DO GOOD X Podcast

Ep. 24 Empowering Underrepresented Entrepreneurs: Eduardo Zaldivar on the ETA Model and Building Resilient CEOs

• DO GOOD X • Episode 24

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Let's dive into robust discussions with changemakers reshaping the future of entrepreneurs within Black and Brown communities. Today’s guest is Eduardo Zaldivar, Managing Partner at Mosaic ETA, an investment firm focused on empowering underrepresented individuals with the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition model. Eduardo begins by explaining how ETA works and how it differs from private equity, highlighting the unique opportunities it presents. He discusses the importance of selecting the right person to back, emphasizing the role of grit and resilience for CEOs. He also delves into the success rates of startups versus ETAs and the risks involved in acquiring a business. In the resource roundup segment, Eduardo provides valuable tools and names influential voices in the industry. 

IN THIS EPISODE:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:24) Eduardo is introduced, and he explains what an ETA is and how it works

(04:53) The difference between private equity and an ETA

(08:33) Eduardo speaks to knowing if a person is ready to be the CEO of a business, the importance of backing the right person, and how “grit” is essential 

(12:50) Eduardo shares what inspired him to co-found Mosaic and what type of person should pursue an ETA

(17:47) Percentages of startups versus ETAs that are successful and the risk factor of buying a bad business

(22:42) Eduardo answers questions in the resource roundup segment, and he mentions searchfunder.com, Jim Sharp at Harvard Business School, AJ Wasserstein, professor of Management at Yale and Peter Kelly, an investor at Mosaic, the Women’s Search Network, the Black Search Network, Hispanic Search Network, Acquiring Minds Podcast and Think Like an Owner Podcast

(29:38) Eduardo answers questions in the “Off the Cuff’ segment

(38:04)  Stephen and Kimberly share impactful experiences

TAKEAWAYS: 

  • Buying a business from someone is like acquiring someone’s baby. They have birthed and grown the company; when you acquire it, you must continue to grow and nurture it. It is a full-time job, and you don’t get rich overnight
  • If you are a black woman who made it to Harvard Business School and worked at an incredible firm, you are often the only person of color in the room. So grit is essential
  • Mentorship is a significant component of the ETA model, and it can be challenging for minorities to get the proper mentorship they need. Mosaic provides that mentorship component

RESOURCES:  

DO GOOD X - LinkedIn

Eduardo Zaldivar - LinkedIn

Article in Forbes on ETA

Mosaic ETA - Website

Search Fund - Website

Acquiring Minds - Podcast

BIO: 

Eduardo Zaldivar is a Managing Partner at Mosaic ETA, a new investment firm whose mission is to empower underrepresented communities through the search fund model, also known as entrepreneurship-through-acquisition (ETA).

Eduardo's greatest inspiration is his mother, a successful small-business entrepreneur, a first-generation immigrant with only a middle school education. Before co-founding Mosaic, he was a private equity investor and startup operator. Eduardo received his MBA from Stanford, MPA from Harvard, and Bachelors from Texas A&M University. He resides in Dallas, Texas, and enjoys hosting community-building events and volunteering at his local church.

