
Finish Big 2.0 w/ Mark Dorman · 2026-06-10 · 34 min
Key moments - from our scoring
Substance score
32 / 100
Five dimensions, 20 points each
BizEquity, the world's largest online business valuation platform, has completed nearly one million valuations and pre-valued over 30 million businesses since its founding in 2014-2015 with the mission to democratize business valuation. Cal Parker and Kevin Saad discuss how the platform evolved from addressing the 98% of business owners who didn't know their company's worth - when traditional certified valuations cost $10,000-$20,000 and took weeks or months - into a tool that delivers valuations in 10-20 minutes with 70-80% accuracy comparable to formal appraisals. The conversation covers BizEquity's client base (wealth advisors, CPAs, community banks, and exit planning specialists), the distinction between pre-valuations (Zillow-like estimates), BizEquity valuations (accurate planning tools), and certified valuations (formal appraisals for IRS use cases like ESOPs). The latest platform improvements include AI-powered OCR tax scanning, enhanced KPI reporting tied to industry benchmarks, and a four-pillar action plan framework that helps business owners identify competitive gaps and set growth targets - transforming the platform beyond simple valuation into a comprehensive business planning tool for advisors serving the $10 trillion business owner market.
BizEquity has valued close to one million businesses on its platform, and has pre-valued over 30 million additional businesses using limited data points, as of 2026.
A BizEquity valuation is a quick, affordable valuation tool ($10-20 minutes, modest cost) suitable for planning conversations, while a certified valuation is a formal appraisal by a CVA (accredited valuation professional) required for IRS use cases like ESOPs, typically costing $10,000-$50,000 and taking months.
The updated platform includes AI-powered OCR tax scanning for instant document processing, enhanced industry-specific KPI reporting that benchmarks performance against competitors, and a four-pillar action plan center that provides short-term goals to increase business value.
While BizEquity serves any advisor to a business owner (accounting firms, community banks, exit planners), the platform was built primarily for wealth advisors who can integrate valuation into broader planning conversations around estate planning, succession planning, life insurance, and disability.
BizEquity valuations are typically within a couple hundred to couple thousand dollars of formal appraisals for most cases, and in one case study matched a $300 million certified valuation within a fraction of a percentile with the same multiple.
Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.
The episode contains a handful of useful data points about the business valuation market and exit planning gaps, but most of the content is promotional narrative for Bizequity's platform rather than dense, practitioner-grade insight. Observations like 'advisors avoid valuation conversations' and 'business owners don't know their value' are widely repeated in this space.
98% of business owners had no idea what their business was worth
before bizequity, it was costly, you know, upwards of 10, $20,000. It could take two weeks to complete
The episode recycles the standard 'democratizing valuation' narrative and conventional exit planning talking points without offering any contrarian, first-principles, or genuinely novel framing. The golf strokes-gained analogy for KPIs is mildly creative but not original thinking.
the vision was to democratize valuation
you don't want to wait until it's too late to Talk about your 401k planning. You don't check your account until you know you're, you're at that point in your 60s
Cal Parker and Kevin Saad are mid-level sales and customer success representatives at a SaaS company - not founders, operators who have built and exited businesses, or domain experts with independent credibility. Their perspective is almost entirely product-promotional rather than practitioner-earned.
I was actually one of the first interns at the company
Kevin Saad is a Senior Director of Customer Success at AH Bizequity where he leads the strategic vision for helping financial professionals leverage the power of business valuation
There are several concrete figures (1 million valuations completed, 30 million pre-valued, original cost of $10 - 20k, 2-week completion time, one $300M comparison case study) but the case study is told without naming the company or industry, and most platform update claims stay at the level of marketing language rather than hard evidence.
it's close to a million businesses that have been valuated on the, uh, biz equity platform
a great partner of ours, I had a business, compared it to a $300 million certified, uh, one. It was the same financials and it was within
The host asks a few clarifying questions (distinguishing pre-value from certified valuation, probing the 98% statistic) and occasionally adds relevant client anecdotes, but never challenges any claim and allows guests to give extended product pitches unchecked. The interview functions largely as a promotional showcase rather than a substantive dialogue.
