We Meet Again

Wait – again?

For those that have followed me for quite some time, you would likely recall a time when I ran a blog called the Actuary on F.I.R.E. (stands for Financial Independence Retire Early), detailing my rather bumpy road to financial freedom between 2021 and 2024 during my early career as an Actuary. There, I wrote all about my disdain for corporate (American) life, my plan to escape it, and the setbacks I faced.

The changes between my life then and my life today are simply incalculable, and the universe had other things in store for me in the interim. Ironically, in the end, corporate America had its way of shoving me out the door in September 2026 rather than me taking the graceful exit I had imagined. I have no doubt in my mind that the forceful closing of that chapter will end up being what saved me from a life of turmoil and restlessness.

If you are new to me and what I am all about, I welcome you to The CFO Diaries, my ambitious journey to building a small business empire, creating extraordinary wealth, and transforming my pursuit of financial freedom into a life of prosperity and fulfillment – with a Persian twist. Read on.

My Money Story

For you to fully grasp the inner workings of my brain and the way I think, I deem it essential that I explain to you my thirty-two-year “money story.”

Everyone has one: a unique relationship with their wallet and its contents (or lack thereof); the story that people carry with them always but reveal to few. It permeates every aspect of their life, whether they realize it or not, and speaks volumes about them and their life experiences.

·         How do they carry themselves?

·         Are they ambitious?

·         Who do they surround themselves with?

·         Do they seek to impress, or are they content? (nothing wrong with either)

Growing up, my monetary influences could not have been more contradictory.

My father grew up in a Mexican, lower middle-class family of eight (yes – eight) children in Michigan, all attending private Catholic school. Money was tight but manageable. Thriftiness and fiscal conservatism permeated daily life and were values that became deeply ingrained in my father’s approach to life.

As far as you can go on the other end of the spectrum, my mother grew up in a Persian, upper class family in Iran. Status, education, appearances, and displays of wealth were the aims of any modern Persian family in those times (and now). You can say it was a game of Keeping Up with the Khomeinis (“Joneses” if you prefer, but on steroids): Versace, gold, silver, BMWs, Mercedes, Porsches, “summering” in Europe, multi-million-dollar estates – you get the point. 

Sadly, my mother's decision to go into microbiology research delivered little economic prosperity, compared to the grandiose lifestyle she had grown accustomed to. Seeing her visibly upset and tearful in the checkout line at Target when I, perhaps ten years old at the time, asked if I could buy a $30 video game is a memory that will never leave me . The fact that it became such an event and public spectacle made it a powerful source of raging ambition within me to this day.

As you can imagine, these two cultural ideologies were bound to be on a collision course, and shortly after I came into the world, my parents divorced (amicably). She carried with her the opulence of Old Iran, and my dad was set fast in his frugal ways. For many years, this ideological clash raged within me: I strived for the bountiful wealth of my mother’s side, but the fiscal waste, flashiness, and effort to maintain it wreaked havoc in my brain.

But not for long.

Something in mid-2025 would forever change the course of my life, which I will explain soon.

Throughout high school, like many, I worked part-time during the school year and summer months to earn my “fun money.” I learned to value the principles my dad had passed on but still yearned for the Persian Life.

Fast forward to June of 2017, I was a fresh college graduate and debt free, thanks to a 4.33 high school GPA, and was just starting my career as an actuary at a local insurance company.

So, what did this new graduate decide to do with his new $64,000 salary? Move to the most expensive part of town, of course: North Loop, Minneapolis. With rent and bills up to my neck, I was probably only able to stash away ~$200-$400 per month (on a good month), but only if I stayed in and stared at the wall all weekend. It only took one small emergency at the time to set me back several months.

Growing frustration and depression festered within me, seeing that gay culture is quite similar to Persian culture in many respects: luxury, status, and appearances were in and being poor was out. It challenged my sanity seeing my more established friends (granted, 10-20 years older than me) buying multi-million-dollar homes, driving BMWs, and taking luxury vacations what seemed to be every few months.

