Scout InsurTech Interview with Samimi Haroon

Samimi Haroon is the Founder of Derby Street Partners, a husband-and-wife-led search fund focused on acquiring and operating an insurance business for the long term. He was interviewed by Michael Fiedel, Co-Founder at Scout InsurTech and Co-Founder at PolicyFly, Inc.

Samimi, for those unfamiliar, what exactly is a search fund, and what makes this model fundamentally different from private equity or traditional buyers?

“At its core, a search fund is a succession-focused acquisition model. An entrepreneur raises a small pool of capital from a group of investors with a single objective: to find and acquire one great, founder-led business, and then operate it for the long term.

The process typically unfolds in two phases. First, the searcher raises capital to fund a dedicated search period, often up to two years, during which their full focus is on finding the right business. Once that business is identified, the second phase begins, where the searcher acquires the company with investor support and steps into the CEO role.

What makes this model different from private equity or other buyers is the level of focus and commitment. We are not buying a portfolio of companies. We are buying one business, and that business becomes our life’s work. Unlike private equity, there is no separate investment team and operating team. The searcher runs the company day to day, while investors serve as strategic partners and board members.

We also prioritize clean exits for founders. We generally avoid earnouts, rollovers, or long term tie downs. After a short transition period, founders can step away knowing the business is in good hands. Cultural continuity matters deeply to us, and our goal is to preserve what made the business great while helping it grow into its next stage.

Historically, search funds have performed exceptionally well. Over the last several decades, they have generated average annual returns of roughly 35 percent, outperforming both the S&P 500 and private equity. That performance comes from buying high-quality businesses and creating value through operations, not financial engineering or the buy-and-flip model.”

Why do you believe the insurance industry is such a compelling fit for search fund acquisitions, and what dynamics make it especially underutilized today?

“Insurance is a highly durable industry that is not going anywhere. It touches nearly every sector of the economy and includes a wide range of verticals, workflows, and business models. That depth creates a large number of attractive niches that are essential, defensible, and difficult to replace. That depth and complexity, however, is also why the insurance industry is underutilized in the search fund model.

What stands out in particular are the mission-critical services that support insurers and brokers. Areas like claims, policy administration, underwriting support, compliance, and sales and distribution services all sit at the center of daily insurance operations. These functions have durable demand and are deeply embedded in their customers’ workflows.

Another key dynamic is fragmentation. Insurance remains a highly fragmented industry across carriers, brokers, service providers, and vendors. That fragmentation creates opportunity for focused operators who can bring continuity, modernization, and thoughtful growth to well-run businesses that may not have been built with a traditional exit in mind.”

When you evaluate potential acquisition targets within insurance, what characteristics define an attractive business from your perspective?

“We focus on quality first. That means recurring or highly predictable revenue, strong customer relationships, and services that are mission-critical rather than discretionary. We want businesses that customers rely on and would find difficult to replace.

Founder-led companies with strong cultures are especially compelling. In many cases, the value of the business is tied closely to the people, the processes, and the reputation that the founder has built over time. We look for businesses where that foundation is solid and where there is a clear opportunity to professionalize, scale, or expand thoughtfully without disrupting what already works.

We are also drawn to businesses with operational leverage. Because we plan to operate the company ourselves, we spend a lot of time understanding how value is created day to day and where improvements or growth initiatives can be implemented over time.”

For owners considering a possible exit, what characteristics make a founder a strong fit for a search fund transition, and what should they expect from the process and partnership with you?

“The strongest fit is typically a founder who cares deeply about the business and the people who helped build it. Many founders want a clean exit financially, but they also want to know the company will continue to thrive, that employees and customers will be treated well, and that it will be in the hands of long-term operators who are genuinely committed to running it well for years to come.

From a process standpoint, founders can expect a highly relationship-driven experience. While the transaction itself is important, we spend a lot of time getting to know the seller, understanding their goals, and ensuring alignment on values and vision.

After closing, we aim for a short and focused transition period. There is no expectation of long term involvement from the founder. From there, the responsibility is ours: we step in fully, take ownership of the decisions, and run the business with the help of our investors from day one.”

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