From JP Morgan To Business Owner With Linh Van Deibel

Welcome back to Season 3 of The Found & Funded Podcast. In the first episode of the season, we welcome Linh Van Deibel, Director of Infrastructure Design Solutions, a B2B telecom services provider. From her roots in Vietnam to the high-stakes worlds of JP Morgan and private equity, Linh eventually moved into business operations, where she led five major acquisitions for a fintech scale-up - taking them from 50 to 1,500 employees. Now, as the co-founder of Acacia Partners, she shares the raw reality of the self-funded search fund model, the mechanics of acquiring a B2B telecom services provider in 2025, and the challenges of being a female searcher in a male-dominated industry. In this episode, we discuss: Moving from investing to operations and why an MBA changed Linh’s trajectory. Being advised to bring an "older, strong male figure" to meetings. Using interns to build a deal pipeline. The heartbreak of a deal falling through. 🕒 Key Chapters 00:00 Introduction 00:25 Linh’s Background: From Vietnam to the US and the UK 03:41 Hearing About Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition 08:39 Getting Buy-In From Your Spouse 13:01 Why Self-Funded Search Over Other Models? 18:04 The Challenge Of Being Female In A Male-Dominated Industry 23:45 Using Interns For Proprietary Outreach 26:52 The Role Of AI In Outreach 27:32 Proprietary Sourced & Brokered Pipeline 30:47 Running Two Acquisition Deals In Parallel 36:15 Raising Equity 41:02 Advice For Other Female Searchers 46:30 What Is Linh’s Dream? 🔗 Connect With Us Follow on LinkedIn:   / the-found-funded-podcast   Follow on Instagram:   / foundandfundedpod   Visit our website: https://www.foundandfunded.co.uk/ Enjoyed this episode? Hit the SUBSCRIBE button and click the bell icon 🔔 to stay updated on our latest interviews with search experts and business owners. #searchfunds #eta #entrepreneur #business #investing #entrepreneurshipthroughacquisition #uk #m&a #smallbusinessowner