[00:00:00] Narrator: Welcome to the do good X podcast, a sanctuary from the entrepreneurial grind hosts, Kimberly, Danielle, and Steven Lewis advocates for impactful entrepreneurship, guide you on the path where purpose meets business. Join us to slow down, reconnect, and explore the challenges of under resourced entrepreneurs, uncovering the unique journey of building businesses and businesses.
That make a difference. Now your hoax.
[00:00:35] Kimberly R. Daniel: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the do good X podcast. My name is Kimberly Danielle, and I am a community builder, a communication strategist, and a coach who comes from generations of faith driven entrepreneurs and leaders who believe that our purpose should drive us to contribute to the common good. I look forward to the conversation today with you, Steven, and with our guest.
[00:00:59] Stephen Lewis: [00:01:00] Yes, it's good to have Eduardo with us to introduce him in just a moment. I am Stephen Lewis, and I am a catalyst for positive change in communities and for businesses. And for more than two decades, I have been working to inspire leaders to change. And entrepreneurs to live and work on purpose with intention, faith, and a commitment to the well being.
Our guest today is Eduardo Zalvador, and he is a managing partner at Mosaic ETA. Now, Mosaic is a new investment firm whose mission is to empower underrepresented communities through the search fund model, also known as entrepreneurship through capital acquisition, called ETAs. Eduardo's greatest inspiration is his mother, who was a successful small business entrepreneur, despite the challenges of being a woman, first generation immigrant, with only a middle school education.
And prior to co [00:02:00] founding Mosaic, he was a private equity investor and startup operator. Eduardo received his MBA from Stanford. An MPA from Harvard and a bachelor's from Texas A& M University. He resides in Dallas, Texas and enjoys hosting community building events and volunteering with his local church.
Welcome Eduardo. It's a pleasure to be here. 
[00:02:22] Kimberly R. Daniel: I do want to say thank you also for joining us, Eduardo, and for you listeners who tuned in, a couple of episodes. Prior, we had Rachel Wilson from the BFM fund, and one of the acronyms, jargon, that she threw out was ETA in the midst of our conversation. And so if you didn't know what ETA was then, you will know what it is today.
So we'll dive right in. Steven, you want to get us started? 
[00:02:50] Stephen Lewis: Yes. So Eduardo, Mosaic provides a non traditional path to entrepreneurship, which is, you know, entrepreneurship through acquisition [00:03:00] ETA. Now there are a lot of folks who may have never heard of this model or. Who know very little. So can you share what an ETA is and how it works?
[00:03:10] Eduardo Zaldivar: Yeah, happy to do so. It's, um, it's not hard to be on and it's, uh, I love what you're doing. So thank you for having me, Steven, Kimberly. Um, yeah, happy to speak to, to ETAs. It's, um, at a really high level, you just kind of three ways to become an entrepreneur. You can start a tech startup from the ground up, like, uh, Mark Zuckerberg style.
You can rise through the ranks through a corporation over many years and rise to the CEO, or three, you can acquire a business and become CEO. We focus on this third bucket of entrepreneurship. Those two are great, but they're not for everyone for various reasons. And entrepreneurship acquisition, uh, enables you to go buy an existing business.
And that has some level of structure built out and build upon it and grow it. So at a really high level, anyone can do it. All it takes is maybe the capital and the boldness to go out [00:04:00] and acquire a company. It really depends on the type of company you want to acquire. If you're buying a much bigger company, you're going to need more investors.
But if it's a small one, we've seen individuals using their own capital and some government debt called an SBA loan, go and buy a small business. Uh, we focus on, I would say bigger businesses, but in practice or in theory, uh, you can buy a business at whatever size, considering things like your, uh, how much money you're willing to spend and what kind of company you want to buy.
So kind of at a high level, you can buy big, you can buy small. 
[00:04:30] Kimberly R. Daniel: So can you share how, share a bit more? How. ETA is different from private equity. Uh, and what do you need in terms of capital to get started in ETA? You talked a little bit about the different types of capital that one might, you know, get for this, but, but talk more about the need for capital in this.
[00:04:53] Eduardo Zaldivar: Yeah, that's a really good question. So in private equity, it's a group of [00:05:00] individuals usually, and they raise a lot of capital. Uh, be it a several million usually. And they do that with purpose of going and buying a number of companies in entrepreneurship, the acquisition, and another term that people use is in search funds, instead of being a group of people, you're one individual and in private equity, if we don't become the CEO, you hire someone to be CEO, or you keep the current CEO on, but in ETA, you become the CEO, you become the owner and the leader of the company.
So that would be the big difference in terms of. One is the intention, which is an ETA. It's usually to buy one business and maybe over time, do more acquisitions, but the intent is a single business and in a private equity fund, you're typically trying to buy a portfolio of businesses, you know, 10 plus sometimes.
So that thing, that's a big difference between the two. And there's a lot of ramifications to that. Um, there's a lot of great firms out there, both. You know, probably firms and otherwise, but oftentimes owners are excited about the idea of selling their business, [00:06:00] not to a kind of financial group, but to an individual who's going to steward their legacy.
And so that's a big, really big appeal of entrepreneurship requisition for on the business owner side. Uh, so that's kind of the big difference I would say. And then on the capital, it's a great question. Um, it really depends on the type of ministry you want to acquire. There, you can buy a business, you know, sub a million dollars total purchase price.
If that's the case. And if you're in the U S at least you can actually use something called an SBA loan. So the government, and I won't bore you with the details, but the government in, they have an intention of fostering small business entrepreneurship. So they kind of provide more friendly financing to small businesses.
