From Mississippi to the Last Frontier: Ben Frazer’s Path to ETA in Alaska

Ben Frazer, MBA ’25

Growing up in a small town in Mississippi, entrepreneurship was close to home for Ben Frazer, MBA ’25. His father founded a business in 2000, and from an early age Frazer developed an appreciation for the independence and responsibility that came with running and operating a company.

“I grew up in a tight knit community where every business was essentially a locally owned small business. So, I always had the desire to be in a small business and run a company, but I didn’t know exactly what that path would look like,” said Frazer.

After college, his path followed a more traditional route – working at PwC and later enrolling at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business to further his career in consulting and strategy. 

But something didn’t quite fit.

“I loved the strategy side of consulting and helping businesses improve operations,” said Frazer. “But I realized I didn’t want to stay in the professional services world. I wanted to be closer to the action and business itself.”

What that looked like exactly, he wasn’t quite sure. In fact, that clarity didn’t come until his final year at Booth, when one of his classes hosted a guest speaker – Nick Oberhouse, MBA ’20,  who shared his experience pursuing entrepreneurship through acquisition.

“It was a lightbulb moment,” said Frazer. “I didn’t even know ETA existed or was an option, and immediately I thought, ‘This is exactly what I need to do.’”

Building Toward the Search

Because he discovered ETA late in his Booth experience, Frazer made the deliberate decision to wait a year after graduating before officially launching his search – a decision many ETA students contemplate. 

“I knew this was the path for me, but I didn’t want to rush into it. I wanted to do it right,” he said. “I wanted to be successful, and I knew I needed more direct experience in the search fund space.”

He spent that year immersing himself in hands-on roles: working at a mechanic shop, completing a search internship with NextGen Growth Partners, and working with a search-acquired commercial landscaping business. Each role gave him practical exposure to the realities of small business operations and a first hand perspective of what running a small business actually looks like day-to-day.

“That operating experience was incredibly valuable, not just for me personally, but also when it came time to fundraise,” he said.

At the same time, Frazer focused heavily on building relationships.

“Fundraising is hard,” he said. “If you meet an investor and ask them for money a month later, you are going to be sorely disappointed. Spending a year building those relationships made a huge difference.”

From the start, Frazer knew he wanted to differentiate himself – not just as a candidate, but in how he approached his search.

“A lot of people say they’re geographically agnostic, but what they really mean is they’ll move to a top 20 metro,” he said. “I meant it.”

Rather than exclusively focusing on major markets, Frazer intentionally targeted underserved geographies, places where competition from private equity firms and other searchers was limited.

“If it’s a great, enduring business, I don’t care where it is,” he said. “That was a big part of my strategy – fishing where others aren’t fishing.”

Ultimately, that approach led him to Alaska.

Acquiring in the Last Frontier

Just eight weeks into his search, Frazer connected with the owners of Chinook Fire, a fire safety contractor based in Anchorage, Alaska, that installs, services, and inspects fire alarm and sprinkler systems for commercial properties throughout the entire state.

The business immediately stood out to Frazer.

“It checked all the boxes of a great search deal,” he said. “It’s mission-critical. Customers are legally obligated to have these services. There is significant revenue from project-based installation work, but there’s also a strong recurring revenue component with maintenance and inspections.”

The company had also been operating successfully for decades, with two owners nearing retirement and no clear succession plan.

Frazer reached out the old-fashioned way — with a physical letter via snail mail.

“In today’s world of automated outreach and AI-generated emails, going back to something more personal helped cut through the noise,” he said.

After initial conversations, Frazer and his wife flew to Anchorage to meet the sellers and signed a letter of intent. The deal closed just seven and a half months after launching his search.

While the acquisition process itself moved quickly, convincing investors to back a deal in Alaska presented a unique challenge.

“While looking in Alaska was a benefit in the search process, it was a challenge on the fundraising side,” said Frazer. “Alaska is huge geographically but has a small, dispersed population. Investors wanted to understand how you grow a business there in a meaningful way.”

Frazer addressed those concerns head-on, outlining a clear plan for growth and ultimately securing funding from his investor base without the need for any outside equity funding.

Today, Chinook Fire is the leading fire safety company in the state — and notably, Frazer became the first traditional searcher to acquire a business in Alaska.

“Maybe there is a self-funded Alaska acquisition out there, but I have never heard of another true search fund doing it,” he said.

Now just months into operating the business, Frazer is focused on balancing stability with change.

“When you first come in, you see a lot of things you want to improve,” he said. “But you can’t do everything at once. On the contrary, you need to do very little right out the gate.”

Instead, his first year is centered on learning the business, supporting a smooth transition from the previous owners, and implementing incremental improvements, particularly in hiring, systems, and operational structure.

“A lot of it is about building the right team and processes so the business can scale without everything depending on a few individuals,” he said.

Long term, Frazer sees an opportunity to build a broader fire safety platform.

“In a perfect world, we continue to grow across Alaska and then expand into the Pacific Northwest or Lower 48 more broadly,” he said.

His goal is to establish a strong regional presence while maintaining the company’s reputation for reliability in a mission-critical industry.

Advice for Future Searchers

For Booth students considering ETA, Frazer emphasizes three key things: start early, gain operating experience, and commit fully.

“Network as early as you can,” he said. “Investors are more likely to back someone they’ve known for 18 months than two months.”

He also stresses the importance of hands-on experience.

“Search internships are great, but operating experience is what really shows you whether this life is for you. Most MBAs come from the corporate world, and small business couldn’t be more different. You need to make sure you know what you’re actually signing up for,” he said. 

And perhaps most importantly:

“You have to fully commit,” he said. “Running a business isn’t easier than corporate life — it’s much harder. If you want to search part-time and keep your current job, or are hesitant to break free of the “golden handcuffs”, I would do some soul searching and decide whether search is the right path for you.”

For those near the search phase, Frazer highlights the importance of differentiation and resilience.

“You either need to fish where no one else is fishing, or be the best fisher out there,” he said. “And you have to be prepared for rejection. I reached out to 3,000 companies during my search; 2,999 said no.”

“The good thing is you only need one,” he said.