Friends and partners - 

 

I hope you’ve had a wonderful 2025! Among many other things, I am grateful we had another year of good health and the ability to continue building Enduring with great people and partners.

 

On that front, we added a new business to our ecosystem this past summer after two years of, admittedly frustrating, searching. The business is a multigeneration family business that’s been around since the 1800s with a wonderful history and family, serving a customer base we care deeply about. We are honored that they trusted us as the stewards of what they built. This one also comes with its fair share of challenges. Some likely could be “deal breakers” for other potential buyers. I’m glad that over the last two years we spent time thinking more deeply about what opportunities were the right fit for Enduring and our unique advantages. That allowed us to know one when we came across it. Time will tell with respect to outcome, but I am optimistic about it and thrilled that we’ve found another one that fits our mold.   

 

There are many wonderful things about the business. One area we are improving is creating a more unified and transparent culture. Fortunately, we have a rigorously articulated set of values that we’ve worked hard to live by for many years. Changing culture takes time and effort (one reason it’s a good fit for our approach). For that and other reasons, I’ve joined the company as interim CEO. In this case (like many) leading by example from the front is important. This means that I’ve been standing up in front of hundreds of people on a regular basis… and I am objectively bad at it. Fortunately, we have leaders on the team who are strong in this area. Where we have landed is that I have led the first few sessions, to signal their importance, but am empowering other leaders to step into the spotlight. It’s working great!

 

Historically, I would’ve struggled with delegating this. That was probably pride. I would have told myself it was important for me to be the dominant voice in every event. Over the last few years, I’ve become much more comfortable knowing my true self, leaning into those gifts, and empowering others in the many areas where I am weak and they are strong. We are all puzzle pieces of different shapes. The more I can see and be comfortable with the truth of what my puzzle piece looks like, the better I can identify and empower the strengths in others around me. That is how we can build something special.

 

From both a leadership perspective (where to empower the team at our new company) and a firm perspective (what the right opportunities are for Enduring), knowing and embracing the truth has become an advantage. It’s my aspiration that we continue compounding in this way for many years to come.

 

Acquiring a business doesn’t mean we’ve remained stagnant in other areas this year. One of our three core principles is to “relentlessly pursue better.” Below are a few areas in which we’ve made good on this and achieved meaningful progress in other ways this year as well. I am grateful for and proud of each.

 

• Promoted a rising star CEO to the Enduring entity level to super charge our operating efforts.

• Improved performance enough at a business to consider introducing health benefits for the team.

• Reviewed ~1,300 other potential investment opportunities but kept our threshold and focus high and didn’t close on any aside from the one we purchased (which we actually found in 2024).  

 

In line with our goal of respecting the resources of our friends and partners (particularly your time), I will keep it short and end it here.

 

Thank you for your interest, support and partnership. Cheers to 2026!

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Jory Caulkins
CEO
Enduring Companies

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