I want to just press you right there again. If I'm an accounting firm that has a valuation department, you're like, oh, all right, Cal, well this can't be worth it can't be worth that much
distinguish pre value versus, uh, and I think it's also important while we're talking about that
Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.
In this episode of the Finish Big Podcast, Mark Dorman is joined by Cal B. Parker and Kevin Saad from BizEquity - the world's largest online business valuation platform. The conversation explores how BizEquity has transformed business valuation from an expensive, time-consuming process into a fast, accessible planning tool for advisors and business owners. Cal and Kevin discuss the importance of proactive planning, understanding business value long before an exit, and how modern technology is reshaping the succession and exit planning industry. They also dive into the newest BizEquity platform enhancements, including AI-powered tax return extraction, KPI benchmarking, value growth strategies, and tools that help advisors guide business owners towards stronger financial futures. This episode is packed with insights for entrepreneurs, financial advisors, exit planners, and anyone interested in building, protecting, and maximising business value. Mark and Cal B.
Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.
Speaker A: If you're an entrepreneur, you've taken big risks, created many jobs and devoted yourself to your business. When it comes to building your succession and transition plan, who should be involved? What are the steps along the way? Welcome to Finish Big the podcast with Mark Dorman, sponsored by Succession plus, inspired by the book Finish how, um, Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Top by the noted entrepreneurial author Bo Burlingham. In this podcast we share success stories along with our expertise and knowledge about what will probably be the largest financial transaction of your life. Now onto the show.
Speaker B: Hello, this is Mark Dorman and welcome to the Finish Big podcast. Uh, I'm delighted uh, today to be joined by Cal Parker and Kevin Saad from Bizequity. Let me tell you a bit about Bizequity and then I will uh, move along to tell you about uh, my friends Kevin and Cal. Bizequity is the world's largest online business valuation platform, uh, having done tens of thousands and uh, I believe actually more than that. We'll get into that in the show of valuations for advisors the world and specifically throughout North America. Uh, Cal Parker, who's joined uh us today. Cal spent nearly a decade at Bizequity, uh, contributing across almost every function of the business and helping to shape the company's growth. Along the way he has also spent time helping firms design their business owner planning strategies. It's a great resource as it has become a major focus for leading RIAs, that's registered investment advisory firms and financial services and planning firms. Outside of work, Cal uh, enjoys spending time with his wife Stephanie and family in Bucks County. Uh as a former athlete, he now satisfies his competitive side on the golf course, which we know is a theme of our show and just about any other activity as well. My good friend Kevin Saad is a Senior Director of Customer Success at AH Bizequity where he leads the strategic vision for helping financial professionals leverage the power of business valuation. I want to dive into that with Kevin in Cal. As the leader of the customer success team, Kevin empowers Bizequity users to unlock the 10 trillion business owner opportunity that is truly the backbone of the US Economy and deliver on the company's mission of democratizing business valuation. Kevin is a Chicago native currently residing in Philadelphia. In his free time, Kevin is an avid soccer player and enjoys exploring Philadelphia's award winning food scene. And I will vouch for that. Ladies and gentlemen, Cal Parker and Kevin Sod. Welcome to Finish Big the podcast.
Speaker C: Yeah, thanks Mark for having us. I think those were uh, Two phenomenal intros I should have mentioned, too. I'm in. In Bucks County, Pennsylvania, so also, uh, a resident of the area, but, uh, but haven't really left. So I've been. Been here for forever.
Speaker B: Great. Well, I love Philly. Great sports town, obviously. Uh, and we record this show. Uh, I know the Flyers were eliminated. Uh, uh, you guys had a tough evening, I believe. The Flyers and the Sixers on one day. If I'm not. If I'm not, uh, incorrect.
