The Exit Whisperer

Gwen shares her remarkable journey of founding The Laundress, a luxury laundry brand.   From securing a government-backed loan to self-financing with credit cards, Gwen details her determination and innovative spirit. She discusses the challenges and successes of building her business, the experience of negotiating a sale with Unilever, and her emotional turmoil post-acquisition.   Gwen reflects o...

Sarah Weiss shares her incredible journey of growing Elite Roofing Supply from a family business into a major industry player. Sarah, inspired by her father's entrepreneurial spirit, cashed in her 401k and jumped into the roofing supply industry, growing the company to 26 locations and becoming one of the top distributors in the market.   She discusses the challenges of running a family business,...

Laurel shares her journey of being thrust into running her father's Bassett Furniture franchise business at 26 when he was diagnosed with stage four cancer.   She details the emotional and professional challenges of managing and eventually selling the over-leveraged business back to corporate, which financially devastated her family.   After overcoming these hardships, Lauren launched her own succ...

Kate Watts, a trailblazer in the agency space, narrates her impressive rise from being the president of Huge, a top digital agency, to launching and subsequently selling her own agency, Faire Design, to The Atlantic.   She opens up about the challenges and triumphs she faced during the integration and spin-off process, eventually regaining majority ownership and rebranding as Long Dash. This conve...

Christine shares her experiences negotiating five separate Letters of Intent  before finally securing a deal that doubled her company’s valuation.   Christine's three-year saga involved both personal and professional challenges, including contracting long COVID, which ultimately influenced her decision to sell. The discussion delves into the intricacies of the selling process, the importance of ch...

Carrie interviews Kiri Masters, the founder of Bobsled Marketing, a retail marketing agency focused on platforms like Amazon.   Kiri shares her journey from starting the business in 2015 with no background in retail or agencies to successfully growing it and selling to Acadia in 2021. Despite the financial success, Kiri discusses the emotional challenges she faced post-sale, akin to a 'postpartum...

Ruthie Schulder shares her story of building and selling her experiential agency. Ruthie discusses the challenges and strategies that led to her agency's success, her decision to pivot and eventually exit the business during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how she has transitioned to coaching other female entrepreneurs.   She emphasizes the importance of knowing when to move on, positioning and sales,...

Bridget shares her remarkable journey of founding, building, and eventually selling Owney's Rum, a New York-based distillery.   From her early career at a hedge fund to identifying market opportunities in craft spirits, she leveraged her finance background to launch a successful rum brand. Bridget discusses the challenges of raising initial capital, running a lean operation, and handling media att...

Helaine shares her compelling journey of founding CityRow, a boutique fitness company inspired by her own need for a low-impact yet intense workout.   From her childhood struggles with weight to her professional endeavors in publishing and tech startups, Helaine intricately narrates her path to building CityRow. She discusses the challenges faced, including a debilitating injury that led her to di...

Carrie interviews Courtney Gould Miller, who successfully sold her family's marketing agency for a double-digit multiple. Courtney shares insights from her journey, which includes joining her family's business, implementing digital marketing strategies, and ultimately negotiating an impressive exit to private equity.   Courtney also discusses the impact of family business dynamics, the grief of le...

I was recently a guest on the Worthy for Thirty podcast with Eric Tash! We talked about my journey as an entrepreneur, how I'm helping other women entrepreneurs successfully sell their businesses, and how I'm trying to make a real difference in the world.    I want to share one of Eric's conversations with Elissa Kalver, Founder & CEO, WeGotThis.org.  WeGotThis.org is the first non-profit gift...

In this episode, we dive into the story of Sam, an entrepreneur who successfully bootstrapped her kitchen product business from a simple broken spatula idea to a remarkable sellable company (including inventing the first silicone spatula).   Sam shares her journey, including the challenges of scaling, the significant milestones achieved through Kickstarter and wholesale channels, and the strategic...

Emily Mueller shares her inspiring journey of founding and scaling Wellory, a company she started from personal health challenges.   Emily discusses how her entrepreneurial background and sales expertise helped her raise significant VC funds and ultimately led to Wellory's acquisition.   She highlights the strategic decisions behind selling the company, the impact of emerging prescription drugs on...

