Lesson 86: Reliability
About the Searcher
Samuel McDaniel grew up in Atlanta and then attended Vanderbilt University. His parents are both entrepreneurs so he asked his mother how best to prepare for entrepreneurship. Her advice was simple: “Learn sales.” So that is what he did.
Samuel spent three years at Salesforce, where he built a pipeline, managed client relationships, and developed core selling skills critical to scaling a business. We applied to business school the same year, and we talked about pursuing Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition and search funds.
This summer we each completed search internships, then Samuel reached out about pursuing a partnered search. After several phone calls and in-depth questions, we teamed up. One of the top reasons I chose Samuel is because he is reliable. He has not only been a friend for years, but once we began the conversation about partnership he set up an intentional cadence to call and always followed up on the details discussed. Although I entered business school interested in a solo self-funded search fund, I feel grateful to pursue a partnered traditional search fund going into our second year.
About Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition
In ETA, the decision to partner is significant. When I asked for advice about my decision of whether to partner at all, one searcher told me, “Treat it like a marriage.” He meant the alignment and commitment of the two people will help determine their success or failure. Lacey H. Wismer, Billy Bennett, and A.J. Wasserstein, who are each leaders in the search community, co-authored a paper entitled, “Exploring Entrepreneur Partnerships in the Search Fund Ecosystem.” They surveyed 190 ETA CEOs about partnership. The authors synthesized these positives and negatives:
The main takeaway is the effect of interpersonal dynamics between two people. For example, one of the risks is “The potential to change or test the relationship.” Is the business endeavor worth Samuel and me both losing a friend? Not at all. It helps that we have known each other for over 10 years. We want this experience to strengthen our bond while growing a great business using our complementary skills.
About the Bigger Picture
My vision is to leverage my influence as a Black business leader to pursue economic justice. Samuel and I both come from Atlanta, inspired by the rich legacy of Black enterprise—from Auburn Avenue's historic financial district to today's thriving ecosystem of Black-owned businesses. Our partnership is not just about combining complementary skills; it is about demonstrating how two Black entrepreneurs can build wealth, create jobs, and contribute to our community's economic advancement. The interpersonal work we do now—deepening trust, aligning values, processing decisions together—is the foundation for a business that will serve not just our financial goals, but our broader commitment to economic opportunity.
This is Lesson 86: Reliability. Next week is Lesson 87: Conviction.
