In 1987, I moved from Pennsylvania to Minnesota to attend the University of Minnesota Institute of Technology with plans to become a nuclear engineer for the Navy. And then reality hit. Going into my freshman year, I discovered three things: first, I didn't see a military career as a fit for me; second, I didn't click with the University of Minnesota; and third, I hated engineering.
Still at school, adrift in my degree pursuit and needing a job, I connected with a friend whose father was an insurance executive. He helped get me a job in the evenings while I attended school during the day. Unexpectedly and completely unplanned, I was in insurance.
After finishing my undergraduate degree, I stayed with my insurance job, trying my hand as a producer and failing miserably. However, I was good at case design—seeing and simplifying complex things. Partnering with producers who could prospect, I created a viable path forward in the business.
Finding I lacked standing when dealing with attorneys and accountants, I went back to school to get a law degree that would put me on a more equal status footing. I fully expected to become a field-based advanced marketing counsel. Instead, I happened into a unique opportunity at a firm in Minnesota focusing on deferred compensation in the banking space, and the rest, as the saying goes, is history.
For 25 years, I concentrated on deferred compensation and executive benefits, mostly in the financial services industry—banks, credit unions, and insurance companies. Some work in other industries, always at a corporate level, helped me make new business contacts. When my employer, the dominant specialist in the field, was absorbed into Transamerica, I decided to strike out on my own.
I found it motivating to tie the company name to my family. We call my daughter, Isabella, "Izzy," and my son is named Alex—thus, IZALE. What I didn't anticipate was that the name would be a stealth marketing success, a memorable conversation starter.
People would mispronounce it five ways to Sunday. They wanted to know how to say it and what it meant or stood for. I would tell the story and people would connect. As I grew and other producers joined, they also made it their story. That story also helped underscore for prospects what was driving us to do the job well, who we were doing it for, and the personal nature of our operation.
IZALE started out as me, a laptop, and a guy in his mid-20s who worked a few hours a week helping with modeling. Drawing on my industry reputation and advisor contacts, I quickly landed a few clients, which gave me a footing to expand the business slowly and steadily.
Three years in, I hired two people with credit union industry experience who had left a competitor. That same year, I brought on several people seeking to scale their community banking business. My goal, however, wasn't size alone. I had been at the biggest and had seen their missteps. I wanted methodical growth that allowed us to keep service at the highest levels and client retention along with it.
High retention levels meant we could develop deep working client relationships and, in turn, discover new ways to help them, which also drove our business. I also engaged with non-competitive partners to help offer clients additional capabilities. These partnerships became a great way to open doors to potential new clients.
The business was humming along in 2022 when I was approached three different times by a firm offering to buy the company. I consistently said no, but curious, I signed an NDA and shared some company information. The offer that came back was an eye-opener. While it might've been a great way to cash out and retire, that's not what I was looking for. Also, I had no context, was in no rush to sell, and didn't see a lot of synergy with our operations. I had, however, been getting questions from employees and the occasional client about the long-term picture. Vendor succession questions during due diligence with banks and other regulated institutions were also becoming more pointed.
I realized I needed more than a great offer. I needed a plan for my future.
So, I called a friend who had sold his business to ask about his process. He connected me with an investment banker. They helped identify four other firms, including Risk Strategies, that were interested in a transaction.
Risk Strategies stood out from the start. They explained how my firm, its clients, and people mutually benefitted from a deal. In discussions with the Risk Strategies proposal, I saw opportunities for my employees and producers to do more. The earn-out structure, for instance, strongly incentivized cross-selling, getting outside our lane, and connecting with all Risk Strategies could do for our clients. The picture they painted was holistic; essentially, our business model. The choice was clear. Our clients would get the same service experience they relied on, we would get a strong partner with a far deeper bench to deliver resources and attract new talent and clients.
In the months after signing the deal, as we integrated our systems, all the things I'd disliked about running my own business - HR issues, facilities issues, infrastructure needs – became somebody else's problem. I felt myself becoming re-energized, freed to refocus on the client-side work that made my professional life enjoyable and satisfying. Our people are also finding themselves in a stronger position to compete, serve clients better, gain new knowledge, and expand their career options.
The Risk Strategies offer wasn't the highest or even the second highest, but the best deal delivers so much more than a number; we are excited about this newest chapter.