Episode #11
Insights from: the first Search Fund in Peru - Searcher, Operator & Investor, Nicolas Lulli of Colca Capital
What does it take to turn a local search fund into a regional platform - and what can operators, investors, and searchers learn from building through one of the toughest operating environments imaginable? We caught up with Nicolas Lulli, managing partner and co-founder of Colca Capital, the first institutional search fund in Peru. After starting his career at Goldman Sachs in New York and later joining Relay Investments as its first employee, Nicolas went on to co-found Colca Capital in 2019 and acquire Polisus Stemas, a records and information management business in Lima, at the height of COVID. What followed was a remarkable transformation: a zero-to-tenfold turnaround, seven acquisitions, a second fund, and a growing regional platform across the Andean market. What makes this conversation especially compelling is Nicolas’ perspective across the full ETA lifecycle. He speaks candidly about what it takes to buy the right business, survive the hard years, professionalize operations, and build a culture that can endure both crisis and scale. In this episode, we cover: Why Peru made sense for Colca’s first platform acquisition, and how the team thought about competition, seller dynamics, and regional expansion from day one. Why durable industries, organic tailwinds, and measurable operating levers mattered so much in their original investment thesis. How Colca navigated financing in a market with limited debt options, and why a strong seller note was essential. What the first years of ownership looked like during COVID, from layoffs and cash discipline to building a battle-tested, meritocratic culture. How Nicolas and his partners identified, developed, and promoted talent internally as the business scaled. Why searchers should be deeply involved in the legal and accounting details of a deal, especially when the contract can determine the economics later. The biggest lessons Nicolas has learned as an operator and investor, including why ETA is harder than it looks and why partnership matters more than most people think.