So if you're an individual, uh, and you want to buy a business, you can take a SBA loan out to be like 80 percent of the purchase price, uh, more or less. You can take more, you can take less a little bit. But that means if you're buying a, you know, let's call it half a million dollar company, you might need to only put up something like a hundred K.
And so that's a pretty exciting prospect for someone who maybe [00:07:00] doesn't come from a lot of financial wherewithal, but if you're buying a bigger company, um, usually what happens, and this is kind of the more what they call kind of the traditional search fund. What happens in this situation? Uh, and it's a large part of our focus at Mosaic TA is you're, let's say you're a high caliber operator.
You go and talk to a number of investors and you raise. What's called the search fund. So it's basically this initial tranche of capital. It would be about half a million dollars. And that capital is a dedicated pool of money to go in search for two years. So you search for two years on average, take something like 20 months to find a company to acquire.
And once you find a company, you go back to your original investment group. And you say, I found this company. Will you back me at the acquisition? Will you acquire this company with me? And if all things check out, what ended up happening is those who back your search, initial search charge of capital end up purchasing company with you at acquisition, you become CEO and you typically are bigger companies on average, somewhere between 14 to [00:08:00] 20 million total purchase price.
When you're looking at this kind of more traditional model, 
[00:08:04] Stephen Lewis: man, that's fascinating. You know, what it makes me think about is how do you vet to determine. The person is, has the readiness to actually be a CEO. I mean, there's one thing to be able to invest and purchase and acquire business, a whole nother thing to actually be able to say, Oh yeah, I can help pull a group together, do a search, and I'm actually ready to be a CEO of any type of business, or maybe it's a specific type of business that I'm actually interested in purchasing.
[00:08:33] Eduardo Zaldivar: Yeah, that's a really good question. We do think there's a couple of characteristics that we look for in searchers and I won't handle all of them, but I'll hit on some of them. Um, The first one is familiarity with search. So it, it is not easy to be a CEO, even a search CEO. And I think it can, some people, there's a lot of media out there and it can seem like really easy.
Like, well, let me go just go find a company to acquire [00:09:00] and I'll passively sit around and it'll grow over time. And then like, I'll be very wealthy. It's typically, that's not how it plays out on average. It is ultimately, you know, someone's someone's business, someone's baby. You have to take care of it and grow it.
And it's more often than not a full time job. Sometimes it's more than a full time job. So one, we, when we look at people who we're going to back on at the search phase, cause keep in mind, they're coming to us oftentimes before they buy any business. So they're saying, Hey, I'm not, I'm Kimberly because I've been in my past.
Um, will you back me? Can you give me a million dollars to go search? So we're, we're diligently the person exclusively at that phase. And so it's really important that we back the right person. And so what is, have they done the research on search? Have they talked to major search investors? Have they talked to previous search CEOs to hear about their experience?
Have you heard about the good stories and the bad stories? Are they really aware of what they're getting into? This is particularly important because as you mentioned, as you both know, we specifically focus on underrepresented people pursuing entrepreneurship. So that's, for example, women and people of color.
And the [00:10:00] last thing we would want is someone who is not really Does not really want the CEO job to now have to be CEO for three years because it sounded really sexy or it sounded like an easy way to make money. So one is you gotta be really familiar with the search model itself. The ETA model is really important to us.
Uh, and the most common way that takes place, it doesn't have to be this way, but, uh, ETA is now taught at most of the major top business schools. Uh, so that's oftentimes, as a matter of fact, close to the majority of traditional searchers. So the ones that raise the additional initial 500 K. The majority of them, or at least very close to the majority of them come from top MBA programs.
So, because these MBA programs have these actual whole classes on it. So, um, one is familiarity search. Two is what we say, and this is kind of unanimous in the search space, grit. Ultimately, It is, it is tough. It is, it is like, there's always something that happens, you know, maybe you buy a company and it wasn't exactly what they said it was, or maybe what [00:11:00] you didn't know that there's this customer that has a lot of power over the business that's now demanding a lot from you because of the transition.
So grit is really important. And one thing that we believe fundamentally at Mosaic is that grit is overrepresented in underrepresented people. And so if you are a black woman who made it to Harvard business school and you worked at. Incredible firms, and oftentimes you're the only person of color in the room, you had to overcome a lot to be able to be in that room.
If you're like someone from myself, maybe comes from a low income background and had to make my way and it was a long path and a lot of people helped along the way. And a lot of people believed in me when I didn't believe in myself, but I ultimately was able to go to maybe a Stanford business school.
And the things I had to overcome to get there are the same kinds of things that will equip someone to be a great CEO. So we, we. Another very big important interest is, is grit. Um, there's a couple that we, uh, like to look for, uh, things like who you're currently backed by. [00:12:00] Ultimately, we like having a boat of confidence with other investors.
The industries that you're looking at, that's something that we look at a little bit, but ultimately it comes down to betting on. The, the jockey, not the horse, and then at the time of acquisition, you know, we'll take a look at the deal as well, but. It's really important to have that alignment, not just in.