Speaker C: Yeah, I'll let. I'll let Kevin handle that one. He's our. Uh, Kevin was an athlete as well, but Kevin is, uh, in the office, the. The resident of all sports events, games. Um, so I know Kevin could. Could attest to some of that.
Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. But I love Philly. I've got some good friends there. In addition to the founder of Biz Equity, Michael Carter, my good friend Adam Hull, who's with Asset Map. And it's got a great fin. Uh, fintech.
Speaker C: Fintech.
Speaker B: Uh, uh, vibe to it. So let's dive right in. Kevin and Cal. Uh, let's, uh, let's. Let's take a step. Couple step backwards, uh, and talk to us about the history of Biz Equity.
Speaker C: You know what, Kevin? I'll start just because I've been here for so long. I mean, I started my career here. Um, I was actually one of the first interns at the company. So I've seen Biz Equity from being a true startup, really an idea from Mike Carter and other former colleagues. Um, John Hallinan, who is now with wealth.com was pivotal to the growth of Biz Equity and a lot others. Um, not leaving any out for any reason, but, um, the start of the company, the vision was to democratize valuation. Uh, we knew that 98% of business owners had no idea what their business was worth. And it's not that they didn't want to know what it was worth, but they either lacked the resources or the ability to receive evaluation. Um, before bizequity, it was costly, you know, upwards of 10, $20,000. It could take two weeks to complete and.
Speaker B: Two weeks. I mean, I've been involved with. Uh, we did an ESOP valuation for ESOP plan. Took three months.
Speaker C: There you go. Right. And that's today. That's in 2026. But imagine back in 2014, 2015, without the use of all the technology that we have to gather data and be able to communicate more efficiently. Um, but back then, I mean, we created a platform that in 10 to 20 minutes could value a client's business, um, with relatively no friction. Simply, um, going through a, ah, paint by numbers approach and entering in three or four years of data. Um, and we soon caught a lot of traction within the financial services industry across insurance and wealth management and we could dive into that. But um, you know, we really, we, we knew that business owners needed to know what their business was worth for planning decisions ahead in the future. It's not just businesses that are looking to sell today. And that was something that was a growing pain at the beginning of biz Equity because even advisors then thought of valuation as that last step. And bizequity transformed that conversation into planning years ahead of an eventual exit or transition. Um, but uh, I think we're all super proud of what biz equity is today and what we've built. Um, becoming a name in the industry and working with such great firms. Um, that's kind of how we got started. Um, Kevin, I don't know if there's anything you think.
Speaker B: Yeah, what are you.
Speaker D: Anything to add there? Yeah, it's extremely well said there. Cal and Mark, thank you again for having us here. Um, I think also Cal has been here since the initial days and like you mentioned, Mark, going back with Mike and the original team to see how we've grown into where we're at today in 2026. You've been along with us the entire journey, so we're very grateful and appreciative for that, for having such a great partner and you and the firm, um, you know, being there to witness it and kind of grow up together in a way. So um, I think also too the key is, like Cal said, is that uh, the marketplace is constantly evolving and uh, we've been really quick and um, really ahead of the curve in terms of where we see things going, uh, in this space, keeping the ear to ground, listening to client feedback, which me and my team, it's uh, essential in our day to day and making sure that we're delivering the best product possible. And it's coming from a natural, organic need from the advisors, from our financial professionals we work with to give them the tools they need to succeed with business owners. Yeah, well, I know we'll get to that a little bit later on, but um, I think Cal summed it up perfectly and we're very proud but also very excited about what's to come here in the future.
