Second Bite Podcast

Alex Membrillo is the Founder of Cardinal Digital Marketing, Power Digital Marketing's dedicated healthcare division specializing in performance marketing and patient acquisition. Over 17 years, he built Cardinal by sharpening its healthcare focus, expanding thought leadership, and improving delivery before its acquisition by Power Digital Marketing. A recognized digital marketing expert, Alex was named TAG Digital Marketer of the Year and has contributed to Forbes Agency Council while speaking on healthcare growth and agency strategy.

Building a valuable agency often requires knowing when to specialize, when to invest in growth, and when to consider an exit. What can founders do years before a sale to strengthen both their business and their options?

Alex Membrillo, Founder of Cardinal Digital Marketing, discusses preparing an agency for a successful sale. With host Todd Taskey, Alex shares how healthcare specialization accelerated his agency's growth, why a quality-of-earnings report matters before going to market, and what influenced his decision to choose a strategic buyer.

Alex Rudolph is the Co-founder of TBAR Partners, an official TikTok Shop agency partner that scales e-commerce brands through creator content, shop management, and performance advertising. Alex specializes in TikTok Shop growth, creator-led commerce, and DTC strategy, helping major brands build high-converting social commerce programs. He helped build TBAR into a 25-person agency working with brands such as Ridge, Grüns, David Protein, and HexClad.

Building a fast-growing agency can create as many strategic questions as opportunities, especially when acquisition interest arrives early. How do founders know when it's the right time to sell rather than keep scaling on their own?

Alex Rudolph, Co-founder of TBAR Partners, discusses selling a fast-growing TikTok Shop agency. With host Todd Taskey, Alex shares how they scaled through major DTC clients, why Common Thread Collective was the right buyer, and what founders should consider when negotiating deal terms. He also explains where TikTok Shop and live commerce may be headed next.

Kevin Ramsier is the Founder and Managing Partner at Sier Capital Partners, which makes strategic investments in lower-middle-market companies and partners with management teams to accelerate growth. He previously spent a decade at Invesco and has built and exited multiple companies. A three-time Inc. 5000 honoree, Kevin also speaks on business growth, value maximization, and exit planning, combining operating discipline with entrepreneurial vision.

Selling a business is more than a financial transaction; it can reshape a founder's role, relationships, and future upside. What separates a successful partnership from one that falls apart after the deal closes?

Kevin Ramsier, Founder and Managing Partner at Sier Capital, discusses how founders can increase value before and after a sale. With host Todd Taskey, Kevin shares the importance of alignment in private equity partnerships, how rollover equity can support a strong second bite, and what business owners should strengthen before going to market.

Ethan Kramer is a fractional operator and advisor for consumer brands. As a serial founder, he built and sold EK Creative, a social commerce agency that became an early TikTok Shop partner. Ethan now drives innovation in social commerce, combining paid media, affiliate marketing, live shopping, and emerging-platform strategies to help e-commerce brands achieve measurable growth.

Building and selling an agency can reshape how a founder thinks about growth, leadership, and what comes next. What does it take to turn an exit into an opportunity?

Fractional operator and advisor Ethan Kramer discusses building, scaling, and selling EK Creative. With host Todd Taskey, Ethan shares what he looked for in an acquisition partner, lessons from integrating into a larger organization, and how AI and social commerce are shaping the next wave of agency growth.

In the sixth installment of the PE Insight Series, Todd Taskey hosts eight private equity executives to discuss underwriting platform investments and the role of add-on acquisitions.

Private equity firms often talk about growth, but the real question is how much of that growth should come from the original platform versus future acquisitions. When underwriting a deal, how much should investors rely on what they can build organically?

Thomas Cooperrider, Stuart Coleman, Jamie Kennedy, Brian Schmidt, Bill Sommerschield, Chad Scripps, Lee Minkoff, and Larry Shagrin discuss underwriting platform investments. With host Todd Taskey, they explain the role of tuck-ins, the risks of poor integration, and why organic growth remains central to a successful investment thesis.