Skill set, well, that's really important. Yeah. Another one is like a history of leadership. So all of that is really important, but ultimately we want to be part of someone who has values aligned and has that greediness that it takes to be a CEO. 
[00:12:32] Kimberly R. Daniel: That's good. Backing up just a bit to the origin story of Mosaic, what inspired you to co found?
Mosaic and specifically to support underrepresented individuals to pursue search funds. 
[00:12:50] Eduardo Zaldivar: Yeah, no, that that's a really good question. Um. So, I think for me, in many ways. My initial thread that got me to [00:13:00] mosaic began really early my. My mother was the first woman in her family to immigrate to the U. S. from Mexico.
And as you can imagine, as Steven alluded to in the beginning, you know, she only had a middle school education. Uh, she didn't speak any English. Um, she worked three factory jobs in her first couple of years in the U. S. and she ultimately was a successful small business entrepreneur, but watching the things that she experienced and encountered has always given me, uh, well, gave me two things.
One, it made me want to be an entrepreneur like my mom, of course. And two, it gave me a deep and abiding passion for empowering underrepresented people in these entrepreneurial spaces. So something that gets me up in the morning is every day is I want to build the kind of firm that could have been a blessing to my mother.
That's kind of my North Star. 
[00:13:50] Stephen Lewis: And that's great. I read a piece of you, um, on Forbes, encouraging underrepresented folks to consider ETA in order to create. generational wealth, [00:14:00] um, to become a role model within their community. And so I'm thinking about our listeners, Kimberly, who are listening in and maybe, you know, just becoming aware of ETAs.
And so I want to ask you this, Iguoda, why should underrepresented folks consider ETAs and what types of person is the best suited for, meaning like, what are the skills that they should possess to actually do, to do this work well? 
[00:14:26] Eduardo Zaldivar: Yeah, that's a really great questions. I think. At a high level, the reasons for it, I think, and everyone's choice is a little bit different.
So I love, you know, I used to be in venture. I used to be in startups. I love startups and that's great for a lot of people, but it's not for everyone. And so it's not either better or worse than other models, but each has their own pros and cons. So I'll kind of speak to maybe some of the pros of the ETMO specifically, uh, for underrepresented people.
One, as I mentioned early on, it's one of our really, really big beliefs is, yeah, if you, you know, Grew up in a [00:15:00] tough situation or as the only woman in the room many times, and you've made it to, you know, McKinsey or private equity firm, you've had to overcome a lot and we're excited to bet on that person who's overcome a lot because we think they're going to continue to do that.
That's one, I think, uh, an article I say, you know, unrepresented people are built different, which really people believe that, uh, another reason that I think underrepresented people should consider it, one of the most powerful aspects of the ETA model is. This component of mentorship. So in the traditional search fund, so this is the individual that raised 500 K and then, you know, search for two years, um, which is different than what they call self funded.
So someone that says, Hey, I am going to not risk capital initially. I'm just going to go in search and buy something a little smaller, more that's, that's often at least. Um, so in the traditional search model, mentorship is a critical piece. So ETA was actually, the model itself actually created, uh, in 1984 by a gentleman named Irv Grosbeck.
He's kind of the godfather of search, if you [00:16:00] will. And since the very beginning, mentorship was a crucial, crucial component, if not the most important component. So what that looks like in practice is every searcher typically has somewhere between 12 to 15 investors each, which is pretty not, it's pretty untraditional in, in the kind of buying company world in the buyout world.
And so picture a young CEO who now has 12 to 15 seasoned CEOs as investors, as board members. We're willing to pick up the phone, uh, you know, and that's, and that's, that's the role that we play as investors. So we, uh, support our searchers and everything from how do you have a negotiation conversation with the business owner?
How do you do the cold outreach? How do I think about this deal? I've never seen it before. Well, the guidance is mosaic amongst many other investors. We've seen dozens of deals, and so we're able to leverage that experience and go alongside you and say, ultimately, you're the CEO, [00:17:00] and it's your call, but here's what I've seen that can be helpful.
So mentorship is such a big component of the model, and I think as we've all seen as people of color, it can be hard for minorities to get the proper mentorship they need. There's a lot of reasons for that. For one, it's a little bit of, well, I don't know that many CEOs from my community. And two, it's like, well, it can be hard to reach out from so much culture.
So this lack, this particular lack of mentorship oftentimes in underrepresented communities is very much, uh, helped out by this mentorship component of ETA. So that's two, that's, that's the second big reason. Uh, and then three, and once again, it's not everyone, but for a lot of people that come from unrepresented backgrounds, there is some level of, um, uh, coming from, from a low risk or sorry, a low income, high risk background.
And. In startups, I think it's Boston the stats, the chances of succeeding, the number of companies that go from, you know, zero to a great exit for the, for the [00:18:00] founder, it's less than 1%, right? Even the ones that actually raised capital actually end up surviving and have being, you know, a success is in the single digits percentage, not lower in, and that's great for some people, but not for everyone in ETA.
The numbers, the odds are just much better. Um, as a quick example of that, um, in the traditional search world, approximately over the past, a lot of stats on this and the Stanford search one study, uh, approximately two thirds of entrepreneurs who searched ended up acquiring a company over the past 40 years.
