Roughly 90% of the deals that get started never make it to the finish line. That’s a lot of wasted effort, and a lot of value left on the table. Andi Gray, founder and president of Strategy Leaders, has spent three decades helping owners avoid that outcome.

In this first episode of Multiple Perspectives, BizEquity’s Kevin Saad sits down with Andi, a BizEquity partner for more than a decade. Her research at Columbia into why privately held businesses succeed or fail led to the book New Game, New Rules and to the founding of Strategy Leaders. Since then, her team has worked with close to 1,000 companies, moving the odds from three in four failing to three in four still operating a decade later.

In this episode:

• Why owners stall at stage one. The skills that build a business become the limit on growing it. Andi explains what it takes to “climb the fence” to stage two: delegating, managing at arm’s length, and building real support.
• The 50% valuation gap. Most owners overestimate what their business is worth by at least 50%, and baby boomers are running out of time to fix it.
• From stalled to valuable. A real client story of an owner who hit a wall, then used a valuation as the baseline to rebuild sales, controls, and profit.
• Fear versus opportunity. When a business stumbles, decisions turn fear-driven. A valuation shows owners the way out of the swamp.
• Why deals die, and how a trading range saves them. A defensible valuation gives buyers, sellers, accountants, and attorneys a common starting point.
• Undervaluing is as dangerous as overvaluing. Two recent deals, including one where an owner was about to leave $1–2 million on the table.
• Minority and majority discounts in action. How a valuation helped a $30 million family business move from fourth to fifth generation without over-leveraging the buyers.
• What advisors should say first. The one conversation Andi wishes every banker, planner, insurance pro, CPA, and attorney would have with a business owner.
• One valuation becomes three. A closing story of an owner who used valuations to bolt on acquisitions and grow her business two to three times over.

Who should listen: Financial advisors, insurance professionals, CPAs, attorneys, and M&A advisors who serve business owners, and owners who want to know what their company is worth and how to raise it.

Guest: Andi Gray, Founder and President, Strategy Leaders

Host: Kevin Saad, Senior Director of Customer Success, BizEquity

Chapters

• 00:00 Cold open: why 90% of deals never close
• 00:31 Welcome and meet Andi Gray
• 03:10 From Columbia research to founding Strategy Leaders
• 05:42 Working with close to 1,000 companies and changing the failure rate
• 07:05 Stage one versus stage two: why owners never climb the fence
• 11:12 Baby boomers and the time wall
• 13:14 Why owners overestimate their value by 50%
• 14:14 Client story: from stalled sales to a more valuable business
• 17:41 Fear-driven decisions and getting out of the swamp
• 20:33 Why deals fail and the power of a trading range
• 23:28 Two deals: undervaluing versus overvaluing
• 27:01 Minority and majority discounts in a $30 million family transition
• 29:40 Buy-sell agreements, insurance, and bringing employees in as shareholders
• 30:53 What advisors should say to business owners first
• 33:59 The house analogy: treating value as your baseline
• 36:39 Success story: one valuation becomes three
• 40:40 How to reach Andi

Connect with Andi Gray

• Strategy Leaders
• Email: andi@strategyleaders.com
• Phone: 914-843-0454
• Andi Gray on LinkedIn

Most advisors walk into a first meeting with a stack of paperwork. Doug Marshall walks in with something an owner can actually use.

In this final legacy episode, BizEquity’s Kevin Saad sits down with longtime partner and friend of the show Doug Marshall of Marshall+Viliesis. Doug has used BizEquity since before COVID. He explains why a valuation is the fastest way to start a meaningful conversation with a business owner. It beats a 14-page fact finder, it opens the door to the emotional side of transition planning, and it gives the owner a number they can defend. His advice for advisors is simple: get to first base.