Jordan West is the President and Chief Visionary Officer of Social Commerce Club, a full-service TikTok Shop agency that builds and operates creator-driven revenue systems for enterprise e-commerce brands. As an e-commerce entrepreneur, he has founded and scaled multiple brands and now focuses on helping companies grow through TikTok Shop and creator-led marketing strategies.

Parker Kump is the CEO of Social Commerce Club, where he builds systems and creator networks designed to help brands grow. He previously founded Tuff Media, a performance marketing agency that grew into a multimillion-dollar business serving major consumer brands before being acquired.

Deals often look clean on paper, but the real story emerges when growth, timing, and trust combine. In the middle of rapid expansion, a company has to balance opportunity with operational strain while making a high-stakes decision about its future. How do you know when it's the right moment to bring in a partner?

Jordan West and Parker Kump of Social Commerce Club talk about the acquisition and scaling of a social commerce agency. With host Todd Taskey, Jordan and Parker explain how they evaluated multiple buyers and prioritized culture fit over price, how they managed due diligence while maintaining rapid growth, and how post-close integration unlocked shared services like finance and HR to accelerate scaling.

In the fifth installment of the PE Insight Series, Todd Taskey chats with eight private equity executives about the common pitfalls that can cause promising deals to underperform.

Even the strongest deals can hide risks that only become clear after the ink is dry. When a company looks great on paper, how can investors uncover the people, culture, pricing, and market dynamics that could affect long-term performance?

Thomas Cooperrider, Stuart Coleman, Jamie Kennedy, Brian Schmidt, Bill Sommerschield, Chad Scripps, Lee Minkoff, and Larry Shagrin discuss lessons from deals that underperformed. With host Todd Taskey, they share how leadership gaps, cultural misalignment, pricing assumptions, customer churn, and market shifts can shape outcomes after a transaction.

In the fourth installment of the PE Insight Series, Todd Taskey hosts eight private equity executives about evaluating AI's impact on service businesses.

AI is changing how investors evaluate service businesses, from margin potential to long-term defensibility. When a company's work can be accelerated, enhanced, or replaced by AI, what separates a strategic advantage from a serious risk?

Lee Minkoff, Larry Shagrin, Thomas Cooperrider, Stuart Coleman, Jamie Kennedy, Brian Schmidt, Bill Sommerschield, and Chad Scripps discuss how private equity firms evaluate AI's impact on new investments. With host Todd Taskey, they share how they assess proprietary data, workflow integration, customer relationships, margin expansion, and the risks facing companies that rely too heavily on repeatable processes.

In the third episode of the PE Insight Series, Todd Taskey interviews eight private equity executives about the behavioral signs that reveal a founder's commitment to post-close growth beyond financial rollover.

Rollover equity may align incentives, but it doesn't always reveal whether a founder is truly ready for the next chapter. What signals do private equity investors look for when deciding if a founder is genuinely committed to building long-term value?

Chad Scripps, Lee Minkoff, Larry Shagrin, Thomas Cooperrider, Stuart Coleman, Jamie Kennedy, Brian Schmidt, and Bill Sommerschield discuss founder commitment beyond financial rollover. With host Todd Taskey, they explain how founders signal real alignment, the importance of team exposure and succession planning, and how curiosity, candor, and growth planning shape investor confidence.

In the second episode of the PE Insight Series, Todd Taskey hosts eight private equity executives to discuss the non-negotiable attributes they look for in scalable platform investments.

Scaling a company after a platform investment takes more than capital and ambition. What do private equity investors consider non-negotiable before backing a business for rapid growth and exit?

Bill Sommerschield, Chad Scripps, Lee Minkoff, Larry Shangrin, Thomas Cooperrider, Stuart Colman, Jamie Kennedy, and Brian Schmidt discuss what makes a platform investment scalable. With host Todd Taskey, they talk about the importance of founder alignment, how strong teams and systems support growth, and the market traits that help drive successful exits.