I thought to myself: “I’m working this hard just to barely break even? I must be doing something wrong.” From that point on, I found the F.I.R.E Movement and fully embraced my dad’s fiscally conservative way of life. Budgeting, minimalism, penny pinching, coupon clipping (virtually) became my personality for nearly a decade. Revolting. And perhaps even a little nauseating. 

After spending a decade of trying to fiscally conserve (save and invest) my way to the opulent lifestyle I was seeking, I was exhausted professionally and personally. This was simply too slow.

A New Path: Small Business Acquisitions

So, what changed it all for me? I saw an Instagram advertisement for Acquisition Ace, a paid, online community that teaches regular people how to find, purchase, and run small (“boring”) businesses to accelerate their path to financial freedom. Intrigued, I paid the $10,000 fee, took the four-week course, and joined the daily classroom calls. Shortly after, I met my two business partners, Nick and Freddy, as part of an “accountability buddy assignment” in the course.

Fast forward to July 2026, we all decided to go into business together and we completed our first acquisition – a luxury flooring business targeting the ultra-wealthy of Southwest Florida – for $1,895,000 that generated an annual $550,000 net profit for the owner. After all expenses (including hiring a general manager and administrative assistant to oversee the day-to-day) and loan payments, the business was conservatively positioned to generate $170,000 in Year 1. I put $41,000 of my own funds into the business, earning me a 30% stake and ~$50,000 of the Year 1 profits.

Having purchased the business from an older, Boomer gentleman and his wife and seeing many opportunities untapped, we expect to double or triple net profit by Year 2. This means $100,000 - $150,000 from one business deal coming my way.

Having now gotten a whiff of the sweet smell of capitalism, we set off to create our own acquisition group called F.A.N. Acquisitions Group (“Freddy”, “Anthony”, “Nick”) with the aim of acquiring and scaling as many small businesses as humanly possible before selling them all as a packaged deal, known as a Business Roll Up, to a private buyer or private equity.

I would lead the Group as Chief Financial Officer, hence the name of this blog, given my background in quantitative financial risk management.

For now, my personal goal is for our group to acquire one small business per year over the next ten years, scaling each to $5,000,000 in annual net profit. If done correctly, this could generate a substantial payout totaling in the tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars. Assuming I have a 30% stake in each business, I could personally see a payout ranging as low as $10,000,000 to as high as $150,000,000.

Do you smell the blood in the water? I do.

Of course, these are just projections. The universe will dictate what actually happens, but I am optimistic good things are coming.

The CFO Diaries

Now, as to why you’re here: The CFO Diaries.

This chapter of my life will do away with the methods of old:

• Fiscal conservatism: gone.

• Penny pinching: gone.

• Timidity: gone.

• Settling: gone.

Simply put – I am abandoning the idea that austerity alone will deliver me the life I am seeking.

In with the new:

• Comfort.

• Generosity.

• Aggression.

• Growth.

Simply put – I am taking a violent left turn away from my prior scarcity mentality to an abundance mentality, of course without abandoning financial common sense.

I’ll admit to you now that I will definitely rub some folks the wrong way, and that’s okay. My tone and attitude will not be for everyone, but in my mind, this is the perspective one must take to soar above the abyss of mediocrity. I will not apologize for that.

So, what can you expect? In the weeks, months, and years to come, you will follow me from my humble beginnings to my pursuit of the American Dream.

You can expect my most intimate thoughts in three facets:

The Empire: Building F.A.N. Acquisitions Group through small business acquisitions, operational improvements, and the eventual strategic exit.

The Fortune: Documenting my personal wealth accumulation, investment philosophy, and changing relationship with money.

The Life: Exploring what prosperity enables in my life, from travel and experiences to personal fulfillment, generosity, and the influence of my grandiose Persian heritage.

Who knows? Maybe you’ll learn something.

Still here? Great. Let’s get cooking.

Until next time.