So that's a 66 percent chance. And of those that acquire the, uh, once you acquire, you know, it can be. A range of outcomes, but it's something like one third of search CEOs have what we call a really great exit. So a five X plus, so what that translates into [00:19:00] into dollars, it's, you know, several million dollars, another third or so have a good exit.
So some between call it two and four, which is still a great exit for the average person. And then a third, of course, would say are, uh, the downside cases. So there is some opportunity sometimes you buy the wrong company or some, you know, COVID kits or whatever it might be. So I don't want to mislead people.
It does happen. Like any, any other thing that there is a risk that you take on, uh, but it's just on a risk adjusted basis for a lot of people that come from a low income background, a much better choice and a much better fit than going through the startup route, for example. 
[00:19:40] Stephen Lewis: So let me ask you this then, when I think about, um, The risk in terms of whether, you know, you buy a bad company.
Some of this will be done in due diligence, right? I mean, like, if you have a rigorous due diligence, then that would help mitigate some of that risk, but then, you know, there are other factors that you can't see because we know, [00:20:00] you know, they're bad business deals all the time. But I wonder to what extent due diligence working with your lawyers and all the types of, you know, legalese that you go through.
Helps mitigate that. Or would you say that that is somewhat of a safety net, but it doesn't, you know, totally eliminate all risks as it relates to buying companies. 
[00:20:18] Eduardo Zaldivar: Yeah, that's a really, really good point. Yes. I think I'll say two things. One in, because it is a existing business. There's a lot more diligence.
So the companies that are acquired by searchers on average have been around for many years, which is very different than the startup model where it's, you know, a couple of years Uh, they probably many startups, at least in the early stages are burning profit, not making any, but it's very, very uncommon for a researcher to buy a company that is not already profitable.
So from the jump, the fact that the companies that are typically acquired are what they would call enduringly profitable businesses is already a leg up in terms of like the risk that you take on, uh, just by the [00:21:00] nature of the model. And in two, to your point, yes, ultimately there's no perfect, like there's a classic saying, like you learn more In the first 12 days on the job as CEO about the company in the previous 12 months doing diligence.
So there's nothing like being in it. And there's some things that you're not going to be able to see until you're in there. It helps to have a, and this is why the model of makeshift is so powerful. When you have 12 to 15 investors who are diligently deal with you, that's pretty incredible. When you have 20 sets of eyes of people who've been doing this for 20, 30 years, or we've seen plenty of deals in the last, you That kind of diligence is pretty, um, pretty incredible that that's the opportunity, which is obviously much better than, you know, going at it alone and having to figure out, well, I don't even know how to analyze this, but I think I'm going to go for it.
There's something to be said about making sure that as you're doing diligence, you have people around you around the table who can help you in that. 
[00:21:58] Kimberly R. Daniel: Yeah, this is really good. So [00:22:00] interesting. So we're going to go ahead and move to our next segment resource roundup. And here we will explore various resources and practical tools and tips that we equip and support underrepresented.
Entrepreneurs as you build your businesses and so we are going to ask you a few questions Eduardo as it relates to resources, especially for those who are interested in. So, if someone, you know, is just. Hearing about this, or may have some level of familiarity with it, and they're very interested in pursuing and further exploring it.
Where should they even begin? 
[00:22:42] Eduardo Zaldivar: That's a really good question. I would say. Definitely a couple of places that come to mind. One, there is a great community at search funder. com it's effectively this kind of online forum for people who are interested in search funds. Uh, and you have the whole gamut from people who are [00:23:00] just starting off to do who are doing it for many, many, many years.
So things are really. Easy early entry point and learning about search. So that's one, I think having people that you can, it's just really easy to post in there, anyone free to chat. And people are very friendly, uh, and collaborative generally in the ETA space. So that's one search for her. com. Uh, two, there's a number of, uh, great investors who put out resources.
Um, a couple that come to mind, there's a German by name of Jim Sharp. He is a Harvard business school. He has a personal blog that he keeps up to date that has, it's one of the best kind of gold mines of search information for you. Another one that comes to mind in particular is, uh, professor AJ Wasserstein, who is, uh, professor of Management at Yale.
Um, he has just the most, one, some, some of the most rigorous academic work being done on search funds. Um, the stats, the data, case studies on successes and failures. Uh, uh, AJ Wasserstein is, is a P source for that. [00:24:00] And the last part of that point too is. The Stanford search one study, it's a study done by Stanford university led by, uh, Peter Kelly, who's actually one of our investors and a great mentor to mosaic ta, but it's published every 2 years.
And it's kind of the central source of truth in the search 1 community. So they've been tracking search 1 data, outcomes, exits, et cetera, demographics, et cetera for, for many, many years. And so that's probably the most, um, robust set of data that you can find about search. 
[00:24:29] Stephen Lewis: You've mentioned, um, search funded, but I'm wondering, are there other professional organizations, guilds, um, online communities, maybe this doesn't apply as you talked about the three types of, uh, entrepreneurial endeavors at the top of our podcast, but are there kind of any ETA?
Accelerators or accelerators that focus on ets, um, that are supporting, that are, you know, that are basically supporting people, you know, pursuing [00:25:00] entrepreneurship through acquisition. And if so, you know, maybe for our listeners you can give us two or three concrete, um, resources or go-to resources as it relates to these professional organization networks outside of what you just named.
