In this McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility interview, Ray and Dana Chery discuss their path to business ownership with McKinsey’s Nick Noel. In 2024, the husband-and-wife team acquired Monsam Portable Sinks from the previous owners, who were retiring and selling the business. The transaction was part of the Great Ownership Transfer, in which millions of small and medium-size businesses face transitions as baby boomers retire. The Cherys share why they chose entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA, a model in which entrepreneurs acquire, manage, and grow an existing company rather than starting from scratch) and reflect on their search process and what they’ve learned about leadership, risk, and growth as first-time owner–operators. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Nick Noel: What are your professional backgrounds, and what made you decide to become business owners together?
Dana Chery: Ray and I met at Tufts University, where we both studied economics. After graduation, I established the foundation of my career in quintessential corporate America at GE. I then pursued my MBA at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. During that application process, I remember writing about entrepreneurship being a long-term goal. After grad school, I transitioned into the tech industry where I held a variety of marketing leadership roles, primarily in product marketing. What really excited me about those roles was launching products and working on strategic partnerships and acquisitions. That culminated in my desire to pursue entrepreneurship as a path—and, most importantly, to pursue it in partnership with Ray.
Ray Chery: My background is in financial services. I started in corporate banking, moved into investment banking, and then spent time with a late-stage start-up in cybersecurity software. Throughout my time in banking, I advised management teams and investment groups on strategy, mergers, acquisitions, capital raises, and debt financings. Through it all, I had a lot of close contact and exposure to entrepreneurs.
Nick Noel: What precipitated the jump from corporate life into small-business ownership? Why did you decide to pursue entrepreneurship through acquisition?
Ray Chery: Entrepreneurship has always been near and dear to both of our hearts. I grew up outside Boston and had several family members who owned bakeries and storefronts. It was a powerful representation of the American dream. As I moved through my career in financial services, it was always at the back of my mind. ETA represented a risk-adjusted path and opportunity to capitalize and build on a business with a strong foundation, rather than building a business from scratch.
Dana Chery: ETA made the most sense for where we were in our careers. The fact that we could come into an existing business and see the potential to take it to the next step and beyond was exciting.
As we started to progress deeper into the search, we noticed that many of the organizations we were assessing were owned and operated by husband-and-wife teams. That opened our eyes to the prospect of doing this together.
We also have complementary skill sets: Ray has a background in finance, and I in marketing. At this point in our careers, being able to leverage our collective experience and apply it to a company that had already established product market fit and been performing well was extremely attractive.
Nick Noel: As you shifted from idea to action, what resources and relationships proved most valuable during your acquisition search?
Ray Chery: The search was an opportunity for us to leverage the networks we developed over the course of our careers. We have friends and former colleagues in and around the ETA space who were very helpful as we considered how this could potentially look. As we went through every step in the acquisition process, we had members of our community—searchers, operators, investors, lenders, advisers, and attorneys—who were very helpful as we encountered different opportunity sets.
Nick Noel: What was the search process like?
Ray Chery: As we started analyzing businesses, there was a set of criteria we developed. We were looking to acquire a company that was historically profitable, relatively close to our home, and with retiring owners. That opened the aperture to several potential opportunities. From there, it was a matter of speaking with business brokers and business owners looking to sell.
We reviewed hundreds of product and service businesses. At one point, we looked at a promising service business that refurbished propane tanks. It was extremely lucrative but, unfortunately, a little too far away for us to pursue. There were other opportunities that required certain types of licensing that we were less familiar or comfortable with. But there were a number of opportunities that really opened our eyes to all the different types of small businesses that power the economy that many folks may not be aware of or privy to.
Nick Noel: How and why did you end up acquiring Monsam Portable Sinks?
Dana Chery: As a product and service, Monsam was really attractive to us; it was close to our home, and the owners were a husband-and-wife team that was looking to retire.
We design and manufacture portable hygiene and service equipment for the hospitality, food service, education, and healthcare end markets, among others. All of our products are built here at our headquarters in Northern California. They include customizable handwashing stations, food service carts, prep tables, storage carts, and science lab workstations. They work right out of the box and are perfect for venues, schools, and healthcare facilities where our customers want to provide hot and cold running water without permanent plumbing or offer prep space without any formal installation. We didn’t set out to acquire a company that manufactures the solutions that we do, but we just couldn’t pass it up.
