Business Development Associate

Garden City Equity is a people-first holding company that invests in exceptional founder and family-owned businesses. We partner with owners who truly care about the legacy of their businesses, and provide them with a fast, fair, and straightforward acquisition process. We utilize little to no debt, hold for the long term, and actively engage our family of mission-aligned shareholders to help grow our businesses.

About the Role:

The Business Development Associate, reporting to the Vice President of Investments, will be key to Garden City’s origination strategy by expanding the intermediary network and increasing qualified investment opportunities. Responsibilities include lead generation, managing the deal pipeline and CRM, executing targeted marketing campaigns, conducting industry research, and building relationships through meetings, calls, and outreach.

Responsibilities:

• Lead Generation (Deal Sourcing and Relationship Building): Proactively establish and maintain relationships with deal intermediaries and business owners, driving an increased volume of qualified leads that align with the firm’s investment criteria. This includes executing industry thesis-driven sourcing strategies and running targeted add-on campaigns to identify opportunities that fit within the firm’s strategic goals.
• Pipeline Management (Deal Flow Tracking): Oversee and manage the firm’s investment opportunity pipeline using the CRM system (Affinity). This includes reviewing inbound opportunities, qualifying them based on investment criteria, and coordinating related communications and workflows.
• Contact Database Management: Ensure that all contacts, including deal intermediaries and business owners, are accurately logged in the firm's CRM (Affinity). Utilize this database to proactively engage in two-way communication with key stakeholders, facilitating the exchange of new opportunities and marketing updates.
• External Reporting and Marketing Communications: Develop internal business development reports and assist in external marketing efforts through email campaigns, social media, newsletters, and press releases.

Requirements:

• 2 years of business development experience, private equity experience preferred
• Bachelor's degree in Business, or similar field
• Strong analytical skills, financial acumen and effective communication
• Solid understanding of private equity landscape
• Self-starter, team-oriented, and an entrepreneurial mindset
• 10% travel

More About Garden City Equity:

Think a “Berkshire Hathaway” model, but of small to mid-sized businesses, with a people-first approach, and with a vision “to honor God by building the best holding company in the world where all workers can thrive”.

We have a simple strategy. We buy & hold companies for the long term, use little to no debt, keep the management team in place, close deals quickly in ~60 days, and preserve the founder’s culture and legacy.

We have strategic capital - no institutional investors. All of our capital comes from mission-aligned and value-added investors who are passionate about coming alongside us to help grow our businesses.

Garden City Equity has experienced significant growth since its launch in 2020; highlights include:

• Capital raised & deployed: Initially raised $52M, which has been almost completely deployed. Raised an additional $150M in 2024.
• Family of companies: Currently includes 6 businesses (control & non-control).
• Growing team: The company will employ 11 professionals across the Investments and Operations teams.
• Investment performance: The firm is currently generating annual cash returns in the high teens, while growing the underlying equity value of the portfolio. If the entire portfolio liquidated today, it would have generated a 60% cumulative return.

We offer:

• Competitive compensation and time off
• Generous health benefits
• Mission-aligned team
• Team offsites
• Regular shareholder summits