[00:25:15] Eduardo Zaldivar: Yeah, that's a great question. Thank you for that, Steven. Um, yeah, I would say there's. Maybe two flavors of, of, um, kind of groups that I would, I would outline one. If there's a number of affinity groups that are being created, they've been created or they're a little bit newer, but they're, they're just a lot of energy and a lot of excitement around them.
Specifically around identity. So there's a couple that I'll call out specifically for our listeners. Um, the women's search network is an incredibly, um, Robust group of women who have done search or invested in search, and they just do an incredible job of putting out resources, building community, and they did a phenomenal job.
There's the Black Search Network, which is done by Jason Jackson, who is [00:26:00] a good friend of ours. It's just similarly an incredible resource. They have webinars all the time to get you up to speed. I'm the co founder of the Hispanic Search Network, so for anyone that's interested. Latino, Hispanic, and he's excited about this, and he's interested in this, has questions related to this, we'd be happy to get you connected.
And then, this third one, I don't have a link for it, but I might be relevant to the listeners. Myself and a couple of other people in the spiritual space are creating a little bit of a community for believers, uh, who identify as Christian. Um, it's a, so an early movement, but for anyone that, uh, Loves the Lord and is interested in search and wants to get claims kind of faith community within search.
We have it as 
[00:26:42] Kimberly R. Daniel: well. So, I know that you talked about different models of traditional models and other models as well. These models might be explored in some of the resources that you previously named, [00:27:00] but if there, if it's not, can you share where people can learn more about these alternative approaches?
Yeah, that's 
[00:27:06] Eduardo Zaldivar: a, that's a really good question. Hmm, I would say, I wish there was a better resource, maybe we should make one that kind of conglomerates them and then explains each of the different flavors. Um, I'll kind of list maybe the flavors and then I'll, I'll, I'll kind of give a, a, a not great answer.
So the kind of flavors that I would kind of. Look into would be the traditional search fund kind of just Google that it'll come up. Uh, this is where you search for 2 years. Investors that's traditional search fund model. There is what they call self funded search, which is, you know, you just yourself and make some government debt, go and acquire a business.
Uh, then there is what someone, I think Steven, you mentioned earlier, uh, an accelerated model. So there's some groups that instead of having multiple investors, you just have maybe one or two, like, larger investors. Um, so that's, um, [00:28:00] another kind of model there's probably the, the, the major ones most relevant to this audience.
Um, there in the last one, it's like a newer model. It's kind of the holding company model. And so instead of buying one business, individual that maybe buys a number of businesses, maybe smaller ones, or maybe they're similar in industry. So those are the four main flavors of entrepreneurship through acquisition.
Um, I would say Google is your friend. And. Podcasts around this topic are really, really good. There's a couple of awesome, uh, acquiring minds, uh, and things like an owner are two that come to mind immediately, just great podcasts. And they have guests in the episodes that cover each flavor of the model. So I think that might be the best way to start.
[00:28:43] Kimberly R. Daniel: That's great. Thank you for so many wonderful resources for people. Concrete. Tangible resources that people can explore, uh, should they be interested in potentially pursuing this or just wanting to learn more. And for those of you who are listening, and [00:29:00] this podcast is just the beginning. We want to continue to support you and however we can, you can go to do good x.
org and check out some tools and resources there, join our LinkedIn community, and we hope to see you. And that those spaces, and we hope that you continue to join us here on the podcast. We are going to shift to our last segment with you, Eduardo. And this is called Off the Cuff. And we're going to ask you a series of questions.
And you just name the first thing that comes to mind. 
[00:29:30] Eduardo Zaldivar: Oh, man, Kimberly, this is dangerous. Me Off the Cuff, that is a dangerous game. But I'm, I'm, I'm going to play. 
[00:29:38] Kimberly R. Daniel: All right. What is the best piece of advice you have received on your entrepreneurial journey?
[00:29:48] Eduardo Zaldivar: I would say it's not what you don't know that'll hurt you. It's what you know, that just ain't so. And to elaborate that is. Too many [00:30:00] people in entrepreneurship fall in love with their idea or the solution instead of the problem. They think they have like the exact product or idea or company in mind.
When reality just get started. Have at the beginning of an idea, go out there and iteratively improve it over time with whatever the market, whatever people want, as opposed to spending, you know, a year in your mind, creating some amazing products that no one actually is asking for. So that would be the number one thing I would encourage any entrepreneur to go out there and figure out what do they actually want.
[00:30:31] Stephen Lewis: Eduardo, can you say that for the people in the back of the room? I'm just playing with, let me ask you this. What is one daily or weekly monthly practice that sets you up for success as an entrepreneur? 
[00:30:46] Eduardo Zaldivar: Yeah, it's such a good question. Um, and I hope you can relate to this in different ways, perhaps. Um, but maybe people can relate to this directly.
For me, it's prayer. Uh, I, I'm a Christian and, and, uh, I became a Christian, [00:31:00] uh, many years ago, and having a daily time where I'm able to just connect with my, with the Lord and my faith is, has changed everything for me. I think in, because in that space, a lot of things, a lot of really important things happen.
You slow down. You appreciate things you're able to, uh, reflect on maybe learning from the past. And for me, that's just been, you know, every morning for the past several years now, making sure that I do that has been a center point of making sure that I show up to work every day, that the person that I want to be, I'm kinder because of it.
