MaxValue Podcast

In this episode of the MaxValue Podcast, I take a break from business valuation and exit planning to go to the movies with forensic accountants Megan Thompson of Thompson Accounting and Alex Spaete of Bridge Forensics. Both practice in family law in California, and together we break down the fraud classic Catch Me If You Can. The fun has a serious point for business owners. Fraud and hidden risks...

In this episode of the MaxValue Podcast, I sit down with Carter Welch, a strategic adviser and fractional CMO, to talk about growth, marketing, and the long-term value of your business. Carter Welch works with owners of growing companies that have become harder to run. We start with a simple idea. Many owners think they have a marketing problem, but they really have a clarity problem. We talk abou...

In this episode of Max Value, I sit down with Ted Israel. He's the founder and now-retired partner of Israel Fry Group. Ted spent over 30 years doing business valuation work. He handled estate and gift tax cases. He worked on mergers and deals. He also handled family law disputes. We talk about why many owners don't need a formal valuation at all. A simpler "sensitivity analysis&quo...

On this episode of Max Value, I sit down with Marie Mills, founder of Clear Solutions LLC and a business process documentation expert with over a decade of experience helping companies protect their most valuable (and most overlooked) asset: institutional knowledge. We talk about why so much of what makes a business run lives only in the heads of a few key people and what happens when those people...

In this episode of Max Value , I sit down with Sarah Tetlow. Sarah is the founder of Firm Focus and author of The Perfectly Productive Day. We talk about the daily habits that separate business owners who build real, lasting value from owners who stay stuck in the day-to-day grind.  Sarah and I dig into why deep, strategic work, like exit planning, never has a deadline of its own. She explains Par...

Should real estate ever sit inside your business? On this episode of Max Value, host Ben Towne talks with Tamara Pow, managing partner and founder of Strategy Law, about the hidden real estate risks that can derail a business sale. Tamara explains why holding property in a C corporation triggers double taxation, how lease terms can make or break a deal, and what really slows down a sale, from lend...

In this episode of Max Value, I sit down with Erin Daiber, a CPA turned leadership coach and founder of Well Balanced Accountants, to talk about the mindset shift that separates firms that build real value from firms that just generate cash. We use the analogy of maintaining a house before you sell it: firms that keep reinvesting in their people, processes, and technology build a more valuable ass...

In this episode of Max Value Podcast, I sit down with Peter Adams, VP of Business Strategy at BACSIT and a serial entrepreneur who's built, sold, and advised companies for over four decades. We dig into what digital transformation actually means for small and mid-sized businesses — and why Peter believes it's never really about the technology itself, but about the people and culture behi...

What's really driving the succession crisis in accounting firms, and is private equity the fix everyone thinks it is? I sit down with Dr. Jessica Levin — COO of Abacus Worldwide, CEO of Seven Degrees, and co-author of Accounting for Times — to talk about why accounting and professional services firms have to evolve or dissolve. We dig into what's really driving the wave of private equity...

What does it take to truly know what's going on inside your organization — and why do so many leaders get it wrong? In this episode of the Max Value Podcast, we sit down with Mike Roe, CEO of 10Sense, a UK-based software company that uses sensemaking science to give leaders a real finger on the pulse of their teams. Mike shares his remarkable career journey — from failed banker to 30-year pol...

What if you could work less, earn more, and deeply serve your clients — all at the same time? In this episode, we sit down with Loren Fogelman, founder of Business Success Solution, to break down why up to 57% of accounting firm owners are undercharging — and exactly what to do about it. Loren walks through the difference between fixed fees and true value pricing, how to tackle scope creep, and he...

What is a business valuation — and why can't you just Google it or ask AI? In this episode of Max Value Podcast, we sit down with business valuation experts Jeff Faust (Abbott Stringman Lynch CPAs) and Eric Sunheim (Marovous Valuations) to break down exactly what business appraisal is, why no two businesses are valued the same way, and what separates a defensible professional opinion from a c...

