PE-Backed Trade Schools and the Culture of Ethical Growth in Regulated Industries with Jim Tolbert

CONNECT WITH JESSI ON LINKEDIN >>> HERE!What does it take to buy, build, and scale a business without losing sight of ethics, culture, and people?In this episode of At Work, Under Pressure, Jessi Beyer sits down with Jim Tolbert of ExecCap Advisors to talk about entrepreneurship through acquisition, the business of education, regulated industries, private equity, trade schools, leadership, and what it takes to grow companies responsibly.Jim’s connection to entrepreneurship started long before his professional career. His father, an Air Force veteran, bought and ran a trade school in Baltimore, making trades education part of Jim’s childhood and family story. After starting his career in investment banking and consulting with organizations including Morgan Stanley, Walt Disney, and McKinsey, Jim returned to those roots by building a company that provided tuition financing for trade school students.That journey eventually led him to acquire, operate, and scale trade schools himself, including growing one platform from a single location to nine locations across four states over 15 years. Today, through ExecCap Advisors, Jim partners with experienced executives, veterans, and former business owners who want to buy and run companies.In this episode, Jessi and Jim discuss:How Jim’s childhood around a family trade school shaped his entrepreneurial pathWhy trades education matters and why the world does not need everyone to follow the same academic routeThe tension between for-profit and nonprofit educationWhat it means to operate ethically in a highly regulated industryWhy regulation can become a competitive advantage when handled wellHow to build a culture of ethics inside a growing companyWhy regulators should be treated more like customers than enemiesWhat changes when a business grows from one location to nineWhy the right leader at two locations may not be the right leader at nineWhat entrepreneurship through acquisition is and why experienced executives can be strong acquisition entrepreneursWhy veterans may be especially well-suited to buying and running businessesThe people-related challenges that come with buying, scaling, and leading companiesThis episode is for entrepreneurs, investors, executives, veterans, business owners, searchers, leaders in regulated industries, and anyone interested in acquisition entrepreneurship, ethical growth, and the human side of scaling a company.Because growth is not just a financial strategy.It is a leadership test.CONNECT WITH JIMLinkedInExecCap Advisors