Speaker B: You, uh, uh, I was, as I was preparing last evening for uh, our show today, I actually uh, looked up uh, the definition of democratize and it means to make accessible to a broader audience. So, uh, certainly that is really at the heartbeat of your mission. Uh, along those lines, how many business valuations, uh, does biz equity has biz equity done, uh, for small business owners throughout the world? Hi, this is Mark Dorman. Sorry for the interruption. I know you're listening to the Finished Pig podcast and I'm excited to have you here. If in the event you have any questions, please head over to www.succession.plus us where you can find out how to reach me. I'd love to hear from you. And now back to the show.
Speaker C: You know what, it's really cool and I was happy to see that being something we might talk about because, uh, you know, it was something that we look at a year by year basis, but it's usually in that timeframe and Kevin and I were just looking at it and it's close to, you know, it's close to a million businesses that have been valuated on the, uh, biz equity platform. So, you know, we've been around for a bit now, but it's a tremendous amount. And, you know, that's a testament to our users, our trusted partners who use our platform and, um, you know, really democratize the valuation to those business owners across the country. Now, something I want to also add there, we've pre valued more. So we, you know, we pre valued using small Data points over 30 million. So that's not a part of that million dollars that have gone.
Speaker B: So distinguish pre value versus, uh, and I think it's also important while we're talking about that, I mean, when I run a biz equity valuation for our clients, it's part of the planning, uh, process. It isn't a formal valuation that they could clip to a gift tax return, uh, first and foremost, but it is different than this pre value that you just referred to. So maybe we can start, you know, maybe just kind of separate the differences between so that our listening audience can really get, get their hands around where biz equity fits.
Speaker C: And think about the pre value as, uh, almost like a zestimate on Zillow.
Speaker A: Right.
Speaker C: We can summarize based on geographical location, maybe how many employees are at the firm. What industry is it a dental practice? Is it a manufacturing company? And we are able to pull in other data points that we might have, um, from some of our data providers and summarize an estimate and say this business may be worth $15 million. Now, that's not an accurate, not even a certified valuation. Um, and not even what we would say is a biz Equity valuation, but just that pre value estimate that can say, you know what, this may be a good opportunity for an advisor to look at.
Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. Uh, and a certified valuation, Kevin, I mean why don't you walk us through that is a higher level of value. There are qualitative opinions there.
Speaker D: Correct.
Speaker B: And this goes to both of you. I didn't want to put you on the spot there Kevin, but uh, there are distinctions between those three.
Speaker D: Yeah, absolutely Mark. And I think it's important too to go back to your initial question about democratizing the process. So the certified valuation is a formal appraisal, um, done by a cva, someone accredited with the credential, and going back to Cal's point in your experience with the ESOP of three months plus, yeah, you're doing it by hand. It's a very labor intensive process. And for certain IRS use cases, um, such as uh, an ESOP and getting that level of certification, um, yeah, there's always going to be a place for that. And um, it's required however, from our standpoint in terms of where we fit in the market and how we've been able to add value for thousands of financial professionals and millions of business owners is there's so many of those business owners, uh, across the landscape of this great country who don't have access there and don't have 10, $50,000 to shell out every, you know, a couple years to track and have something living and breathing they can update real time with their advisor and understand where they're at today. So um, we can get pretty much right up to those moments with something just as accurate. We've had clients say, um, as long as it's not an extremely complex case that you know, we could fall, and we have fallen within a couple hundred, couple thousand bucks is those appraisals that took months and thousands of dollars to get done by our formal appraiser. So having something that's accurate and actionable that you could do in a matter of seconds with your advisor, with all the updates we've made has really been the way that we're delivering on the mission to democratize it, to make it easy, to make it digestible and then from a planning conversation really just be, you know, the, the catalyst for it all and, and the linchpin going forward.
