Meet Michael!

Accountants are trained to run with the herd: don’t get ahead, don’t fall behind, don’t take risks. Mike Brown decided that wasn’t what clients needed.

Zane sits down with Mike Brown, CPA, co-founder of Brightline. They trace Mike’s path from a small-town Ontario history buff to nine years at Baker Tilly. Mike was a couple of years from the partner conversation when he walked away to start his own firm with his business partner Stacy, and they had nothing more than “concepts of a plan.”

Mike talks about why accounting records are really the history of a business, and why AI will probably cause an overcorrection back toward human service. He explains how a visionary–implementer partnership depends on productive conflict, and what changed when a November 2025 merger took Brightline from 8 people to 25 overnight.

He also shares the thinking behind Brightline’s public pricing calculator, why pricing transparency builds trust, and the leadership lessons he keeps coming back to: clear is kind, learn to say no, and just have the difficult conversation.

Protea Conversations is the podcast for accountants and service-firm leaders.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and the guitar in the corner

02:44 From history buff to accountant

06:38 Will AI change how humans behave?

09:33 Processed food, overcorrection, and the future of AI

11:47 Building communication skills (and a McDonald’s Monopoly police escort)

14:51 From co-op terms to Baker Tilly to Brightline

17:01 Walking away from the partner track

20:21 “Ship it and iterate”: why accountants need to take more risks

21:31 Don’t run with the herd

22:58 Starting a firm with “concepts of a plan”

25:45 Visionary meets implementer: making partnership conflict productive

28:38 Seeking out conflict after a merger

30:51 From business owner to leader

35:46 Vivid Vision: writing down exactly what your firm should look like

38:16 A day in the life of a firm owner

42:14 Endless Customers and the pricing calculator

44:17 Why pricing transparency matters

48:02 How to get out of your own way

49:53 Leadership advice: clear is kind, and learn to say no

53:45 Mike outside of work: a lifelong learner

55:42 The Final Five

Books and resources mentioned

Get Well Soon by Jennifer Wright

Vivid Vision by Cameron Herold

Endless Customers by Marcus Sheridan

Radical Candor by Kim Scott

“Clear is kind, unclear is unkind” by Brené Brown

Connect with Micahel

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-brown-cpa-ca-1691714b/

Meet Melissa!

What happens when the business you built grows faster than the systems needed to support it?

In this episode of Protea Conversations, Zane sits down with Melissa Armstrong, CPA and founder of SteadyHand Accounting & Advisory, for an open conversation about entrepreneurship, accounting, identity, and rebuilding a firm. Melissa grew up in Puerto Rico in a family of accountants, even though she was convinced she would never become one herself. Her journey eventually took her through Big Four accounting, corporate finance, Spain, Colorado, and ultimately firm ownership.

But her second year as a business owner changed everything. After experiencing rapid growth, Melissa found herself beyond capacity, struggling through hiring challenges, and with one client representing roughly half of her firm's revenue. Eventually, she made the difficult decision to let go of that client, restructure the business, rethink hiring, raise her fees, strengthen her boundaries, and rebuild SteadyHand with a much clearer vision.

The conversation also goes well beyond business. Melissa shares candidly about pursuing financial independence, the personal cost of constantly pushing forward, learning to listen to her body and herself, and redefining what success actually means.

In this episode:

• Growing up in Puerto Rico and finding a career in accounting

• Why Melissa originally wanted nothing to do with the profession

• Building a network after moving countries and cities

• The value of authenticity in relationships and business

• Lessons from Big Four accounting

• Taking the leap into firm ownership

• Why rapid growth created unexpected problems

• The danger of client concentration

• Hiring before you're ready—and hiring when it's already too late

• Making the decision to walk away from major revenue

• Burnout, capacity, and building a sustainable business

• Raising fees and establishing stronger client boundaries

• What “SteadyHand 2.0” looks like

• Financial independence, identity, and redefining success

• The importance of having people around you who can help

Melissa also shares one of the biggest lessons from her journey: build relationships, stay curious, ask for help when you need it, and be willing to change when the business you're running no longer supports the life you're trying to build.

Connect with Melissa Armstrong and learn more about SteadyHand Accounting & Advisory, her newsletter, and her podcast No Se Habla Taxes.

Connect with Melissa

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andersonpetergeorge/

Meet Anderson!

What does the accounting firm of the future actually look like?

In this episode of Protea Conversations, I sit down with Anderson Petergeorge, co-founder of Quanto, to talk about accounting, entrepreneurship, AI, marketing, niching, and what it really takes to build a modern accounting firm.

Anderson started his career at KPMG before moving into finance and eventually entrepreneurship. What began as an attempt to build an AI-native accounting firm evolved into something very different: a business helping accounting firms grow through sales, marketing, technology, and content.

We talk about why understanding the fundamentals of bookkeeping still matters, even when AI promises to automate more of the work, and why firms need to be careful about adopting technology simply because everyone else is doing it.

Anderson also shares his perspective on hiring in an AI-driven world, why AI should make people more effective rather than simply replace them, and the danger of using new technology to do more of the same work you already dislike.

We also dive into niching, identifying your ideal client, building a personal brand, creating valuable content, and why accountants have a unique opportunity to turn their experience and client knowledge into genuine thought leadership.

Along the way, Anderson shares lessons from entrepreneurship, building alongside a co-founder, learning from customers, the influence of his family, and why having the right people around you matters.

In this episode:

00:00 – Welcome to Protea Conversations

03:30 – From accounting to entrepreneurship

05:55 – Anderson and Zane’s shared KPMG experience

10:00 – Why accountants should understand bookkeeping

13:45 – Becoming an entrepreneur

22:35 – How Quanto evolved from its original idea

30:25 – Turning expertise into valuable content

34:40 – Finding your niche and ideal customer

42:20 – How accounting firms should approach hiring in the AI era

46:25 – Are accountants using AI to do more work they already hate?

49:00 – Why leaders need to start with “why”

49:50 – The best advice Anderson has received

If you are an accountant, firm owner, entrepreneur, or anyone trying to understand how AI and technology are changing professional services, there is plenty to take away from this conversation.

Connect with Anderson

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andersonpetergeorge/