Nick Fogle spent years building Wavve, a bootstrapped SaaS tool for podcasters, while working day jobs, paying off a quarter-million dollars in student debt, and teaching himself to code from scratch. When acquisition offers started coming in, he had to figure out — in real time — how to evaluate them, negotiate them, and ultimately choose one. In 2021, Wavve sold for a mid-7-figure sum. Nick joins Pat and Walter to share what that experience actually looked and felt like from the inside: the early offers that came before the business was ready, the lessons from fielding multiple bids, and what he would tell other founders who find themselves in the same position.  

Guest: Nick Fogle, Co-Founder & CEO, Churnkey | Former Co-Founder, Wavve (acquired 2021) Connect with guest: linkedin.com/in/nickfogle/

“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis

Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

Most business owners who receive unsolicited investor outreach have no idea how to evaluate it — which ones are serious, which are fishing for information, and how to respond in a way that protects their interests without burning a potentially valuable relationship. Mark Gartner, Managing Director at RLH Equity Partners, a private equity firm focused on knowledge-led B2B services businesses, joins Pat and Walter from the investor's side of the table to explain what's really happening when that email lands. Mark walks through what sophisticated investors are looking for when they reach out, the red flags that should make you pause, and how a well-prepared business owner can turn investor engagement into a strategic advantage rather than a distraction.  

Guest: Mark Gartner, Managing Director, RLH Equity Partners 
Connect with guest: rlhequity.com/team/mark-gartner

“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis

Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

Performance management is one of the most contentious topics in leadership — and one of the most consequential for business owners building toward an exit. Sarah Goelitz, leadership consultant and founder of Sarah Goelitz Consulting, rejoins Pat for a direct and honest conversation about whether formal performance management actually works, what it tends to get wrong, and what effective accountability looks like in a small or growing business. When done well, performance management creates the leadership depth and organizational independence that buyers pay a premium for. When done poorly — or not at all — it becomes an invisible ceiling on transferable value.  

Guest: Sarah Goelitz, Founder, Sarah Goelitz Consulting
Connect with guest: sarahgoelitz.com

“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis



Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

Tax minimization is a reflex for most business owners — but not every tax-saving strategy that makes sense during the life of the business makes sense in the context of a future exit. In this episode, Pat and Walter take on one of the most important and counterintuitive conversations in exit planning: the ways that aggressive income tax strategies can actually reduce your enterprise value, complicate due diligence, and ultimately cost you more at the closing table than they saved along the way. A frank, practical discussion every business owner should have with their advisors well before any transaction.

“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis



Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

For business owners with charitable intent, donating business interests before a sale can be one of the most tax-advantaged decisions they make — but it requires careful planning and expert guidance to execute correctly. Laurie Roche, Vice President in Fidelity Charitable's Complex Assets Group, and Glenn Garbutt, Vice President and Charitable Planning Consultant with Fidelity Charitable, join Pat and Walter to share five essential tips for owners considering this strategy. From timing and valuation to the mechanics of the donation process, this episode covers what every philanthropically minded business owner needs to understand before the transaction process begins.  

Guest: Laurie Roche, VP, Complex Assets Group & Glenn Garbutt, VP, Charitable Planning Consultant — Fidelity Charitable
Connect with guest: fidelitycharitable.org

“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis

Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

AI is already changing how businesses are built, operated, and sold — and the business owners who understand this shift will build more valuable companies than those who don't. Andre Yee, Founder and CEO of Tiga AI and a serial entrepreneur who helped grow Eloqua from $15M ARR to an Oracle acquisition for approximately $1 billion, joins Pat and Walter at the frontier of AI-driven selling. Andre explains what AI is already doing to the sales function, what it means for the systems and processes that create transferable business value, and how forward-thinking business owners should be positioning themselves now. A conversation at the intersection of technology, growth strategy, and exit planning.  

