Lesson 34: Faith

Where do you want to be in October 2025? If you have a goal and you are supported, then the final ingredient is faith.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen,” Hebrews 11:1.

Often we cannot see what is ahead. In October 2021, Hal Cooley, my new coworker, sat with me at the WeWork on Peachtree Street for my first day working in private equity. In October 2022, I submitted my Management Leadership for Tomorrow application, whose program sees 97% of fellows admitted to partner MBA programs. In October 2023, I walked into Finca to Filter in Old Fourth Ward for my Booth interview. In October 2024, I submitted my first ETA presentation for the Booth Kellogg ETA Conference. We may not see these opportunities approaching, but faith sustains us until we arrive at the moment.

Faith builds over time. I can look back over my life and see not only the support but also my belief in my ability to achieve these goals. Faith will help me on this journey toward Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition. Stanford’s 2021 Search Fund Primer describes how successful search fund entrepreneurs tend to share the characteristic of faith: “Search fund entrepreneurs must have an unyielding belief in their ability to lead a company to prosperity.” Unyielding belief allows you to persist through each stage of your journey.

The stages of a searcher's journey for traditional search funds are: 1) Fundraising, 2) Search and acquisition, 3) Operation, and 4) Exit. Stage one requires building an investor base that not only provides capital but also advice, counsel and credibility. Stage two requires sourcing thousands of businesses to evaluate and acquire one good company. Stage three requires leading your new team to growth and stability. Stage four requires selling the business to someone who can steward the business once you are ready to walk away. Each stage is tougher than the last because you meet new people and you have new responsibilities. But I have faith as I meet the people who can support me as I work through these stages.

I have faith because the last three years God opened doors I could not open alone. How could I doubt my ability to acquire and lead a company when God has already done so much? My values are to act with love, humility, and wisdom. No amount of intelligence, preparation, or resources can guarantee success in ETA. So I remain humble as my faith guides me as I walk through the dark until my hand can turn the knob to the door of the next opportunity.

Faith is Lesson 34. Next week, I will share Lesson 35: Ease.