Around the end of 2023, I came face-to-face with a tough decision.

My company, FA Match, which used software to match advisors in the job market with RIAs, broker-dealers and banks looking to hire, had a major problem: we weren’t getting enough traction in attracting new advisors to our platform. One particular sleeve of the business accelerated rapidly after its launch, and while that kept us afloat for a while, it proved to be an unsustainable revenue stream in the long term. We didn’t feel comfortable asking investors to contribute more funding, as we didn’t have a clear vision for how to right the ship.

At the same time, I was going through a major change in my family life. It felt like I was getting hit from all sides.

The final straw was a conversation with my co-founder in which we determined we’d soon need to stop taking income for ourselves. I was married with three dependents at the time, and frankly wasn’t in a position to keep pushing on a venture that after six years wasn’t panning...