Speaker B: Yeah. So, and I think a great example, example I'll share with you, it'll be music to your ears, but also to our listeners. Uh, I got a call last week from uh, a widow, uh, whose husband, uh, was a founder of an Accounting firm, believe it or not, uh, in a really beautiful small community in central Ohio. And uh, she was looking for a valuation and she was referred to me by a community, uh, bank. So a couple of points of reference there. One, smaller accounting firms don't have valuation departments, right? So they will usually partner uh, with someone in that regard. And two, community banks don't do business valuations, uh, although they should, in my opinion, for every one of their clients. Uh, but, uh, she said, look, I need your help. I was referred to you by uh, this particular bank. Uh, here's the situation. And the first thing I asked is, you know, is this a litigious situation? Oh, no, no, no. My former partner, uh, he's taken good care of me and he's asked me to just kind of see from the community bank which, who could help us with evaluation. Knowing that, I then asked to speak with uh, the partner, uh, who's still alive, one of the other named partners. And I said, well, here's a sample of our report. We reviewed it. He says, this is perfect. I get along with Mary. Great. And we both agreed that this will serve as the point of reference for our valuation. It's independent. Uh, there isn't a gift tax return. This is two third, non, uh, related third parties saying we'll agree that this will be our tool. Uh, and I've used it in our practice and I hate to ramble on, but we partner with a lot of smaller accounting firms and smaller community banks when they're doing planning, uh, for their business. Uh, but let's go back to this democratization. I mean you are basically, uh, licensing advisors, uh, in the exit planning, succession planning field. That's kind of one vertical that you work with. Uh, but who else are you serving? It said in your bio, uh, Ria, but, uh, so that's one question. Who are your customers, if you will.
Speaker C: You know what I always say, it's any advisor to a business owner. So even to your point, some community banks are using us, some accounting firms are using us that see the value in being able to provide something like a valuation that isn't certified, that they can build into their practice. It's an add on, it's a differentiator from other competition. It brings in prospects, it helps get their foot in the door with business owners that they want to work with. Um, so we work with any type of advisor. But, uh, we believe strongly that uh, the best user, um, for the bizequity platform is really the wealth advisor, because typically they're a little more well versed in all of the different adjacent planning areas. And some of those accountants, CPAs or community banks, um, they may not have the expertise in the specific estate planning, uh, or succession planning and exit planning conversations and life insurance and disability. And that's why we believe the advisor is really the best user for our platform. That's who we built the platform for. But that doesn't mean they're the only user. Right? If you find value in just the valuation itself, it's going to be valuable for those business owners who deserve to know what their business is worth to move that planning conversation forward.
Speaker B: Yep, yep, that's great. I appreciate your answer there. Uh, one of the things that I've often got a kick out of is uh, when firms have had their business formally valued, uh, maybe two years later they're looking for a refresh and said, look, we can do this for a very modest fee. Uh, you know, and when I was a younger guy and Biz Equity came out, let's say, you know, dozen years ago, you think, well you know, my initial reaction was just like their attorneys, well how good can this be if it's only worth X number of dollars? And lo and behold, uh, a few years later it was almost spot on. Plus uh, some, you know, cost of cost, uh, of living, you know, or, or, or increase because of revenue and, and, and, and value and income, net income rather. But when you really peel away the onion, I, I, I, I know that about business valuation is about 70 to 80%. The qualitative measures, right? Revenue, uh, market share, uh, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, uh, and then a lot of qualitative elements and one of the things I think that's great about, about Biz Equity, uh, that beyond the valuation, not only is a wonderfully laid out report, uh, but you get into these key performance indicators and these financial metrics that are industry specific. Can you talk a little bit about that and kind uh, of uh, you know, why the, why you feel the value. It drives so much value. Because I believe it does. Right,
Speaker D: Yeah, I could take that one, Kyle. Yeah, Mark, like you said, it drives a lot of value because um, you know, you're not just presenting you know, uh, evaluation in today, especially with all the enhancements and the way that we've reconfigured those KPIs, which I know we'll touch more on the updates here soon, but yeah, we've enhanced them with our latest platform, uh, update that just uh, rolled out earlier this year, um, to focus on uh, a full blown Action plan center around four key pillars. So now on top of, you know, having understanding of today in terms of tomorrow and understanding where they want to go, and again, democratizing not just the valuation understanding, but if you think about, yeah. A, uh, personal trainer, you know, any personal type of coaching. Right. You know, a business owner doesn't have access to that. They're so busy working in the business they don't have a chance to work on it. So to Cal's point, in terms of the wealth manager or anyone in the business owner space, to now be providing a lot of insight, passionate evaluation of how they can get better tomorrow, just like we're all striving to every day, um, you're able to do that in a very digestible manner. You know, showing recommendations and next steps in four key areas and to go ahead and increase that value over time. Mark, I know you shared your success stories of, you know, helping grow with them to get to that desired number that they feel comfortable to, you know, achieve their dreams and live the lifestyle they want, um, when it does reach that moment and they want to transition and exit the business.