I'm more thoughtful. Um, and I think not only does that make me a better business leader, which I absolutely think it does, but also makes me a better friend, better partner, better son. Uh, and things all of a sudden are really important. 
[00:31:48] Kimberly R. Daniel: What do you do to navigate roadblocks and build your own confidence?
[00:31:55] Eduardo Zaldivar: Hmm. Yeah, that's, that's a big one, especially for, for people who are listening, who maybe come from underrepresented [00:32:00] backgrounds. Yeah, that's, that's a big one. I think maybe two things come to mind. Um, for me, it does go back to faith. Um, for what, for what I believe about reality and about who made me, um, Some things are just more important than any kind of daily.
Trials that I might face and that just keeps me centered, you know, that just there's a greater purpose in all of it. So that's 1, but I think tactically. Uh, for me, it's been, there's a Ray Dalio says that, uh, it's not pain that that causes growth. It's pain plus reflection. And I think a lot of people run to the roadblocks.
And the roadblock, but it's actually the same roadblock over and over again. So, I think creating a space to reflect, not just with yourself, but with a community of people, uh, it has been essential for me. So. Uh, five guys who we've been in the same kind of Bible study for a long time. Whenever I encounter difficulties, problems, roadblocks, I go to them.
Sometimes they have answers, sometimes they [00:33:00] don't. Sometimes it's just listening. But that process of having a reflective process with others has been key, I think, to working with roadblocks. 
[00:33:08] Stephen Lewis: How much of your success do you attribute to your faith versus your own grit? Your own will or your own hustle.
[00:33:18] Eduardo Zaldivar: Hmm. Wow. That's a profound question. Actually, I wasn't ready for that. Steven. Um, that's a great question that has been asked by many philosophers. Um, I'm not a philosopher, but I'll give you my, my take on it. I would say all of it. I would say all of it. Um, for me, at least. When I look back at my, yeah, this is my experience when I look at back at my life.
I shouldn't be here for a lot of reasons. Um, there's so many moments in my life where things could have gone a totally different way. That is a very not good way. And I can't, I wasn't, I was, you know, I was not even sure at that time, you know, I was young. I got lucky, some would say, but I think I got saved for a [00:34:00] purpose in these things.
And so no matter how hard I worked, um, I think if I hadn't been, uh, blessed with a couple of things, like a mother and father who prioritized education. All my group would have been not wasted, but it wouldn't have been the same. Um, I had bosses, many of them, actually, I think maybe all of them in the early years, at least who are believers, who are Christians, who gave me a shot, like my, my first really awesome job, I did not deserve.
I did not have the background for it. I did not have the skill. I certainly did not have a skill set for it. Uh, but the founder took a shot on me and he was a believer and he said, Hey, I'm going to give you a chance. And then Steven and Kimberly, when I messed up the first chance, to give me a second. And I was not in control for that.
Like I think so, I look at so many moments where, um, it was a, I would say my grit, um, is a necessary prerequisite, but it's not a [00:35:00] sufficient one. Alone. It, it is not sufficient. I've needed my faith and I've needed people of the faith to, to come alongside me, 
[00:35:08] Kimberly R. Daniel: complete this sentence because of my entrepreneurial endeavors.
Communities will be, are or are more able to blank. 
[00:35:19] Eduardo Zaldivar: I would say live freely. That drives me. Um, the restriction that not having autonomy or, um, sufficient wealth, and I'm not saying you have to be a billionaire, but. Enough capital in your community to meet the fair necessities. It's so restrict, you know, I haven't experienced that personally.
It's so restrictive. It's so hard. It's like, you know, moving around with a 50 pound. Weight best wherever you go, and we hope with was a. With the mission that we're empowering and present people with. There will be [00:36:00] both an increase in. The leadership in the community, because the CEOs were creating, but also just what creation, uh, what this can do for under the community.
I think is very powerful. I think we will live more freely because 
[00:36:13] Kimberly R. Daniel: that's beautiful and a wonderful way to close out this episode. Eduardo, thank you so much for taking the time to be with us to share your experience to share a lot of knowledge that many people just don't know about when it comes to other forms of entrepreneurship.
So, we appreciate you. We appreciate the work that you're doing and the support that you're providing to underrepresented founders. Thank you 
[00:36:38] Stephen Lewis: Yeah, Guard. I want to say thank you for taking time out of your schedule to be with us today. I think, um, you are a shining beacon of hope of what underrepresentative Entrepreneurs can bring to the space and also providing a different perspective about how you can approach the entrepreneurial journey to close the wealth gap.[00:37:00] 
Um, and actually to be able to generate the kind of resources that our families and our communities are longing for. So, thank you for the witness that you are and the blessing that you're doing through your work. So, thank you. 
[00:37:15] Eduardo Zaldivar: Yeah, well, thank you for having me, Stephen and Kimberly. It's a blessing. It's an honor to be able to share.
What Lord has done in my life and what we're able to, and hoping to do through Mosaic. Thank you for the work that you do on this podcast. And I know it's going to bless a lot of people.
[00:37:30] Kimberly R. Daniel: All right. So today, you know, we just want to share from our experience. We don't really talk much about Dugan X. Uh, you may have tuned in to the episode with me, interviewing Stephen and sharing a little bit about, uh, Dugan X and, and what inspired him and his particular work. But today we want to explore impactful experiences that we've had with [00:38:00] mentors, fellows, or alums in our community.
Uh, so Stephen, is there an experience? That you have had with our good people that you want to share. Or maybe someone left a profound, gave you a profound word or, or affirmation, or, you know, maybe it's something you've seen somebody in our, in our community kind of grow in and move towards success in their particular businesses.
