The Exit Whisperer

She built a company from scratch to serve medically fragile children — and sold it for double her valuation.

In this powerful and emotional episode, Coco Sellman shares the full story behind founding her home healthcare agency inspired by her stepdaughter, scaling it to $7M in just 18 months, surviving the pandemic, navigating investors and partnerships, negotiating a merger, and finally landing the perfect exit with a major children’s hospital.

From starting without funding to surviving impossible cash flow gaps and sitting across from private equity in a room full of men — Coco breaks down what it really takes to exit on your terms. If you’re building with purpose but want a serious business outcome… this one is a must-listen.

In this episode of The Exit Whisperer, we sit down with Ali von Paris, founder of Route One Apparel, a Maryland-themed clothing company that went from a viral college T-shirt idea to a self-funded powerhouse. Ali dives into the early hustle of building a business from scratch, learning e-commerce when it was still the wild west, scaling to 4,000+ SKUs, and eventually navigating the emotional and strategic complexities of selling her business.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to exit a company you built from the ground up—or how to scale a community-rooted brand into a full-blown movement—this one’s for you.

In this episode of The Exit Whisperer, Michelle Wahler shares the incredible 18-year journey of building Beyond Yoga—a body-positive, female-founded activewear brand that made comfort, inclusivity, and authenticity its mission from day one. From hand-illustrated T-shirts to a strategic, self-funded apparel company acquired by Levi Strauss & Co., Michelle unpacks every twist in her story: childhood influences, bootstrapping struggles, wholesale wins, emotional negotiations, and her mindset shift post-exit.

Whether you’re scaling your first business or considering your final chapter, this is a masterclass in leading with values and building a brand people love.

0:18 Michelle Sells Her Company  

Miren Oca, the founder of Ocaquatics Swim School, a successful swim school business she started at 22 years old after becoming pregnant in college. Miren shares her inspiring journey from teaching swimming lessons to building a business with 165 employees, 5 locations, and 6,500 weekly swimming lessons.

She discusses her focus on environmental and social responsibility, becoming a certified B Corporation, and the unique exit strategy she implemented using an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), ensuring her business’s legacy and continuing benefits for her employees.

Miren explains the challenges and successes in setting up the EOT, why it was the best choice for preserving her company’s values, and the profound satisfaction she has experienced through this exit route.

2:10 Miren Oka Shares the Vision Behind Her Employee Trust  

At just 26, Susan took a leap — launching News Generation with the backing of her family and a single client’s nudge. What followed was a two-decade journey building a niche agency in radio media relations, where she prioritized culture, steady growth, and real relationships. In this episode, she opens up about the real emotions behind selling a business, why she started thinking about exiting around age 50, and how she navigated the unexpected curveball of selling during a pandemic. Susan also shares what really mattered in the deal (spoiler: it wasn’t just the money), why her office space and team were non-negotiables, and how she’s now using her experience to guide other women founders.

This is a story about knowing your worth, leaving with integrity, and designing what’s next — on your own terms.

She Was Told “You Can’t Be a Good Mom and Build a Company” — So She Proved Them Wrong

Michele discusses her successful career as an entrepreneur who managed to maintain a work-life balance while building and eventually selling her global translation business.

In an engaging conversation with Carrie, Michele shares insights from her journey, including the initial struggles, the importance of offloading responsibilities, and the process of scaling. She emphasizes the significance of setting personal and business goals, handling the transition after a business exit, and finding new purposes.

The episode provides valuable advice for women entrepreneurs on preparing for an exit and determining their worth outside their business.

1:58 Finding a Healthy Balance Between Work and Life