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Logan Graff’s Origin Story: From UIL Accounting to Launching a Virtual Tax Firm

Logan Graff and AJ Zepeda introduce an episode of the Own Your Firm podcast focused on Logan, briefly discuss possibly attending QuickBooks Connect, and joke about doing a live podcast from the beach. Logan shares personal background (living in Austin, married 12 years, three daughters), interests (a 1965 Mustang project, fitness, hiking, mountain biking, making pizza), and that his faith in Christ is central to his life, noting it influenced AJ to speak about it online. Logan explains how he became an accountant through high school accounting classes and UIL competitions, then an internship at Padgett Stradoman (later merged with RSM), and being rejected by Big Four. After being terminated from Padgett, he moved to smaller firms, pursued a partner path, became a tax director at a tiny firm, and ultimately launched his own firm in 2020 by purchasing about 60 clients and starting with roughly 90–100 during COVID. He describes early challenges (income stability, taking the wrong work), later focusing on pricing and client fit, and his current setup: about 130 clients, $250k–$300k revenue, a remote CPA manager, and splitting time across firm, community, and content. His advice to day-one Logan is to worry less, take the right clients, and raise rates faster.

00:00 Welcome Back and AJ Shoutout
00:42 QuickBooks Connect and Beach Plans
01:28 Meet Logan Graff
03:02 Hobbies Fitness and Pizza
05:04 Faith and Speaking Up
06:01 Origin Story Becoming an Accountant
08:48 Early Career Internships and Big Four
11:08 Fired Then Finding the Ownership Path
14:57 Launching the Firm During COVID
17:59 Early Struggles Pricing and Survival Mode
20:07 Graff Tax Co Today Team Clients Revenue
21:37 Advice to Day One Logan and Wrap Up