[00:38:34] Stephen Lewis: Yeah. I mean, I would say this Kim Lee, there's these two kind of, um, African Proverbs. One that says, you know, if you want to go quick, go alone, you want to go far, go together. And the other one is, um, many hands make light the work. And I remember a time when this is pre COVID, um, and the pandemic, where we used to [00:39:00] gather together in community.
And people would bring their ideas, and what you would see in that community is how the community would come together and help sharpen people's, um, Um, the business ideas and the solutions to the problems that they want to solve. And what I saw in that moment is that how much stronger we can have with, um, when we have more people that are helping us to see what we can't see.
I think Eduardo in the last episode was talking about, you know, 20 eyes in terms of a team of investors can help you see things that you could not otherwise see you just with your own eyes. And just the, the importance of what community, uh, enables you to do is it is probably the most important, uh, social capital that you have that, you know, they often times say, I heard my cousin say a few weeks ago, which is your network is your network.
[00:40:00] So, um, when you think about that, um, your, the community and your and the network of people that can help you build a thing, um, to build a business and get that off the ground that actually can actually make an impact in the lives of others is really dependent on the community and the people that you surround yourself with.
Um, they can help you grow that. And so I think in do good X, what we've seen throughout the accelerator, whether it would be pre pandemic or post pandemic, building a community of individuals that can share their ideas and be vulnerable. Um, to say, Hey, how can I make this better? And what am I not seeing can help build a better solution to the problems that I think, um, are important to the communities that we serve.
What about you? 
[00:40:58] Kimberly R. Daniel: I mean, [00:41:00] how can I just, you took, you took the words, but I, I do, I do look, I can't even speak. I think that was beautifully said, and it makes me think about earlier, earlier on when we did meet in person and. The level of vulnerability that people had, not just with their businesses, but themselves as a human being, because we are humans bringing these businesses to life and how the community really supported one another and connected more deeply and intentionally with each other.
So at the end of our accelerator programs, we also, we always have something that we do together as a community that doesn't have anything to do with the business. More so to do with how we connect with one another. And so when we were meeting in person, this is back in between 2017 to 2019, before the pandemic, [00:42:00] we would have this practice of creating a piece of poetry together in a way where no one, each person, each individual would be writing their own piece, their own line, and their own space.
And we would collectively come together, cut these pieces up, these lines, these phrases, and together build a poem together that reflected the message that needed to be said to that particular cohort. And I'm not really articulate. It was magical. I'm not, I can't even articulate how, you know, how deep this experience was and how profound the poems were that came out of this group that nobody had expected.
But the, [00:43:00] the beautiful piece was that everybody contributed to this thing and they brought their full selves. And this was a gift. To each one as we left that space together and went on to build these businesses, but something that they can keep with them on a regular basis to help them to help fuel their journey and know that they're not alone.
There's always this community there for them. So that's what it made me think about. Always continues to be a profound experience that I look back on. 
[00:43:31] Stephen Lewis: Yeah, I agree. I think the other thing too, when I think about value is, um, resilience and determination. You know, you and I have talked about this. I share with this in the cohort using a basketball metaphor.
The late, great Kobe Bryant used to talk about a mamba mentality and this whole idea of like being locked in on the thing that you're actually working on and, um, [00:44:00] not making any excuses. You know, there's going to be a lot of no's. Um, on the journey towards yes, and then you have to stay with it. You got to stick with it.
That what has been given to you to bring to the world is a calling. It is a summoning, um, that is been longing to be birthed or whatever. And there's a community of customers that are longing and waiting for the solution that you are bringing into the world. And so. If it was easy, everybody would do it.
But you have to have that mama mentality. You have to be able to, to be able to stand in the faces of many knows until you open and walk, um, boldly and confidently through the doors of yes. And I think, you know, we've seen that with people like Kit Ford, um, Demi McCoy [00:45:00] and others who have actually, you know, alums of our programs who've, you know, have had to it.
Yeah. Kind of work through and continue to stay on the road, stay on the course that even when you get knocked down, you keep standing, you keep walking, you keep working and bit by bit, you begin to, you know, create the kind of momentum that gives bloom to the vision, the seeds that you've been planting.
And I think that's just so rewarding to see that. But yeah. Knowing that, you know, that the work that you have requires, um, that kind of mama mentality, that kind of, uh, determination and persistence in the face of all types of odds that would tell you otherwise.
[00:45:47] Kimberly R. Daniel: Well, that's it. Hopefully you all have been inspired a little bit, or you've enjoyed learning more about our experience with the Do Good X community. We hope that you [00:46:00] join us again next time. And until then, be well and do good. 
[00:46:07] Narrator: Thank you for listening to the Do Good X podcast. To continue the conversation or access our resources, visit Visit www.
dogoodx. org. Join us again for conversations that will nourish your soul, ignite your dreams, and empower you to build an impactful business, one intentional step at a time until then keep striving, thriving, and doing good.