The Cash Rich Exit Podcast

A Note of Gratitude: 🎉 This episode marks a milestone - 350 Episodes of 'The Cash Rich Exit Podcast'! And I am genuinely humbled. What began as a microphone, an idea, and a deep belief that business owners deserve better exits has grown into a community of founders, CEOs, and dreamers I get to call the Self Made Nation. Three hundred and fifty conversations. Hundreds of guests who showed up with...

Bobbie Racette started with $300 at her kitchen table. Nine years later, she became the first Indigenous woman in Canada to build, scale, and sell a tech startup. In this episode - the first time Bobbie has dug into the details of the sale on a podcast - host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell sits down with the founder of Virtual Gurus, an AI-powered inclusive talent marketplace that matched underreprese...

Here is a stat that should keep every small business owner up at night: approximately 80% of businesses never change hands. The owners simply close the doors, walk away, and leave decades of effort and equity on the table.   In this episode, host  Colleen O'Connell-Campbell sits down with Markian Pergat, an Ottawa-based entrepreneur who has lived the full arc - from student painter, to burnt-out s...

What happens when four moms start making labels in a Hamilton basement and, 14 years later, get a call from a global industry giant? In this episode, host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell sits down with Julie Cole, one of the four co-founders of Mabel's Labels, to trace the full arc: from masking tape and permanent marker frustrations in the early 2000s, to building a fiercely loved e-commerce brand, to...

Episode Summary: What is the difference between a business that generates income and one that creates wealth? In this episode, host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell sits down with husband-and-wife team Krystyn and Matt Harrison of Horizon Advisors, who bring complementary perspectives from different sides of the deal table. Krystyn is a five-time founder who learned the hard way what happens when you ru...

Episode Summary: Canada's Employee Ownership Trust legislation is relatively new. The UK's has been in place since 2014. In this episode, host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell crosses the Atlantic - virtually - to sit down with Christine Nicholson, a UK-based exit strategist who has spent her career founding, selling, and helping others exit businesses. Christine brings 12 years of firsthand perspective...

What happens when a company that is already employee-owned realizes its ownership model is not built for the next chapter? In this episode, host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell sits down with Michael (Mike) Fotheringham, CEO of Taproot, and Robert MacDougall, Board Trustee. Taproot is a 42-year-old national social enterprise with 775 employees and over $65 million in annual revenue. They unpack how and...

What happens after you sell the business that defined you? In this episode, host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell sits down with Candace Sutcliffe, who spent nearly 20 years building The Chef's Paradise (CA Paradis)  - a 104-year-old Ottawa retail institution - from employee to president to co-owner, and then made the bold decision to sell to Quebec-based industry leader Doyon Després and step into a co...

Host: Colleen O'Connell-Campbell, Wealth Advisor, RBC Dominion Securities Guests: Sonya Shorey (CEO, Invest Ottawa), Jennifer Francis (Chair, Capital Angel Network), and Julia Elvidge - Co-founders of She Boot    Episode Summary: Only 2% of venture capital flows to women-founded companies - yet women start roughly 15% of all companies. In this episode, Colleen sits down with the three co-founders...

Revenue is vanity. Profit is sanity. Cash flow is sovereignty. In this episode, host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell sits down with Melissa Houston - CPA, business finance coach, fractional CFO, and author of 'Cash Confident' - to explore why so many business owners are working hard but not building wealth. Melissa shares her mission to close the business financial literacy gap, particularly for women...

Episode Summary: Forget everything you thought you knew about pension plans being just for government workers. In this episode, pension lawyer Jean-Pierre (JP) Laporte, Pension Lawyer and Founder, Integris Pension Management, joins host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell to share a series of powerful, real-life case studies showing how registered pension plans - including Individual Pension Plans (IPPs) a...

In this episode of The Cash Rich Exit Podcast, host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell sits down with Muneer Feeroze and Clark Steffy of Canadian Benefits Associates to unpack two powerful retirement tools for incorporated entrepreneurs: individual pension plans (IPPs) and retirement compensation arrangements (RCAs). Together, they walk through where these plans can outperform an RRSP, what "tax smart" re...

