Subscribe to unlock this article
Thanks for your support.
David Farahi has entrepreneurship in his DNA. In 1972, just a few years after immigrating to the United States, his grandfather purchased a motel in Reno and transformed it along with his sons into a thriving business that would eventually become Monarch Casino & Resort, now publicly traded on the Nasdaq and a leader in the gaming and hospitality industry.
David’s own entrepreneurial journey began while studying at Cornell University’s Hotel School, where he co-founded Dos Amigos, a Mexican food truck that has since evolved into a popular restaurant and bar in Ithaca’s CollegeTown. After Cornell, he transitioned into private equity, working at Geolo Capital, the investment arm of John A. Pritzker’s family office. During his MBA studies at Wharton, he discovered the SF model and immediately connected with it. This discovery inspired him to launch Mazal Capital, a firm that combines his investment expertise with a deep belief in entrepreneurial leadership.
In less than two years, Mazal Capital has established itself as a relevant player in the search-fund ecosystem, completing more than a dozen acquisitions across North America and the United Kingdom. Its U.S. investments include IT Service Alliance (Gradium Holdings), Strategic Kids, Stewards of Recovery, the American Institute of Balance, and HerScan. In Canada, the firm has backed HCP Capital, while in the U.K. it has invested in Kinetico Health (Good Health Centre and the Waldegrave Clinic), Advanced Aesthetics Partners (HoldCo), HMDG, and Servicom.
Mazal’s investment strategy is opportunistic in the United States, spanning holding companies, traditional equity gaps and self-funded search. Internationally, it focuses on traditional search funds and holding companies, with particular interest in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Poland. Among the search funds it has supported are Odyssey Partners and Lynx Trail Capital in Poland; 2C, Auctari, and Mamba Capital in Brazil; Paradosi Partners in the United States; Continuation Partners in the United Kingdom; Cintu Transmission in France; Japan Relay Partners in Japan; Alpine Vistas Capital in Canada; Alpha Generator Capital in Italy; Tilia Nachfolgekapital in Germany; OxMar Partners in Saudi Arabia; and Oryx Legacy in the UAE. The firm also invests in holding companies that are still searching for assets —such as Aetherion Group and Elevate in the United States and Dachverbund in Germany— reflecting its preference for enduring partnerships over quick exits.
As David explains, Mazal typically commits $300,000 to $500,000 of equity per deal and can provide $1 million to $5 million in debt, adjusting to a searcher’s needs. Mazal is keen to own the real-estate tied to search-fund businesses and will write far larger checks for those assets. The firm is sector-agnostic, driven not by specific industries but by the people behind each opportunity. Its philosophy is unapologetically “people first”, and it maintains a strong preference for long-term ownership and value creation.