Latest & Greatest: Behind The Scenes at Pacific Lake, April 2024

What We’ve Been Up To

March marked the 40th anniversary of Co-Founder Jim Southern’s acquisition of Uniform Printing. Jim launched the first search fund in 1984 under the mentorship of then Harvard Business School professor, Irv Grousbeck. This fund resulted in the acquisition of Uniform Printing, a $43 million printer of specialty insurance documents. Jim served as the company’s CEO and Chairman for 10 years and investor returns under Jim's tenure as CEO were 24x the acquisition capital. When Jim embarked on his search journey, none of us could have imagined where it would take him, us, and the entire search fund community. As of 2024, there have been over 500 search funds raised.

To mark this momentous occasion, 35 of Jim's closest friends, family members, colleagues, and mentors traveled from over 10 states to celebrate in Hawaii. A montage video captured the friendships Jim has formed over the years, including videos from his original investors Paul Ferri and Whales Madden Jr, and Irv Grousbeck made a speech that brought the last 40 years full circle. In true island spirit, no Hawaii trip would be complete without matching Hawaiian shirts.

Notably, this year also marks the 15 years of Pacific Lake, a milestone that is both incredible and humbling, and a testament to so many individuals who are a part of our story. We’re so proud to be part of this ecosystem, and can’t wait to see where the next 40 years lead.

Our Travel Playlist

⏩ Pacific Lake's Roland Lessard joins Alex Bridgeman on Think Like an Owner to discuss all things M&A

⏩ Rick Buhrman and Paul Buser join Patrick O'Shaughnessy on Invest Like the Best to share their long-term investment philosophy

⏩ Keith Burns joins Chad Franzen on The Game is The Game to talk about his search fund journey

Book Club

Our latest reading recommendation comes from Tessa Denning, who recently finished “Same as Ever: A Guide To What Never Changes” by Morgan Hounsel.  

Tessa says, “I loved this book:  powerful storytelling combined with simple but timeless truths about what motivates human behavior, the role of luck and what it really means to have a long-term time horizon. Plus, it’s easy to dip in and out of so you don’t need massive amounts of time to soak up these little nuggets of wisdom”.

Humans of Pacific Lake: Meet Jack Bulmer

This quarter, we’re shining the spotlight on Jack Bulmer. Jack joined Pacific Lake in 2019, and has been with us ever since. He works closely with entrepreneurs and CEOs throughout their search journey. Earlier this year, Jack was promoted to Director. Congratulations, Jack!

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