In this episode

• Start with something of substance: A valuation gives owners something real to accept or reject, which is far better than a fact finder built to figure out what to sell them.
• Speed keeps the conversation alive: Other tools once took two to three weeks. A BizEquity valuation can be done in about 30 minutes, before the owner is pulled away by the next demand on their time.
• A number you can defend: Owners often carry a multiple around from a friend at the club, but can’t say where it came from. Doug explains why the difference between 2.0x and 3.0x changes the entire plan.
• Transition readiness, not just a sale: Ownership and leadership transitions can be planned or sudden. Doug covers what happens to value when there is no emergency plan in place.
• The emotional side of the numbers: One successor, three kids, and a business that can’t be split three ways. Doug shares how a shared valuation helps families keep the holidays peaceful.
• What takes value away: Missing documentation and client concentration can quietly erode what a business is worth. Doug argues owners should understand these risks before they focus on the upside.
• Buy-sells and estate planning: Death and disability are very different events and may carry different values. Doug explains why valuation is the bedrock for both.
• AI as a complement: Doug has run the same data through AI and compared it with BizEquity. He explains why he sees AI as a useful second opinion, not a replacement for a disciplined, consistent engine.

Chapters

• 00:00 – Welcome and introductions
• 01:22 – Doug’s BizEquity story and his firm’s philosophy
• 03:04 – Why speed matters: 30 minutes vs. three weeks
• 05:38 – Being ready for the inevitable transition
• 08:21 – Start with value: the litmus test for readiness
• 10:21 – It’s an emotional issue, not just a financial one
• 13:56 – Estate planning, buy-sells, and what takes away value
• 18:43 – Building a connection with owners (and the problem with “2.8x”)
• 20:48 – Selling vs. transferring to family: real client stories
• 25:17 – AI and valuation: a complement, not a competitor
• 29:11 – Final thoughts: get to first base
• 31:52 – Why the software is fun
• 33:06 – Where to find Doug

Connect with Doug Marshall

• Marshall+Viliesis -marshallviliesis.com
• Doug Marshall on LinkedIn

When Barry Fisher asked business owners what their company was worth, the answer was almost always the same: “We have no idea.” That one question turned a 50-year insurance veteran into one of BizEquity’s most dedicated power users.

Barry Fisher, owner of Blaze ‘n Bear Insurance Services and host of the Protecting What Matters radio show on California’s Central Coast, began in life and health insurance in the Bicentennial year and became a pioneer in long-term care insurance. In this conversation with BizEquity’s Kevin Saad, he shares how he reinvented himself as a retail agent for business owners and how a valuation became his way into buy-sell, succession, and exit planning conversations.

In this episode:

• Why Barry started charging for valuations. His fee went from $1,500 to $2,500, and it took the insurance sales pressure out of the conversation.
• How a local radio show became a referral engine. Protecting What Matters helped him build relationships with attorneys, CPAs, and other centers of influence.
• What tax returns reveal. He explains why sole proprietors are so much harder to value, and why many owners have no grip on their financials.
• The Thanksgiving conversation. A family business owner sat down with his kids to talk about succession, and it showed Barry what this work is really about.
• Why business owners are ideal long-term care prospects. Premiums are partially deductible and benefits pass tax free, which makes their fifties the best time to buy.
• Why liquidity completes the plan. An exit plan isn’t complete until the liquidity is there, and Barry has seen what happens to families when it isn’t.

Who should listen: Insurance professionals, financial advisors, CPAs, and attorneys who work with business owners and want to start more valuation, succession, and exit planning conversations. Owners who want to know what their business is worth will also get a lot from it.

Barry’s advice is simple: ask the question, run the valuation, and let it start the conversation your clients have been putting off.

Guest: Barry Fisher, Blaze ‘n Bear Insurance Services

Host: Kevin Saad, BizEquity

Chapters

• 00:00 Welcome and meet Barry Fisher
• 01:46 From life and health agent to long-term care pioneer
• 03:46 Selling the agency, consulting, and launching Blaze ‘n Bear
• 06:04 Discovering BizEquity through the buy-sell question
• 08:28 Learning to charge for valuations
• 10:21 Building a local exit planning group
• 13:19 The BizEquity platform as a competitive advantage over Zoom
• 14:18 Centers of influence and the Protecting What Matters radio show
• 21:08 Why exit planning and succession matter more than ever
• 23:02 Tax efficiency, sole proprietors, and getting a grip on the financials
• 25:27 The family business conversation that changed everything
• 28:34 The new exit readiness reports and why liquidity matters
• 31:09 Closing thoughts: long-term care, risk, and what BizEquity means to Barry
• 35:02 Wrap-up and a semi-quincentennial send-off

Connect with Barry Fisher

• Barry on LinkedIn
• Blaze ‘n Bear Insurance Services
• Protecting What Matters radio show