The Conversations
That Happen
After the Wire
For the founders who sold. For the brokers who closed the deal. For the attorneys who protected them. The stories the exit ecosystem needs — told by the people who lived them.
predecessor, Business Leaders Podcast
*Exit Planning Institute
The exit ecosystem deserves a better conversation.
Most podcasts celebrate how founders built their companies. We document what happened after they sold — and we feature the professionals who made those exits possible.
The brokers who found the buyer when nobody else could. The attorneys who protected the seller when the deal tried to fall apart. The founders who came out the other side and have something real to say to the people who are five years behind them.
These are conversations about the exit experience that are rarely told in full — and the professionals who make those exits possible, finally on the record.
Two tracks. One ecosystem.
The Exit Series features two categories of guests — the founders who lived through exits, and the professionals who make those exits happen. Both tell stories the market needs to hear.
Founders Who Sold
The real story of what happened after the wire. Not only the success narrative — the actual transition that most founders weren’t prepared for, told candidly for the founders who are five years behind them.
- Sold a business and willing to discuss the real experience
- Willing to discuss the experience openly — the decisions, the surprises, what they would do differently
- Ready to talk about what came after, not just the deal itself
- Comfortable talking about what went right and what went wrong
Exit Ecosystem Professionals
The brokers, M&A attorneys, and exit planners who do the work that makes exits succeed — featured as the market experts they are, in front of an audience of business owners who need to understand their value before they need it.
- Business brokers active in lower middle market transactions
- M&A attorneys with a transactional practice focus
- Exit planners and advisors with documented deal experience
- Professionals with a point of view on what the market is doing right now
Every episode is available
wherever you listen — and shared
across the communities
where your audience is already active.
Published on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and this site. Shared across LinkedIn communities where business owners and deal professionals are already active.
* Episode reach varies by platform and engagement. Content is yours to use and share independently.
Every guest comes for a different reason.
The conversation serves all of them.
The Exit Series brings together two very different kinds of guests. What they share is this: a story that the market needs to hear — and an audience that needs to hear it.
Your experience is the map someone else needs before they walk into the same storm.
You went through something most people only imagine. The wire hit. And then came the part nobody warned you about — the identity questions, the financial decisions that couldn’t wait, the months of figuring out what comes next.
There are founders five years behind you walking straight into the same storm. A conversation on The Exit Series is how you put a warning sign there — and leave something useful on the record.
“The best time to hear this story is before you need it.”
You do the work nobody sees until something goes wrong.
Business owners don’t understand what you do until after the deal closes — and by then, the value of your expertise is already spent. Most never learn what they should have known before they needed you.
The Exit Series puts your expertise and IP on the record — on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, LinkedIn, and this site — in front of the business owners and deal professionals who need to understand your value before they need you.
“Nobody has ever given me a platform to explain what I actually do for my clients.”
Bob Roark
After more than 200 episodes interviewing business owners, brokers, exit professionals, and the founders who went through it — across The Exit Series and its predecessor Business Leaders Podcast — Bob has a clear point of view: the founders who come out of exits intact are the ones who had the right team around them before the process started. This podcast exists because that experience is too valuable to go unrecorded.
He has spent 38 years in financial services and business ownership — the last decade focused on founders navigating the post-exit transition, the financial decisions, the identity questions, and the choices that determine whether the exit was actually a win. He understands the day-to-day reality of running a business, not just managing the proceeds after it sells.
Bob Roark is a registered investment advisor. This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment, legal, or financial advice.
Your story. Your IP. Both belong on the record.
We have two guest tracks. Both serve the same mission: giving the exit ecosystem the conversations it needs.
Guests are invited based on experience and perspective. If that sounds like you, request an invitation below.
You Sold. Now Tell the Real Story.
Not only the success narrative. The actual experience — the transition after the wire that nobody prepares you for. The identity shift. The financial decisions you had to make faster than you expected. What you’d do differently. What surprised you. What you want other founders to know before they’re in it.
- Sold a business and willing to discuss the real experience
- Willing to discuss the experience openly, not just the highlights
- Comfortable talking about what went right and what went wrong
- Ready to help founders who are five years behind you
You Do the Work. We Put It on the Record.
Your expertise and IP is often undervalued until the deal is already closed. Business owners don’t understand what you do until after the deal closes — and by then it’s too late to benefit from that understanding. The Exit Series puts your expertise and IP on the record, in front of business owners and deal professionals, before they need you.
- Active business broker, M&A attorney, or exit planner
- Active in the lower middle market with a transactional practice
- A genuine point of view on what the market is doing right now
- Stories that illustrate what great work in your field actually looks like
Listen to the Conversations
Available on all major podcast platforms and YouTube. Full transcripts available for each episode.
The Exit Series is produced for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this podcast, on this website, or in any associated materials constitutes investment advice, legal advice, financial advice, or a solicitation of any advisory services. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not constitute an endorsement of any product, service, or advisory firm. Bob Roark is a registered investment advisor; however, no advisory relationship is created through this podcast or website. Always consult qualified professionals before making investment, legal, or financial decisions.