ETA + Motherhood: Launching Buy, Build, Balance

Hi Searchfunder community, In May, I closed on my first acquisition 🎉 — right as I was navigating the wild first year of motherhood. The overlap of these two journeys inspired me to launch a Substack called Buy, Build, Balance, where I’m documenting the real story of building a business while raising a family. Over time, I hope this becomes more than just my journal — I want to build a space where women in ETA (and those considering it) can connect, share lessons, and see what’s possible. ETA is such a uniquely powerful path for moms: you work incredibly hard, but on your own terms, with control over your schedule, your success, and the kind of life you design. I’d love your feedback, introductions to others who might resonate with this, or simply a read + subscribe if it speaks to you. 🙏 Here’s my first post: 👉 Welcome to Buy, Build, Balance: https://buybuildbalance.substack.com/p/welcome-to-buy-build-balance Thank you for the support!! This community has been amazing and I'd love to contribute to it in a new way! Editing at the bottom per Luke's advice about sharing the post inside. Thanks a lot, Luke! — Hello 👋, Substack readers (potential and otherwise)! I decided to start this newsletter to “build in public” — both to hold myself accountable on a new professional journey and to connect with like-minded women. My hope is to build a community of mamas who can rely on one another as we create phenomenal businesses that give us freedom and compensate us well. It can be hard to find your people as a new mom, and this is my attempt to do just that. Thanks for reading Buy, Build, Balance! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. I recently learned that one-third of women business owners have school-aged or younger children. Yet, in my own journey, I haven’t found a community designed specifically to support mothers as they launch and grow businesses. I’d like to join with you in changing that. I graduated from HBS in 2021, right into a toppy tech market that felt like the end of Part I of my career. After two years in tech banking, two years in tech growth venture, and launching a pre-seed fund — all during a bull market — I was starting to think about family planning with my partner and what my next chapter might look like. I felt I needed a stable option. So, I took a role that offered a predictable salary and a new style of investing to learn. Through multiple rounds of IVF and the arrival of our first baby, I was grateful for the steady hours and earnings. But almost immediately, I also felt trapped. The truth is, I’ve never been a great employee. I believe in working like a lion — efficiently, with intensity and integrity — but I’ve always resisted “showing my work” for authority’s comfort. Results matter most to me, not following the prescribed path. Venture suited me because it let my lone-wolf, hustler nature thrive. In my most recent role, though, that attitude wasn’t winning me many friends. I knew I needed to get back to an environment where my input directly shaped my output — and where I could operate authentically. So, while pregnant with my first baby and juggling a high-pressure role with constant travel (hello, Global Services), I launched a self-funded search. Not the timing most would recommend — but I’ve always preferred to run through fire rather than tiptoe. This newsletter is my chance to document the path toward becoming a full-time entrepreneur. My search (and my early-stage investing) mostly happened at night and on weekends, between baby naps and whatever brainpower I had left. Along the way, I’ve been figuring out the “new me” as a mother, while also finding my way back to myself. I recently closed my first acquisition, survived the first busy season, and am excited to grow the business — and maybe pursue new acquisitions as well. I hope this can be a space where women gather, grow, share, and move at least one step closer to the freedom and security we desire as mothers and professionals. I’d love to hear from you about what you’d most like to learn as I share the ups and downs, challenges and joys of building a business and raising a family, all at once. Consider this our first coffee chat ☕ — tell me what’s keeping you up at night as a builder, buyer, or mama trying to balance it all. I’ll bring the notes back here in future issues.