From Angel To Exit

Peter Lang went from burnout running a digital agency to building and exiting multiple businesses through programmatic M&A—all without outside capital. In this founder-to-founder episode, he shares how acquisitions helped him scale faster, unlock hidden value, and eventually step away from the CEO role entirely. If you’re running an agency or founder-led business and looking to scale or exit smart, Peter’s insights will change ...

Tim Murphy, former CEO of Boomer Parks, shares the story of transforming a bankrupt amusement park group into a profitable, private equity-ready asset. From revamping guest experience to shifting customer focus and optimizing pricing, Tim walks us through how he scaled operations and achieved an $18M swing in EBITDA. This episode is packed with lessons in operational turnaround, pricing strategy, and preparing for a successful exit...

At just 24, Scott Snider sold his landscaping company—but quickly faced an identity crisis. Today, as president of the Exit Planning Institute, he’s on a mission to help founders avoid the same post-exit regret. In this episode, Scott shares his entrepreneurial journey, why most exits fail the owner emotionally, and how the CEPA framework empowers founders to build with the end in mind. Discover why aligning business, personal, and...

Karl Sigerist, Managing Director at the Shaughnessy Group, shares insider strategies on how founders can prepare for a high-value exit. With decades of experience on both the buy and sell sides, Karl reveals why 80% of lower middle market deals fail—and how you can avoid becoming a statistic. Learn the must-have foundations for exit readiness, how to think like a buyer, and why building a culture of preparation pays dividends. A mu...

What happens when you turn down a solid acquisition offer? In this powerful episode, Walter Paulsen shares hard-earned insights from decades of founding, scaling, and selling companies in Silicon Valley. From early lessons in rejecting a high-value exit to building Blackhawk’s explosive gift card growth engine, Walter dives deep into founder psychology, exit strategy readiness, and why focus and humility matter more than hype. If y...

What do startup founders often regret most at exit? Overvaluing too early, choosing the wrong investor, and skipping key legal protections. In this episode, Mital Makadia, Partner at Grellas Shah, shares legal and strategic insights from two decades of advising startups through funding and M&A. She breaks down common founder mistakes, why strategic investors can be dangerous, and how to protect yourself with better term sheets ...

Frustrated by outdated agency models, Wesley Portegies founded MedComms Experts and scaled it to a 90-person firm across the US and Europe. In this episode, Wesley reveals how he prepped for exit without ever planning one—building solid systems, exploring investor conversations early, and ultimately finding a strategic partner aligned with his vision. A masterclass in founder succession, agency growth, and exit readiness, this epis...

What do you do when you hit “enough”—but your business still has room to grow? In this episode, Scott Allison, co-founder of Allison Marketing, shares how he scaled a boutique PR firm into a global agency with 52 offices and $100M in revenue. He dives into the challenges of founder complacency, the nuances of strategic M&A, and how he architected a smooth, 11-year earn-out. From exit readiness to post-acquisition purpose, this ...

In this episode, deal lawyer Chad Williams, Partner at Lamb McErlane, shares insider strategies for founder-CEOs preparing to exit. From why every founder needs a dedicated M&A lawyer to how to handle LOIs, earnouts, and non-competes, Chad walks through the full deal lifecycle. Learn what to do a year before selling, how to protect yourself post-sale, and how to avoid common legal traps that erode value. This conversation is pa...

From hustling for baseball cards as a kid to exiting multiple businesses, Travis Luther shares his extraordinary journey of entrepreneurship, reinvention, and impact. In this episode, Travis opens up about building and selling Queen Anne Pillow and Trial Line, the emotional complexities of life post-exit, and his new mission with Moso Pillow. Packed with raw insights, hard-won lessons, and founder-to-founder wisdom, this is a must-...

In this raw and powerful episode, Gregg Lederman shares how he scaled his values-driven SaaS company, Brand Integrity, from consulting to licensing—and ultimately sold it to a global buyer. He reveals the emotional toll, deal setbacks, and ethical challenges he faced, and how staying true to his core values helped him through. Gregg now leads “A Great Life Now,” helping leaders find purpose and self-awareness. This episode is a mus...

Aaron Levenstadt, founder of Pedestal Search, shares how he went from early days at Google to building and exiting a successful SEO-focused agency. In this episode, he breaks down the power of narrowing services, mastering buyer psychology, and awakening sleeping leads through smart systems. His story offers actionable insights for founder-CEOs navigating growth, productization, and business exits. If you're scaling an agency or co...

From civil engineer to multi-agency founder, Erik J. Olson shares how he built Array Digital, Rival Digital, and Crush Digital by focusing on niche verticals, systematization, and recurring revenue. In this episode, he breaks down how he de-risks niching, structures scalable operations, and preps for a $100M exit by building a PE-ready platform brand. Founders looking to scale with structure—or build something worth acquiring—will ...

What if you could sell your company—twice? In this episode, Bruce Eckfeldt talks with Matthew Porter, founder of Contegix and now Partner & Co-Founder at EONOVA, about how he bootstrapped a data center company, scaled it through acquisition, and sold to private equity—twice. Matthew shares the behind-the-scenes of deal negotiations, what he learned from his first exit, and how a second sale turned lessons into leverage.

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In this episode, Bruce Eckfeldt sits down with John Ratliff, founder of Appletree Answers and now a partner at Align5 and advisor at STS Capital Partners. John shares the behind-the-scenes story of growing a call center business through 24 acquisitions—all without outside capital—and selling at a 14x EBITDA multiple. He also reveals how founders get taken advantage of by sophisticated buyers, and what you must do to avoid selling f...

What does it really take to exit a business successfully—and profitably? In this episode, Bruce Eckfeldt interviews Neil Schaffer, CEO of Carlton Advisors, on his experience scaling companies through M&A, raising over $40 million in strategic capital, and executing billion-dollar exits. Neil shares the real metrics buyers care about, the dangers of founder burnout, and why the emotional side of selling is just as critical as th...

Robert Heil, CEO of Financial Aid Services, reveals lessons from scaling EdTech ventures, leading M&A deals, and transitioning into the CEO seat post-founder exit. With experience on both sides of the table, Robert dives into how customer drivers, leading indicators, and cultural integration can make or break a deal. Learn how he doubled growth and aligned mission with private equity goals—all while navigating the challenges of...

Matthew Diteljan co-founded a startup with just $1,500 and scaled it into a national advertising platform targeting high schools. After a partner buyout and burnout, he exited the company—but not without hard lessons. In this raw, honest conversation, Matthew shares how his dream exit turned into unexpected post-sale turmoil, what he’d do differently, and what every founder should consider before pulling the trigger on a deal.

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What do you do when the dot-com bust kills your $15M funding round just two weeks before closing? In this episode, Bruce Eckfeldt speaks with Roy Vella, co-founder of NetAbacus (later Rivio), who faced a sudden capital crisis in 2000. Instead of folding, he created an employee salary deferral program that extended runway and impressed potential buyers. Roy shares how transparency, co-opetition, and integratable business models shap...