Carrie Kerpen interviews Bea Dixon, the founder of The Honey Pot, a feminine care company. Bea shares the inspiring story of how she received the idea for her business in a dream and transformed it into a thriving company that sold to Compass Diversified Holdings for over $380 million.   The conversation covers Bea's challenges and successes, her commitment to her company post-sale, and the unique...

This was a big year for me and The Whisper Group in terms of accomplishments. It’s absolutely insane to think that we launched just 6 months ago. From the outside it all looks very exciting, but it wasn’t without challenges.  In this solo episode, l’ll walk you through the behind the scenes and what it actually took to build this business so far. I’m so grateful to our incredible team of advisors...

Carrie interviews Jaclyn Johnson, founder of Create and Cultivate. Jaclyn's journey from selling her first business, No Subject, to creating and eventually buying back Create and Cultivate is an excellence tale. Jaclyn shares insights on entrepreneurship, mindset, and navigating business partnerships. This episode provides valuable lessons for women in business, focusing on building, scaling, and...

Maggie Lord, founder of Rustic Wedding Chic, highlights her incredible entrepreneurial journey. Maggie shares how she transitioned from being a teacher to starting and scaling a successful digital media business without prior business experience.   Learn about her strategies for building and monetizing her company, navigating the decision to sell to David's Bridal during COVID-19, and her shift to...

Carrie interviews Nathalie Walton, who shares her journey of transforming Expectful, a meditation app for expectant mothers, into a comprehensive wellness platform.   Nathalie discusses her transition from a stable role at Airbnb to co-founding Expectful, raising seed funding within 90 days, and the importance of a structured approach to fundraising.   She candidly addresses challenges in a male-d...

In this episode of 'The Exit Whisperer,' host Carrie Kerpen interviews entrepreneur Sharon Lee Thony about her inspiring journey from a corporate job to founding and scaling SLT Consulting, which she eventually sold to Fiverr.   Sharon shares practical steps for transitioning from a side hustle to a thriving agency, challenges in balancing family obligations, and the significance of building a sup...

Carrie Kerpen interviews Christine Merser, an experienced entrepreneur who shares her journey with Blue Shoe Strategy and what it took to sell her business with both triumphant successes and challenging failures.   Christine reflects on her negotiation of a company sale for double the valuation amidst a room of skeptical men, the early days of the internet and managing forums in 1993, and her pivo...

Michelle Jacobik, a successful entrepreneur who transitioned from employee to business owner. Michelle shares her journey of buying out her employer, expanding the business, and ultimately selling it at a high valuation. With a focus on maximizing business profits and protection for business owners, Michelle's story is filled with challenges and triumphs.   She emphasizes the importance of plannin...

Richelle Pena shares her inspiring journey of building and selling American Pediatric Dental Group alongside her husband, Will.   Starting from a single dental office funded by bootstrapping their savings, they expanded to seven locations by focusing on strategic marketing and community engagement.   Richelle discusses the importance of ignoring competition noise, leveraging relationships, and und...

In this episode, Kat Hantas, co-founder of 21 Seeds, shares the journey of building her female-focused infused tequila brand.   Kat discusses how a personal need for a low-calorie, less harsh alcoholic option led to the creation of 21 Seeds with the unique market insight that propelled the brand to success: women drink tequila differently.   Kat recounts the challenges and strategies behind scalin...

Lindsay Pinchuk shares the incredible journey of launching and scaling Bump Club, a thriving community for expectant mothers that she bootstrapped with her background in media sales.   She dives into the nuances of negotiating her company's sale, including achieving double the valuation and confronting the challenges of an earn-out gone wrong.   Lindsay candidly discusses the emotional and practic...

Season 2 is HERE!!   In this riveting episode of 'The Exit Whisperer,' we dive deep into the world of business and entrepreneurship with Sharon Gillenwater, a TikTok sensation known for her transparent exit from Boardroom Insiders, a company she sold for $25 million.   Sharon shares her journey negotiating with a room full of men, achieving double her company's valuation, and the trials and triump...