Speaker C: Yeah. And Mark, I'm going to add one more thing there too. You know, we, uh, we talked about kind of the, the sports and athletic journey, but typically what we see from business owners, you know, they like to compete with the others that are in their local area.
Speaker B: Sure, sure.
Speaker C: And they see those key performance indicators and they see the areas where they are maybe are underperforming the industry average. You know, it kind of drives them. It's a little hunger too, to be like, you know what? I want to outperform the industry average. And with the new report, there's going to be short term goals that they can reach that will ultimately increase the value, that performance, uh, for that specific KPI. So I think it's a little bit too of that ingrained competitive nature that entrepreneurs have. And they want to be the best. At least the ones that are the best entrepreneurs. Right. They want to be the best. So I think that's something that's really valuable. And again, it makes it more than just valuation. Right. There's all these other pillars around the valuation idea.
Speaker B: Yeah, I think it's the discussion. Right. And uh, as we record this show, it happens to be Tuesday, May 19th. And uh, the great city of Philadelphia just, uh, hosted, uh, the PGA Championship at Eronomic won by Aaron Rye. But, and I say that because you guys, as former college athletes, I played college golf. Some of the greatest statistics is it's okay, I might have shot 68. But what I love about the PGA Tour is now they're giving you strokes gained, driving, strokes gained approach, strokes game putting, uh, right. And they're ranking. So if I'm a business owner, uh, or if I'm a PGA Tour player, I know how I compare to my peers. Uh, and I don't need maybe spend a little bit less time banging drivers. I need to work on my wedge game and my putter. Right. So the KPIs really help to distinguish areas that you need to focus on. And that leaves a great transition into this, uh, the updates of what I will call biz equity, uh, 2.0. I'm sure for you it's probably 30.0, uh, and your dealings. But what was the thought behind these, uh, platform improvements? Let's start from the beginning. What are the platform improvements and what was your mission in bringing them to the market? Because they are great.
Speaker C: Yeah. I mean first, the easiest one for anyone that's seen the new platform is just visually it's uh, an enhanced platform. So the user experience, it's easier. We have the data extraction with our AI OCR tax scanning software that now instead of 10 minutes, you upload a tax return for a client, or maybe it's a CPA that uses a link to upload the documents and you get evaluation in the snap of a finger. Now there are.
Speaker B: I want to just press you right there again. If I'm an accounting firm that has a valuation department, you're like, oh, all right, Cal, well this can't be worth it can't be worth that much. Right? So even though it's that simple, because it's really. A lot of it's just math. Correct.
Speaker C: A lot of it's math. But we're lucky enough to have the guru that we call Scott Gabhart. And I know Mark, you know Scott well, I mean we have a true genius and you know, really, um, a, ah, pillar in the valuation community that keeps up with all of the updates for whether it's industry knowledge or if there, there's new, you know, economic factors that would influence the valuation. So there's a lot going on behind the scenes than just that. Data extraction.
Speaker B: Correct.
