Join Venture Lab for a Fireside Chat on Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) with Professor Richard Perlman (W’68) and alumni of the Perlman ETA Fellowship on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, from 6:00–7:15 pm at Tangen Hall (2nd Floor Colloquium).
Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) is a career path where aspiring entrepreneurs buy and operate established small-to-medium-sized businesses rather than starting new ventures from scratch. Venture Lab offers a range of ETA programming—workshops, courses, events, and fellowships—to help Penn students explore this pathway, build skills, and gain the confidence to pursue it after graduation.
Among these programs is the Perlman ETA Fellowship, which provides financial support, coaching, and resources for graduating students who choose to launch their first acquisition search.
Professor Perlman has spent his career acquiring more than 150 companies and building market-leading businesses across industries. He will be joined by ETA Fellowship alumni who will share stories from their journeys: how they prepared at Penn, the challenges they faced during their search, and what motivated them to become CEOs through acquisition rather than founding.
This event will help students:
Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) is a career path where aspiring entrepreneurs buy and operate established small-to-medium-sized businesses rather than starting new ventures from scratch. Venture Lab offers a range of ETA programming—workshops, courses, events, and fellowships—to help Penn students explore this pathway, build skills, and gain the confidence to pursue it after graduation.
Among these programs is the Perlman ETA Fellowship, which provides financial support, coaching, and resources for graduating students who choose to launch their first acquisition search.
Professor Perlman has spent his career acquiring more than 150 companies and building market-leading businesses across industries. He will be joined by ETA Fellowship alumni who will share stories from their journeys: how they prepared at Penn, the challenges they faced during their search, and what motivated them to become CEOs through acquisition rather than founding.
This event will help students:
- Understand ETA as a viable career path for entrepreneurs.
- Hear first-hand alumni stories that bring the ETA pathway to life.
- Discover practical next steps to explore ETA at Penn and beyond.