Host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell breaks down the basics of individual pension plans (IPPs) for Ontario incorporated business owners and professionals. She explains what an IPP is, who it fits best, and why it can be a powerful tool for turning corporate success into predictable personal retirement income as part of a cash rich exit strategy.   Episode overview   If you are incorporated in Ontario,...

It's time for an annual tradition on The Cash Rich Exit Podcast: the Fun Frank Advice montage.   In this special episode, host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell curates a fast-moving mashup of "wisdom, wit and wonderfully unfiltered moments" from this year's guests. It's designed to be easy to consume when you're driving, between meetings, or out for a walk. This montage is both a recap of the year and a...

"Too Much Money Chasing Too Few Good Businesses" - Candid Insights from M&A Veteran Chad Morissette   This episode dives deep into what actually drives a successful business sale - from the emotional readiness of the founder, to internal due diligence, to navigating PE firms and family offices.   Key Highlights   Chad's journey from tech entrepreneur to M&A specialist The difference between Main S...

In this episode of 'The Cash-Rich Exit Podcast', host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell welcomes back serial entrepreneur and M&A advisor Scott Duke, founder of Business Succession Group. Scott talks about his latest innovation - The Value Acceleration Calculator (VAC) - a practical, data-informed tool to assess sellability, estimate value, and identify key levers to increase enterprise value over time....

In part two of this insightful two-part conversation, host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell reconnects with Elizabeth Kilvert, founder of 'The Unrefined Olive', to go deeper into how she built, grew, and ultimately exited a purpose-driven business.   Elizabeth shares her candid reflections on:   Transitioning from founder to seller - and how she knew the timing was right. The emotional side of stepping...

In this episode, Colleen O'Connell-Campbell sits down with Elizabeth Kilvert , the founder and owner of The Unrefined Olive, an award-winning olive-oil and balsamic tasting bar in Ottawa. Elizabeth shares how she transitioned from a career in environmental policy to running a thriving retail business rooted in quality, sustainability, and community connection. She and Colleen unpack the realities...

💡 Episode Summary In this episode, host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell sits down with Karl Sigerist - Managing Director at Shaughnessy Group and a seasoned corporate finance and M&A expert. Karl brings decades of experience helping mid-sized, often family-owned Canadian businesses (with revenues between $5 million and $50 million) navigate their most important transition: the sale of their company.  ...

In this episode of the Cash Rich Exit Podcast, Colleen O'Connell-Campbell welcomes Joanna Track, serial entrepreneur, strategist, and founder of Good Eggs & Co.   Joanna has launched and exited multiple businesses - including Sweet Spot, eLuxe, and The Bullet - and now leads Good Eggs & Co., a consultancy focused on content and context marketing. Known for her candid, no-nonsense approach, Joanna...

Serial entrepreneur Ed Hansen joins host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell on the Cash Rich Exit Podcast to share his decades-long journey founding, scaling, and selling multiple businesses - including Hanson Lawn and Gardens and Ext.tech . In this episode, Ed reveals how mindset, adaptability, and a focus on relationships have shaped his entrepreneurial path.   Key takeaways: The early entrepreneurial s...

In this episode of The Cash Rich Exit Podcast, host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell sits down with Ashley Hopkins, President & CEO of Paradigm Commercial Group, and Sarah Vandenbelt, Broker of Record & Founder of Paradigm Commercial Real Estate. Together, they share how their unexpected journeys into real estate led to a powerful partnership under the Paradigm brand.   We discuss: The winding career pa...

What happens when your exit strategy is about more than just money? In this episode, host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell talks to April Harbottle, a highly experienced M&A advisor and business transition specialist. April has spent years helping small and mid sized business owners unlock the value of their companies and transition successfully, whether through exits or by scaling with new partnerships...

With over $2 trillion in business assets at stake and 91% of Canadian business owners without a succession plan, we're facing a real crisis. In this episode, host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell chats with Charlie Iscoe, whose venture - CommonShares - is flipping the script on business exits.   Charlie brings Wall Street investment experience and a mission to keep Canadian businesses local by transitio...

In this candid and energizing episode of 'The Cash Rich Exit Podcast', host Colleen O'Connell-Campbell sits down with author, educator, and tech entrepreneur Dr. Lindy Ledohowski . From academia to publishing to leading a fast-scaling SaaS platform, Lindy shares her story of transformation and what it really takes to walk away from one professional identity to build another.   Together, they dig i...