Ignite VC: Jon Staenberg on Building Wealth Through Acquisition & the Power of Search Funds | Ep214

Ignite: Conversations on Startups, Venture Capital, Tech, Future, and Society

Jon Staenberg is the founder of Agate Hound Fund, a pioneering institutional fund-of-funds focused on search funds and entrepreneurship through acquisition. A 30-year venture investor, Stanford “trifecta” grad, and longtime small-business owner (from car washes to an Argentine winery), he lives at the intersection of Main Street and Silicon Valley. With decades of pattern recognition across hundreds of angel and VC deals plus deep immersion in ETA, he offers sharp, grounded insights into small business acquisition, operator selection, and what the “silver tsunami” means for ambitious operators and investors.

In this episode, they discuss why boring, profitable businesses might be the most exciting opportunity in the market, how to evaluate 30-something CEOs who’ve never run a company, and why AI plus mom-and-pop America could quietly outperform your favorite tech bets. They also get personal—covering risk tolerance, meditation, travel, and why legacy ultimately comes down to kindness, not cap tables.

Chapters:

00:01 Early Roots in Omaha & First Lessons in Entrepreneurship

04:12 The Stanford Journey and Discovering Venture Capital

07:45 What Search Funds Really Are: A Simple Breakdown

10:18 The “Silver Tsunami” Opportunity in Small Business Ownership

13:32 How Search Funds Differ From Traditional VC Models

17:05 Incentives, Alignment, and Why ETA Produces Steady Returns

20:41 Who Makes a Great Searcher? Traits, Backgrounds & Patterns

24:58 Jon’s 30-Year VC Career and the Shift Toward ETA

29:10 Building a Winery in Argentina: Lessons in Main Street Ops

33:27 Designing a Life With Curiosity, Adventure, and Work

37:14 Compounding Wisdom: Experience, Self-Awareness & Growth

41:52 Meditation as an Operating System for Better Decision-Making

45:36 The Story Behind Agate Hound & Finding “Investment Gems”

48:22 The Biggest Misconceptions About Young ETA Operators

51:03 ETA in a Tech-Driven Future: AI Meets Main Street

53:26 Closing Reflections on Legacy, Kindness & Long-Term Impact

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