Key Takeaways
After years in executive leadership, the author chose to buy a business instead of starting one from scratch to gain entrepreneurial freedom with less risk.
Acquisition entrepreneurship offers mid-career professionals a faster, more stable path to ownership by leveraging their experience, networks and financial capital.
After nearly two decades as a healthcare executive and practicing physician — including serving as Tennessee’s Commissioner of Health during the pandemic — I found myself at a professional crossroads.
Like many mid-career leaders, I wanted more autonomy, more impact and the freedom to shape my own path. Naturally, I assumed that meant launching a startup. But when I looked closer, building something from scratch didn’t align with my reality.
I had a famil