Dream job complete — now what? After experiencing a stellar profession with the Army and living my childhood dream, I found that my time in service had to end for many natural reasons. I found myself asking (once again): “So, what do I want to be when I grow up (but now for real)?”  

I loved the camaraderie of the Army. I enjoyed my role as a commander, leading and taking care of a team through good times and challenging situations. Later in the Special Forces, I especially enjoyed the responsibility, independence, and autonomy afforded to detachment teams to solve complex problems, often in unconventional ways. What career path outside the military could possibly compare to this and what was I going to do next?

Navigating My Post-Miliary Career

I had many conversations about career paths with other veterans who had already left the service. I was not exactly jazzed about careers in banking or consulting, but during one phone call in 2019, I heard about entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA), or “search funds.” ETA is an avenue of entrepreneurship that allowed a person to acquire, lead, and grow an existing, profitable small to medium-sized business (SMB) by looking for a business for sale both on- or off-market. A “searcher” could acquire a business using a combination of commercial bank loans and raised investor capital while ending up with a significant ownership stake in the company. Most intriguing, the searcher would become CEO of the acquired business on day one.

ETA’s prospects seemed to check all the boxes for me as a veteran. The idea of leading an SMB and a team of people toward a common goal largely mirrored my time in the Army. As a business owner, I would also have independence and autonomy to navigate the organization’s course for growth, much like the independence and autonomy I experienced in Special Forces. The problem sets experienced by SMB owners are multifaceted, just like in Special Forces — requiring a leader to be a “jack of everything, master of none” while remaining agile to pivot course as new opportunities or threats emerge.

SMBs are also a fundamental unit of action in our communities and the larger economy, providing the opportunity to have a real impact on the lives of company employees, customers, and community stakeholders immediately after getting an MBA rather than later in a career. Many businesses acquired via ETA are not “sexy” and often blue-collar in nature (HVAC, manufacturing, commercial landscape, etc.) but provide vital goods and services nonetheless.

A bonus was ETA’s potential for significant personal financial upside, though of course, not without more personal risk — no different than any entrepreneurial career path. ETA seemed to better match my previous career experiences and narrative of adventure compared to the prospects of a white-collar career in banking and consulting. I set my course on ETA and began my new journey at Fuqua in 2022.

Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition at Fuqua

My mindset at Fuqua was solely to prepare to be a successful searcher and an effective future business owner. I forewent all formalized recruiting for banking or consulting. Fuqua’s core curriculum and electives provided me with a sound base in business acumen and business instinct that I needed, having no prior business experience from the military.

I took Fuqua’s ETA elective and learned more from Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship’s (I&E) growing ETA ecosystem. I attended the Southeast ETA conference hosted by Fuqua where I developed relationships with many search fund investors and made connections with existing searchers and business owners. In addition to joining Fuqua’s ETA club, I became a member of Duke I&E’s inaugural ETA cohort of students committed to launching a search fund following graduation. The cohort provided amazing opportunities for shared learning every week through meaningful engagements with stakeholders in the broader ETA community.

In addition to connecting with phenomenal mentors in the private equity and ETA spaces, I enjoyed a very unconventional summer MBA internship working for two searchers. They recently purchased a chain of commercial truck driving schools, and I gained meaningful lower-middle market business operating experience. The more I learned about and experienced ETA, the more it confirmed that I was making the right career choice.

Forging My Own Path

After a great experience at Fuqua, I graduated in 2024 and launched my search fund, Star Course Holdings. My time at Fuqua was pivotal for my transition from the military and for preparing me to become the most effective searcher and future business owner possible. The relationships I made through the opportunities at Fuqua are already providing immense value as a searcher — three of my ETA mentors have become members of my search fund’s advisory council and potential investors.

The fun part of the journey has now begun. I am finally out on my own, hunting for an amazing business to acquire, run, and grow — now armed with useful knowledge, great experiences, and awesome connections to maximize my success, thanks to Fuqua and Duke I&E. I hope more transitioning veterans consider pursuing ETA as a career path given their previous experiences and existing strengths, and I hope more veterans consider attending Fuqua as an indispensable part of their ETA journey.