Searcher Felix Wolters (Janus) and Stefan Martinez (evolutiq) share how a search really works, from fundraising and hundreds of outreach letters to his first in-depth due diligence.
From 500 Letters to 1 Closing: How a Searcher Actually Finds a Company
Behind every search fund acquisition are months of fundraising, hundreds of letters to business owners and many deals that fall apart along the way. In this session, Felix Wolters takes us through his own search journey, from raising capital for Janus Mittelstandsnachfolge to his current advanced due diligence. Before that, Stefan Martinez introduces evolutiq and gives an overview of the search fund model and its variants, from traditional to self-funded search. The session closes with a Q&A with the audience.
About Felix Wolters
Felix is the searcher behind Janus Mittelstandsnachfolge, a search fund backed primarily by former business owners and family offices. He is looking for an established B2B company with industrial value creation and EUR 10M to 30M in revenue. An engineer by training from RWTH Aachen, he spent around 15 years leading businesses in high tech and manufacturing, including managing production sites at Faurecia (now Forvia) and scaling high-tech products for a battery joint venture.
About Stefan Martinez
Stefan is an Investment Manager at evolutiq, where he works with search entrepreneurs in the DACH region. He previously spent several years in venture capital at coparion, serving on the boards of portfolio companies, and began his career in investment banking at Berenberg, following up to Lazard, working on European IPOs.
About evolutiq
evolutiq is an owner-managed investment manager based in Cologne investing in private capital and real estate. It is one of the leading players in the German search fund market and in 2025 launched its Search Capital I Fund, which invests in searchers who acquire and lead SMEs facing succession.
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