreneurship in Europe, if you believe in building businesses rather than flipping them, if you care about succession and continuity rather than extraction, you’re part of this. Join the WhatsApp group, come to the meetup, take the survey, or just reply to this email and tell me what you’re working on. I read every response and I learn from your experiences just as you’re learning from mine.
Until next Monday,
Alexander