Advisor

Kristi May of J&E Business Group shares how she went from 16-year side hustle to full-time business broker — helping sellers exit at 3X profit and buyers find the right fi

Brian Swilling shares how he left investment banking with a three-month-old at home, built a dental-focused wealth practice from scratch, and discovered that empathy is a more powerful competitive advantage than any financial credential.

Jeremy Furtick of NorthStar M&A shares 20 years of deal-making experience — from first-in-history multi-year brokerage title to co-founding a firm one month before a house fire changed everything.

Brent Bardales shares how he built and sold three companies, survived a partner betrayal, and now helps small business owners find hidden profit and plan profitable exits at Rev Your Business.

Dino Lucarelli shares how 23 years of win-win M&A advisory at Capital Tactics built a reputation-only practice that turns down bad actors and walks away from dirty deals.

Kenny Harper shares going from music dreams to Growth Amplifiers business coach—bank account dwindling with kid coming, mindfulness saved him during partner split crisis.

John Hoey shares how he tripled revenue at The Y in Central Maryland, rebranded the YMCA, survived COVID bankruptcy fears, and received an $18M MacKenzie Scott gift.

Rick Smilow shares Northwestern Kellogg MBA margarine tastings, failed cat snack startup competing Ralston Purina, 1995 cold call acquiring Peter Kump's Cooking School knowing nothing culinary education, landlord non-renewal forcing expensive Manhattan relocation, and acquiring pandemic-weakened French Culinary Institute as "buyer of last resort."

Miranda Dietz shares her journey from paramedic firefighter to Rise Brands procurement director—navigating Meniere's disease diagnosis, surviving BrewDog's 85% COVID furlough, and sourcing vintage arcade games for pins mechanical's rapid expansion with gratitude over victimhood.

Stacey Brown Randall shares her journey from failed HR consulting firm to referral expert—discovering how she generated 112 referrals without asking in year one, reverse-engineering the system, and teaching 20+ strategies for sustainable referral growth.

JoAnn Newman shares journey from only woman in Penn State engineering to AT&T semiconductor plant shutdown to CEO rescuing Orlando Science Center—raising $48M, doubling attendance to 660K visitors, launching 8K planetarium, proving informal learning sparks STEM curiosity before junior high.

Mike Ehrle shares his journey from nearly fired at United Health Group for waiting for phone to ring, learning Lou Formantini's market discipline, getting fired from Clickboarding, and launching Lumity digital brokerage and Finparency investment tech platforms.