The Long Game

In the next decade, nearly 70 percent of U.S. new businesses will fail . . . Why?

Competition. Stock market downturns. Geopolitical crisis. Poor planning. Millions of companies struggle to make it past one year, but how do the rare few manage to endure one hundred years? And is it still even possible to future-proof your business? The answer is yes. This playbook, developed by Eric Becker, will show you how it’s done. As an investor, board member, CEO and founder, Eric has become a global leader in private equity and wealth management and successfully played key roles in over one hundred companies in his career. He has also guided some of the world’s most powerful entrepreneurs and ultra-high net worth families.

By leveraging his own success and lessons he’s learned in board rooms of billion-dollar start-ups and iconic legacy brands, Eric has developed the key plays that he believes can fortify a business to thrive. The Long Game highlights a curated collection of companies that have defied the odds and thrived for over a century. Through meticulous research and in-depth interviews with CEOs, historians, and key decision makers, this book delves into the pivotal strategies and decisions that enabled them to adapt and remain competitive on a global stage. Eric’s playbook passes forward the legacy of those who have figured it out, helping founders shape the future.

Author Biography

Eric Becker is Founder and Co-Chairman of Cresset, an award-winning multi-family office with over $65 billion assets under management. Alongside Founder and Co-Chairman, Avy Stein, Eric shares his extensive experience advising founders, entrepreneurs, private equity partners, and ultra-high net worth families in addition to serving on the firm’s leadership team. 

As Co-Founder of Sterling Partners, a value-added, growth private equity firm that raised eight funds with over $5.7 billion of capital, Eric has a long history of starting, backing, and nurturing companies.  Eric’s first love is his family, including his two sons, daughter-in-law, grandson and wife of thirty-seven years, Jill.     

Avy Stein is Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of Cresset, an award-winning multi-family office with over $65+ billion assets under management. Together with Founder, Eric Becker, Avy has been involved with starting, investing in, and growing over 150 businesses and raising funds totaling over $8 billion. A longtime investor and entrepreneur, Avy champions the well-being of founders, entrepreneurs, and business innovators and helps elevate the lives of the families Cresset serves.