Speaker C: Like you said. Or we might get press where it's like that can't be worth anything. Well, there's so much behind the scenes and data and flows going on that really influence the value of the business. So while we have made updates to make it easier for our users to upload information and extract that accurately, the data that's back behind it is more important because we can value any type of business, any type of industry. You know, maybe barring some of these new AI companies where it's impossible. Um, but just to list a quick case study, not um, to ramble on, but I mean, a great partner of ours, I had a business, compared it to a $300 million certified, uh, one. It was the same financials and it was within.
Speaker B: So the valuation came in at 300 million. You used bizequity. Do you guys can actually value an enterprise that's worth that much?
Speaker C: So even we were a little surprised because we always say, you know, 100 million. Typically when your business is worth that much, you'll take that extra step and pay that certified valuation. Um, so one of our partners just wanted to test us first the certified. And it came within a fraction of a percentile. We had the same exact multiple. It was an interesting industry. Um, not to go into too much detail, but you know, we can value any type of business across the US and, and that was a really, really cool story to hear first, Dan.
Speaker B: Excellent, excellent. So back to the, to the updates. Uh, the thought behind there, you've got this emerging exit planning space obviously, which I'm proud to be a part of, but uh, a lot of that is this business improvement. Right. Uh, okay, you're here. Uh, you know, SOD manufacturing is worth X today, but the message is it could be worth, you know, X 1.5 or times 1.5. Uh, was that your thought behind these? And what have been some of the changes that I might look for?
Speaker C: Yeah, and Kevin, I can let you talk about some of it, but just really quickly too, Mark. I mean, we wanted to provide the outlook for a business owner to see, hey, I'm worth $10 million today, but you know, if I need to be worth $20 million to retire in seven years, what does that growth path look like? Mhm. And we need to serve up that insight not only for that business owner, but also for the advisor to have that conversation, have something tangible to go off of and be able to play different scenarios. Um, you know, which will be really interesting as we continue to release other features. Um, but Kevin, I'll kind of let you dive into some of the others.
Speaker D: Yeah, thank you, Cal. And I think market comes down to a couple things. It's overall time and insight. So looking at time and speed, with all the tax scanning technology we spoke on, we understand it's 2026. We come a long way from our origins in 2014. What was great in terms of minutes back then, we want to get down to seconds. We understand that's critical, um, throughout the entire process. And then also just the insight like Cal said, and just viewing it from the lens of a holistic engagement as opposed to being a one off valuation, doing it when you're ready to exit, um, you know, you don't want to wait until it's too late to Talk about your 401k planning. You don't check your account until you know you're, you're at that point in your 60s and it's time you want to be tracking that. And we believe that, you know, the valuation engagement should be the same way in terms of being able to constantly monitor using the KPI action plan that we spoke on, totally reconfiguring that and then having that pathway to um, the liquidity event and then also the value gap on how you can close it. So as you mentioned, wanted to give a big shout out to the Exit Planet community. All our sipas out there, uh, who we love working with you guys and uh, continuing to not just give that community but all of our users those tools to have the conversation in a very palatable manner that isn't uh, intimidating or too much for the business owner, but very easy to visualize and then be a holistic engagement that lasts for years and years, deepens the relationship and then just puts our users in the position to be the advisor of choice. That way when that moment comes, you're able to really capitalize on it and create win wins for everyone involved in the entire engagement.
Speaker B: Yeah, and it's the clear the new version is uh, when I look at it, you've clearly identified the levers that I need to push or pull, pull to maximize uh, the value of my business, oftentimes without increasing revenue or without increasing the business's profitability. But just changing some of the qualitative elements that are within every business, whether it could be customer concentration or owner dependence of things like that. But I'm going to take a step back and ladies and gentlemen, I'll tell you, I've looked at this new report. We've uh, dug deep, my partner Chris Goble and I, and we're, it's very, very impressive. Uh, but Cal, you made a statement in the opening there that 98% of small business owners don't know the value of their business. I mean that's an incredible uh, unfortunate statistic for, for lack of a better, better, better uh, phrase. Uh, why do you think that is? So I Mean, is it. Is it cost inconvenient? What is it?
