Shayne Fitz-Coy buys companies and builds people.

As Co-founder and Co-CEO of Sabot Family Companies, he acquires small and midsize businesses for long-term ownership.

For an owner considering succession, his starting point is the company they have built and the people who know how to run it. He works with those teams to strengthen the business over time.

Shayne Fitz-Coy, operator-investor and Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Sabot Family Companies Palo Alto · Seoul

What Shayne Fitz-Coy does

Acquires

Through Sabot Family Companies, he invests family capital in businesses with established customers and a long-term ownership horizon.

Operates

He became CEO of Rustic Pathways in January 2020, following Sabot’s acquisition in December 2019.

Develops people

His Teaching CEO method describes how he teaches and coaches people while running a business.

Companies owned and operated

Fitz-Coy and Arar Han co-founded Sabot Family Companies in 2016. Han leads seller conversations, and Fitz-Coy leads operating oversight and leadership development.

Their investment in ResponseLink began in 2013, before Sabot’s founding, and ended in 2025. In his account of the turnaround in Entrepreneur, Fitz-Coy reports that the business generated $45 million in cash.

Sabot acquired Rustic Pathways in December 2019.

Read the full biography for his operating experience, teaching and background.

Capitalism with Love

Fitz-Coy calls his operating philosophy Capitalism with Love: patient capital and an engaged workforce, building companies that last.

The work is practical: develop leaders, improve how the company serves its customers and give people the skills to make better decisions.

The Teaching CEO method describes the teaching and coaching practices within that philosophy. His private equity notes extend that work into the classroom.

Selected Shayne Fitz-Coy writing

Browse his published articles