Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) has emerged as one of the most powerful, yet widely misunderstood, strategies for expanding business ownership, preserving enterprise value, and accelerating economic growth. While ETA has recently gained popularity, particularly among MBAs and mid-career professionals—its roots are deep, its performance data compelling, and its implications for public-private economic development profound.

This whitepaper, developed by the Deal Utility for ETA NYC NYU, co-authored with NYU Stern School of Business, argues that ETA is not a passing trend or a niche financial tactic. It is a scalable ownership model that directly addresses three converging challenges: (1) aging business owners without succession plans, (2) constrained access to capital for new owners, (3) and the need for governments to maintain resilient supplier ecosystems.