Our Story | Lafayette & Oak | Where Leaders Forge New Realities

The Origin of

Some companies are founded.
Others are forged.

Lafayette & Oak didn’t begin in a boardroom.

It began under an old oak tree in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

As a kid, Abhi Golhar would spend long summer afternoons sitting under that tree—doodling blueprints in a notebook, building imaginary companies in the quiet corners of his mind. The tree stood tall in the front yard of his childhood home—its roots tangled in the soil of a working-class neighborhood, its canopy sheltering a boy with big questions and bigger dreams.

That oak tree was his first advisor.

Solid. Quiet. Unmoved by the chaos around it.

Years later, Abhi would need that kind of strength.

By the age of 19, he was more than $1,000,000 in debt.

He’d trusted the wrong people, made the wrong decisions, and found himself at the center of a joint FBI and DOJ investigation. The system didn’t protect him. Mentors disappeared. The shame was deafening.

But the voice inside him—the one shaped under that tree—stayed steady:
“Grow through this. Don’t bow. You were meant to build.”

With time, guidance, and grit, he rebuilt his life.

He founded companies, exited ventures, and earned his place as a respected advisor and investor. But he never forgot what it felt like to be on the outside looking in. Or how powerful belief can be when it shows up at the right time.

Why Lafayette and Oak?

Oak honors the boy who sat quietly in the shade—resilient, hopeful, and determined to one day lead something real. It’s the root system. The stillness. The strength.

Lafayette is the spark of movement.

Named for the revolutionary spirit of General Lafayette—who crossed oceans to fight for freedom not his own—it represents courage, bold transitions, and the belief that building something better is always worth the risk.

Together, Lafayette & Oak is more than a name.
It’s a compass.

Oak grounds us.
Lafayette moves us forward.

What We Stand For

We help entrepreneurs become
business owners.

We help founders pass the torch
without losing their legacy.

And we help overlooked leaders grow something that lasts—without having to ask for permission to start.

Because belief should never be reserved for the already successful. It should be extended to the ones still sitting under the tree.

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Some companies are founded. Others are forged.