By Matt Machado
Herald Intern
Austen Ebenger, 27, made a promise when he graduated from Fort Myers High School in 2016 that he would one day own a business.
Before his 10-year reunion, he achieved that goal by purchasing Southern Pool Designs, an established luxury pool design company in Sanford founded in 1997. “I knew this was the path I wanted to take since I was a teenager,” Ebenger said. “Truthfully, I knew I could accomplish this because of my determination. Betting on yourself is the boldest and bravest decision you can make in business and life.”
According to his fiancée, Julia Malloy, Ebenger has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. He began reading investing books at age 12 and, a few years later, developed a financial literacy program that he shared with students across Lee County. Ebenger went on to attend the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was selected as a Benjamin
Franklin Scholar. He later earned an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business on a full-ride scholarship.
Saving up for a business loan wasn’t easy. Malloy said the process required sheer determination, “He had to save diligently over the years from his work in private equity and from making smart personal investment decisions,” she said. “That allowed him to self-fund the search for the right business to buy. To secure the loan, he had to guarantee it with all of his savings, a sign of his deep commitment and dedication to successfully running and growing the business. Austen has faced judgment from people who assume he has a trust fund; he does not.”
Malloy believes Ebenger didn’t exactly choose Sanford, but that Sanford chose him. He purchased Southern Pool Designs from John Kirkland, whose work and reputation as a business owner left a strong impression in the city. Ebenger immediately recognized the opportunity and felt that Sanford’s community would be the perfect place to establish himself and grow the company.
Ebenger believes the key to success is a passion for learning:
“Learn as much as possible from the people and resources around you,” he said. “Read, listen to podcasts, and engage with communities of people doing what you dream of doing. I am always reading and seeking new knowledge and perspectives. Also, take risks, calculated of course. The entrepreneurs and business owners I admire most share one thing: being bold and betting on themselves.”