Ray Chery: It’s a product that is very tangibly solving real problems for real people across the country. Take hospitality, for example. These solutions enable venues to think more creatively around how they leverage certain spaces, so we’re facilitating folks building community, whether it’s at sporting events, concerts, or convention centers. It’s a niche product, but one that is helping people congregate and get together in a time when we’re all overdigitized and looking for more community. It’s the same within education, or health and wellness, or many other spaces that we support.
Nick Noel: What has the learning curve been like for you to learn a new industry and earn trust from employees and customers?
Ray Chery: Stepping into a situation like this, you always want to honor the legacy that was built before you. This business was founded 28 years ago and has served more than 11,000 customers. There was a lot of history to respect as we moved forward. It was very important for us to honor that legacy with our employees, partners, customers, and vendors and really communicate effectively around our intentions and goals. We didn’t want to come in and change a whole bunch of things off the bat. We wanted to be clear that we are here because of what has been built, and we are here to elevate it and bring it into the next era.
Dana Chery: Being an owner–operator requires a new level of context switching, and there’s a lot to juggle. You need to have a deep understanding and appreciation for what has been built before. We looked to build on that foundation. It’s been both humbling and energizing.
We didn’t look to make a slew of big changes when we came in, but we saw opportunities to make tweaks and adjustments to increase efficiencies. We strove to bring fresh energy to the company and showcase to our team what we were looking to do with the business, which was to open up new market opportunities.
Our employees are instrumental in helping us design new solutions and getting those products out the door into the hands of customers who really need them. It’s a collective team effort. One of the most exciting things for all of us is seeing the different use cases and applications of our products.
Nick Noel: What was the transition like with the prior owners as you came in to execute your own value creation strategy?
Ray Chery: There was a lot of synergy soon after meeting the founders. We’re both husband-and-wife teams. They started this endeavor when they were around our age. The business is named after a combination of their kids’ names, and the LLC we formed to consummate the transaction—even before meeting them—is a combination of our kids’ names. There were also some cultural connections. They had energy, enthusiasm, and expertise, and they put a lot of value and stock in our experience. We were all excited around our plans to elevate the business and bring it into this new era of growth.
Nick Noel: Now that you’ve been running the organization for a little bit, how has becoming business owners changed the way you think about risk and success?
Dana Chery: It’s given us a greater appreciation for the phrase, “Think like an owner.” We approach every day with the mentality, “What do we need to do to move our business forward? What do we need to do to ensure that our employees are successful and happy? And what do we need to do to ensure that we, as business partners, are maintaining open lines of communication, sharing feedback with each other, and continuing to make the right investments?”
Every investment we make is a critical one. We don’t have the luxury of being able to throw a ton of spaghetti at the wall and see what happens. We need to be very thoughtful about the strategic decisions we make, where we invest our time, and what markets we pursue.
Ray Chery: Every day matters. There are risks associated with making certain decisions, and there are risks associated with the timing around each decision. We risk-adjust on a day-to-day basis, a month-to-month basis, and quarterly as we endeavor to expand.
Nick Noel: You’ve been running Monsam for nearly two years now. Who do you rely on for guidance and support?
Dana Chery: As we’ve entered this industry and tried to grow, we’ve been fortunate to tap into small-business networks. We’re really leaning into other leaders who have been in this space—whether tangentially or directly— who have been very generous in sharing their time, perspective, and feedback as they hear more about Monsam in the market. Having their support and encouragement along the way has been truly phenomenal.
Nick Noel: What advice would you give to people who are looking to buy a business? What advice would you give to sellers as well?
Dana Chery: I can’t emphasize this enough: Know your criteria and what’s going to be required of you throughout the search. Know that it can be a challenging process. It requires focus, dedication, and diligence. There’s no neat path to finding a business; the outcomes and timelines are different for everyone. It’s critical to really understand what you’re looking to achieve by pursuing this path—both throughout the search process and then once you become an owner–operator.
The other thing I would add is to find a partner or join a network. The process can be a lonely one. The more you can lean into a community of other searchers or do this in partnership with someone, the more likely you are to be more fulfilled in the search.
Ray Chery: For sellers, I would say to take stock of your business. Try to prepare it as best you can so that it is actually sellable when the time comes. Do you have systems in place? Are there standard operating procedures that you can hand off to the next owner? What are your thoughts on value? What does success look like for you? How organized is your supply chain? What would your customers and vendors say about you? Things of that nature are what buyers will be evaluating. They want to know that this is a real business, and not just a “one-man show.” Going through these steps will help ensure that’s the case.
