Day three opened in much the same way the first two did: meetings between friends and business colleagues, talks about the potential uses of artificial intelligence (AI), and copious consumption of coffee and/or tea.
Following the morning’s power breakfast sessions, Joe Woodard introduced the theme of the first two parts of the main stage presentation on Tuesday morning: mergers and acquisitions (M&A). He introduced Ben Hussey, the chief revenue officer (CRO) of Katana, who gave a talk about going to market with confidence.
Hussey outlined several considerations for firms considering selling to private equity. Echoing discussions from sessions throughout the convention on the main stage and in various breakout sessions, Hussey stressed the importance of charging what you’re worth. He urged the crowd to honestly and accurately assess their true impact on their clients—results produced by solving pain points, positive emotional impact like granting peace of mind, measurable decrease in costs or increase in revenue, etc.—while determining the go-to-market value of their firm.
Next up was a panel of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) experts, including Jason Slivka from Citrin Cooperman, Steven Roderick of Roderick’s Payroll Bookkeeping & Advisory, Ben Bisconti from Red Iron, and Woodard’s own Deborah Defer.
The panelists discussed the current and projected future trends regarding M&A, particularly around private equity investment in small and medium-sized businesses.
“The goal of private equity investors is to take capital from an investment fund, invest it in businesses, and help it grow,” Bisconti said. “There will be more interest in providing liquidity to smaller firms than in the past.”
The panelists discussed the importance of working with a private equity firm that fits your company. “The first thing we look at is the people and culture,” Slivka said. “We want to understand from a partner perspective how they run their business so we can understand the people and culture.”
They also discussed how to prepare your firm to go to market. This can mean anything from re-evaluating your brand, your processes, or even your billing processes. For example, Steven discussed increasing revenue “without adding new customers” by switching pricing models.
Defer stressed that, when changing the ownership structure of your firm, documentation of tech processes is crucial.
As the panelists left the stage, Joe Woodard came back onstage to introduce the next speaker and make a special announcement.
“We are launching a buyer-seller program in Fall 2024,” Woodard said.
He displayed a QR code on the stage screens leading to web form where participants could indicate their interest in the program.
Amy Vetter, CEO of The B3 Method Institute and B3 Yoga, treated the audience to what Woodard described as a “break” from serious discussions about business with her presentation about the need for us to “disconnect to connect” or take a moment to give attention to your body and mind so you can connect with other people more effectively.
Her discussion covered many important facets of emotional regulation, mental and physical health, and social intelligence. She drew on her experience with mindfulness, including her experience as a yoga teacher (she is also the owner of B3 Yoga and Wellness Center in Crest Hill, Illinois). One of her slides featured a group of monkeys—a subtle reference to “monkey mind,” a Buddhist principle about the chaotic, impulsive nature of the unfocused, unintentioned, or dysregulated mind. She challenged the audience to consider that mindfulness is about more than “solitary meditation and provided steps that even those in a busy work environment could take to become more present and connected with their bodies, including what she called the “Three M’s”: meditation, mantras, and mindfulness.
Following Vetter’s talk, it was time for the keynote presenter for the day—which meant it was time for Dr. Kelly Richmond Pope to come onstage.
Pope is a prolific author, documentary filmmaker, and fraud expert. She outlined the different types of whistleblowers for the audience: accidental, noble, and vigilante, as well as the three archetypes of typical perpetrators: intentional, accidental, and righteous. She said that all whistleblowers tend to say the same things about their journey: I blew the whistle, people hated me for it, I got fired, and I would do it all again.
Pope also went over multiple real-world examples of fraud, including the Jackie Robinson West case and the story of the infamous company Theranos. She also treated the crowd to two clips about real fraud cases, including one from her documentary, “All the Queen’s Horses.”
The 150-plus exhibitors and sponsors of Scaling New Heights put on a show of their own.
The exhibitor hall was open at multiple intervals throughout the event. It was packed with colorful banners, jaw-dropping displays, and, of course, lots and lots of free swag.
This year, the exhibitor hall floor included several exciting features: a money booth, a free massage station, and even a dance-off booth.
Although it resembled one in many ways, the exhibitor hall was not just like any trade show; the participants were part of a community of people who know each other, learn from each other, and support one another.
The afternoon main stage presentation opened with Canopy’s VP of Marketing, Heather Hurst, who gave an inspiring talk about innovation, the need to adapt, and the importance of embracing change.
She displayed multiple quotes from figures in the past that, to an audience in 2024, seemed ironic and humorous in hindsight. For instance, she said, LEGO’s CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp once told his colleagues, “We are on a burning platform. We’re running out of cash… [and] likely won’t survive.” Of course, LEGO is now one of the biggest brands in the world.
She discussed other examples—such as Domino’s pizza, which nearly went the way of the dodo after its executives realized, as Hurst said, “everybody hated their pizza” and that they needed to “change or die.”
She pointed out how all these firms did 6 similar things: they didn’t keep their head in the sand; they acknowledged the reality of their situation; their leadership shared their conclusions with the whole company so everybody knew what was at stake; they didn’t wait to act when they realized there was a problem; they experimented and iterated; they got bold, even—in Dominos’ case—marketing their new pizza as “good” and their old pizza as “bad”; and they committed to a long-term journey of change.
The final presentation on the main stage for the evening featured none other than Joe Woodard and Heather Satterley, hosts of the Woodard Report Podcast, for a live recording of an episode. Amusingly, Woodard utilized a unique visual effect for this part of the show: a virtual “Applause” sign.
The pair began by discussing the bravery of some inspiring members of the Woodard community, including Michelle Mitchell, a courageous woman who built her own firm while battling multiple sclerosis (MS) and who once stoically responded to Satterley’s question about how she copes with stress by simply saying, “I don’t do stress.”
The rest of the episode consisted of numerous segments, including one in which Woodard and Satterley shared their favorite social posts and memories from Scaling New Heights over the years and another in which they listed some of their favorite inspirational quotes from their favorite television shows and movies. The pair prefaced the latter by saying it would be heavy on Sci-Fi shows, books, and movies. “We’re both big Sci-Fi nerds,” they agreed.
Check out the next episode of the Woodard Report Podcast to hear the full story!