Guest: Andre Yee, Founder & CEO, Tiga AI | Former Founder & CEO, Triblio (acquired by IDG/Foundry)
Connect with guest: tiga.ai

“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis

Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

Verne Harnish has spent four decades helping some of the world's fastest-growing companies scale — and he has studied what actually drives enterprise value more deeply than almost anyone in the field. Founder of the Entrepreneurs' Organization, CEO of Scaling Up (Gazelles), and author of Scaling Up and Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, Verne joins Pat and Walter to share four key ways companies can maximize valuation before an exit. Drawing from his work with thousands of companies and from the dedicated exit chapter in Scaling Up, Verne delivers actionable insight on building the kind of business that commands a premium — whether the owner plans to sell in two years or ten.  

Guest: Verne Harnish, Founder & CEO, Scaling Up (Gazelles) | Founder, Entrepreneurs' Organization | Author, Scaling Up
Connect with guest: scalingup.com

“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis

Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

Technology implementation is one of the most misunderstood pre-exit decisions a business owner can make — the right moves add value and buyer confidence, while the wrong ones create risk, disruption, and complexity that shows up in due diligence at the worst possible time. Mac Lillard, CPA/ABV/CITP, CIA, CFE, Senior Manager of Risk & Advisory Services at GRF CPAs & Advisors, rejoins Pat and Walter for a focused conversation on what owners need to know before making technology investments in advance of a sale. Mac explains how buyers evaluate technology infrastructure, what creates risk versus what creates value, and the timing considerations every owner should factor into their pre-exit technology strategy.  

Guest: Mac Lillard, CPA/ABV/CITP, CIA, CFE, CISA/CRISC, Senior Manager, Risk & Advisory Services, GRF CPAs & Advisors
Connect with guest: grfcpa.com/people/mac-lillard/


“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis

Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

Business owners who understand the risk landscape facing them in the years ahead can build stronger, more resilient companies — and more attractive acquisition targets. Melissa Musser, CPA, CIA, Partner and Director of Risk & Advisory Services at GRF CPAs & Advisors, joins Pat and Walter to map out the top forecasted risks for 2024 and beyond. From cybersecurity and technology risk to economic and workforce pressures, Melissa connects the dots between enterprise risk management and the factors that savvy buyers and investors evaluate when assessing a business. A conversation that is both a strategic planning resource and an exit planning roadmap for any owner who wants to build value proactively.  

Guest: Melissa Musser, CPA, CIA, CITP, CISA, Partner & Director, Risk & Advisory Services, GRF CPAs & Advisors
Connect with guest: grfcpa.com/people/melissa-musser-cpa-citp-cisa/

“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis

Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.

Identifying a successor is one thing. Equipping them to actually succeed as an owner is something else entirely — and most succession plans leave this critical step underdeveloped. In this episode, Pat and Walter focus on one of the most practical and often overlooked dimensions of succession planning: what it actually takes to prepare a management team member, family member, or key employee to step into ownership responsibility. From financial literacy and decision-making capacity to the emotional and cultural dimensions of ownership transfer, this conversation offers a practical framework for owners at every stage of the succession planning process.

“We want you to help you build a business that is sellable and exit successfully on your own terms and conditions.” - Pat Ennis



Conversations that move you closer to a regret-proof exit.

Subscribe To The Channel By Clicking HERE!

Learn more about working with Pat and Walter at ennislp.com 
Connect with Pat: linkedin.com/in/pat-ennis-25b4a111/
Connect with Walter: linkedin.com/in/walter-deyhle-cpa-abv-cff-maff-cexp-cepa-57386614/

#PatEnnis #WalterDeyhle #ExitReadiness


DISCLAIMER: The information in this presentation is provided as education only. 
Neither the presenter nor ENNIS Legacy Partners is engaged to render legal, accounting, or other professional services. Consult a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation. ENNIS Legacy Partners assumes no legal liability for any loss related to information contained in this presentation.