Jake Humphries, founder of 11 Point Partners

Growing up around small business made entrepreneurship part of who I am

I grew up in St. Louis, where my family ran a bike shop and a food processing plant. I worked the bike shop myself: building bikes, running the register, learning that every outcome, good or bad, was personal. Since childhood I have been chasing that feeling of personal connection with business. That is why I founded 11 Point Partners, to help one owner successfully transition their business to someone who understands that sense of ownership.

The Touring Cyclist bike shop — The Touring Cyclist

I have spent a decade building a skillset that I am excited to bring to that great company.

Mizzou

I worked odd jobs to pay my way through Mizzou. I never wanted to rely on someone else to tell me how a business was performing, so I studied accounting and earned a CPA license. I remain a proud Tiger, and still watch Mizzou find a way to lose the big game every year.

Deloitte

I began my career at Deloitte, auditing public companies and helping clients execute mergers and acquisitions. I loved the pace and the clients. What I missed was building something of my own.

Ryan Specialty

Like most people in insurance, I didn’t plan on ending up here. I wanted to work for a founder-led company, and I found one in Ryan Specialty, the wholesale broker and MGU built by Pat Ryan. Saying yes to that opportunity gave me a front-row seat to a rapidly growing business and made my entrepreneurial itch impossible to ignore. I experienced firsthand how risky the world has become and how services that can assist brokers, underwriters and carriers place risk are mission critical.

11 Point Partners

Having built a foundation I’m proud of, I went to Kellogg on evenings and weekends to indulge my entrepreneurial curiosity. That’s where my vision took shape: buy and build a company that helps brokers, underwriters, and carriers do what they do best, distribute and underwrite risk. I want to partner with one great owner-led business to take it into its next chapter.

The name comes from the Eleven Point River, which runs through southern Missouri and Arkansas. I grew up floating and fishing it, and I now live in Northwest Arkansas, close to where it flows. It is a reminder that this is a personal endeavor, rooted in a real place.