Ryan Smith - Alumni Profiles - People - Batten Institute

Tell us a little about you:

After college, I served as an artillery officer in the US Marines and began my Darden MBA shortly after returning to civilian life. I learned about entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA) after attending the Southeast ETA conference during my first year at Darden. I became passionate about acquiring my own business and partnered with New Page Capital, an investment team founded by Darden alumni, to search for a business full-time. Three months after my graduation from Darden, I acquired Garage Door Services (GDS), a provider of residential and commercial overhead door solutions located in my hometown of Spartanburg, SC. 

Which Darden courses and/or activities have had the biggest impact on your career post-MBA?  

Other than the ETA-focused courses, I would say Financial Statement Analysis with Paul Simko and Collaboration Lab with Bobby Parmar. Each course lent me valuable tools that I use every day at my business. I also volunteered through Resilience Education and the Darden Tutoring Program. The skills of teaching and empathy are critically important as a small business leader, and these programs were instrumental in helping me practice those skills pre-acquisition. 

What advice would you have for prospective and current Darden students who are interested in pursuing a career in Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition?  

• You can never go wrong pursuing something in life that you are truly passionate about. Live in the singular pursuit of your dreams and make them a reality. 
• Reflect meaningfully on your purpose in pursuing ETA. I would talk to a lot of acquisition entrepreneurs and make sure that you understand the highs and lows that come with running a small business. While ETA seems appealing, it also has its unique challenges, and the most successful acquisition entrepreneurs I have seen are the ones who are motivated by something other than financial gain.
• Take advantage of Darden coursework and take difficult classes that push you out of your comfort zone. As a small business owner, I don’t have to be a subject matter expert, but I do have a responsibility to my team to be comfortable and fluent in the problems my business faces. During your two years at Darden, the time to invest in learning skills that will pay dividends post-acquisition.

What characteristics are most important to be a successful acquisition entrepreneur?   

• The most important characteristics are the personal character of the entrepreneur. Some prospective searchers I talk to feel that they are less qualified due to a lack of certain professional experiences.  
• I think personal character trumps professional experience every time. Many skills can be learned or hired so don’t let this discourage you. Far more important are the discipline, emotional intelligence, and communication skills that will enable you to manage a team and lead an organization through adversity.  

What has been a challenge in your ETA journey, and how do you manage this?  

• Searching for and operating a small business can be a lonely endeavor. At Darden, you are surrounded by a supportive community and dozens of classmates. In ETA you typically experience the opposite. This is often in stark contrast to some post-MBA career paths like consulting or banking, where you may work alongside a team in a city where many of your MBA classmates have also chosen to live.   
• I managed expectations appropriately and knew what I was walking into. I have built a network in my local community, and I have relied on family, friends, and my church to have meaningful relationships and “fill my cup” so that I can be a more effective business owner. The ETA community is also particularly helpful and there is no shortage of Darden alumni to share the experience of being a small business CEO.