In this episode of Startup Different, we reflect on our previous conversation with Laurie Barkman, a business transition expert. We discuss the psychology behind selling a business, the importance of planning for exits, and the role of culture and employee engagement in startups. The conversation also touches on intrapreneurship and the resources available for entrepreneurs looking to transition their businesses. We emphasize the need for founders to think about their exit strategies early on and share personal anecdotes from our own experiences in selling our company.

Welcome to Startup Different! This week we’re excited to welcome a sherpa - specifically a business transition sherpa, to the show!

Laurie Barkman, The Business Transition Sherpa®, is the former CEO of a $100 million dollar revenue company that was sold to a Fortune 50. She guides business owners through the often overwhelming process of transition planning and facilitates sell-side and buy-side transactions in the lower middle market.

Laurie is an adjunct faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University, Amazon best-selling author of "The Business Transition Handbook," and host of the award-winning Succession Stories Podcast and the new show “the entrepreneur gene”. And she’s here to kickoff Season 5!

It's been over a year since the Startup Different Podcast kicked off, so we decided to re-record our origin story. We'll give you our backgrounds and tell you about our experience running and eventually exiting our business AppArmor.

Let's get into it! This is Startup Different!