What happens to your business — and your wealth — when the unexpected strikes? In this episode of the Max Value Podcast, host Ben Towne sits down with John O'Dea, financial adviser at Summit Financial Group, for a deep dive into buy-sell agreements: what they are, why most business owners overlook them, and why that's a costly mistake. John breaks down the "5 D's" triggeri...

John Borrowman has been recruiting in business valuation and professional services since 1995—and in that time, he's seen what most firm leaders never will: the full talent market, not just the handful of roles they've personally hired for. In this episode, John brings his "forest vs. trees" perspective to one of the most overlooked challenges in the profession: why BV practice...

In this episode, I sit down with Robert Friedman of Fearless Branding to explore how a well-defined brand can directly increase the value of your professional services firm. We dig into why so many firms struggle to attract their best clients — not because of the quality of their work, but because of how they're telling their story. Robert walks us through real examples, including our own bra...

What does it really take for an accounting firm to succeed with global staffing? In this episode, Ben Town sits down with Lawrence Whittam, founder of Suite Impact, who has helped 500+ US accounting firms build and integrate offshore teams. Lawrence breaks down why internal readiness matters more than vendor selection, how communication — not language barriers — is the #1 cause of failure, and wha...

We sit down with Bill Reeb, co-founder of Succession Institute and former AICPA Chair, for a conversation that challenges some of the most common assumptions in professional services. Bill makes a bold case that the so-called talent pipeline crisis is largely a myth — the real issues are firms refusing to go global, failing to push work down to lower levels, and holding on to bad clients. The disc...

In this episode of Max Value, performance psychologist Lauren Johnson reveals how the same mental frameworks that produce elite athletes can transform founders, executives, and teams operating under pressure. Drawing from her work with Major League Baseball and high-performing organizations, Johnson breaks down how “mental reps” train the brain to handle stress, make better decisions, and execute...

In this episode of Max Value, Suzi Potts, an industrial-organizational psychologist turned strategic business adviser, reveals how people strategy directly drives enterprise value—especially during growth, disruption, and exit. Moving from her early career in the wine and spirits industry to building data-backed talent systems, she explains how founders unknowingly create hidden financial drag thr...

In this episode of Max Value, Convo Communications co-founders Jared Mussano and Wayne Betts Jr. unpack what it truly means to build a mission-driven company without sacrificing scale, sustainability, or profitability. From bootstrapping for 16 years to operating across five countries and 16 time zones, they reveal how deaf-led innovation disrupted a billion-dollar industry by centering the end us...

In this episode of Max Value, We sit down with Anshul Agrawal to unpack what most CPA and professional service firms get wrong about global talent—and what it actually takes to build a scalable, high-performing offshore strategy. This is not a surface-level outsourcing conversation. It’s a strategic deep dive into control vs. convenience, direct hiring vs. agency models, nearshore vs. offshore dec...

In this episode of Max Value, we sit down with Adam Cipriano, owner of BSG Consulting and a 25-year veteran in exit planning, succession strategy, and M&A advisory. Adam breaks down the real differences between strategic and financial buyers, where today’s strongest buyer demand comes from, and why “boring, profitable businesses” often attract the highest interest. Adam also shares how exit an...

After successfully exiting SC Labs, Jeff Gray found himself back at the helm of the company he built. In part two of this Max Value interview, Jeff and I explore what happens after the deal closes, from the excitement of the sale to the realities of integration, leadership changes, and ultimately taking back control. Jeff shares candid insights about post-acquisition life, financial discipline, re...

(PART 1) Scaling Smart in Cannabis: The Story of SC Labs What does it take to build, scale, and position a business for long-term success in a highly regulated industry? In this episode of Max Value, host Ben Towne sits down with Jeff Gray , the once-and-future CEO of SC Labs, one of the first cannabis testing laboratories in California. Jeff shares how growing up in Santa Cruz led him to co-found...

In this episode of the MaxValue Podcast, host Ben Towne sits down with Dr. Steven Kirch, productivity coach and founder of Profit Minds, to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming leadership, scaling small businesses, and protecting intellectual property in the process. Dr. Kirch shares his remarkable journey from physicist to business coach, revealing how AI can cut repetitive work by...