Speaker C: You know what? I think now the number, the percent might be a little bit less, hopefully, because the help of Bize Equity now and the advisors that are focused on it, especially the CEPAs. Um, but, you know, part of it is some advisors still just aren't having the conversation with their clients. Um, some are still ingrained with that thought process of, well, you know, just run the business and when it's time to sell, we'll, you know, we'll put it on the market or, you know, gain interest or pass it down to family or employees. Um, but that's not really the right way to think about it because what's the strategy there? The advisor should be really quarterbacking these conversations with the business owner to make sure the business is running as efficiently as possible, looking at these different growth scenarios, so that in seven years, when the time comes or maybe they get an unsolicited offer, they're ready to go. So they know that the business isn't dependent on the owner. We know that's one of the main qualitative risk factors that a buyer might highlight or spotlight. And that could be something that could be, you know, that could be looked at well before that exit of the business.
Speaker B: Yeah, I couldn't agree with that more. I mean, what we see, I think one of the silent, along those lines, you know, you've got customer concentration, you've got owner centricity. Uh, but I think I, uh, was talking to another advisor about this, and she agreed with me. I think one of the silent things that every private and family business, you know, throughout America faces is that, you know, kind of this aging of the roster.
Speaker D: Right.
Speaker B: Particularly key employees. So if I'm 60 and I'm looking to retire and you're working with me on my exit plan, chances are my key people are 55, 52. So there's this aging out, just like, uh, you know, a football, sports team back to sports again, where you've got to be rebuilding that bench, and you got to identify that well in advance to maintain that value. Uh, so, man, we could talk about this all day. One of the things that I always, uh, kind, uh, of chuckle at is, you know, and I think to your point there, uh, Cal, uh, is, uh, you know, most business, most advisors are avoiding these conversations, uh, to the detriment of their clients. Right?
Speaker D: So they'll.
Speaker B: They'll certainly be saying, hey, here's what your IRA rollovers with. Here's what your 401k balances but yet the biggest asset in the middle of the room, their business. They kind of, you know, they, they did do a tap dance around it. Uh, I think the best advisors to business owners are saying, we're going to start there. Uh, because that's really, you know, that's the big enchilada, if you will. Let's find out what that, what that's worth. And we're not going to focus as much time or effort on things that are worth 5 or 10% of your overall estate plan.
Speaker C: Um, yeah, and part of that is too that they might be running off of something like ah, a biz estimate. Right. They might have, ah, an idea of what the business is worth, where they might get the word of mouth from the owner and say, yeah, it's worth $10 million. Right. That's an asset map or that's an E Money. Right. Whatever platform it is. And they're going off of a fake number.
Speaker B: Yeah. Because the owner says so that. Right, that's the problem.
Speaker C: Yeah. So they're like, oh yeah, we know what the value of the business is, but they haven't really done the work to see if that's really the value. And that's some of the trouble that we're seeing. We've seen for years. And the best advisors are already, they're overcoming that. They're getting the valuation as the cornerstone for planning for all of the other opportunities in their future.
Speaker B: Yeah, that's great, that's great. This has been great. Uh, Kevin, tell our audience how they can get a hold of biz equity and if it's through their advisors. Uh, but what's the best way?
Speaker D: Yeah, so the best way is to visit Bizequity, uh, dot com. So visiting our website, you'll see all the new platform, uh, updates and enhancements, everything there in terms of, you know, information on our offering, uh, pricing, etc. Um, you know, case studies from our most successful users such as Mark and uh, yeah, that's the best way to find us. Um, also visiting our LinkedIn page, other social media handles. Um, you know, we're very active, especially with our own podcast which Mark, you were the. That was awesome.
Speaker B: Thank you.
Speaker D: Give you a shout out and uh, that would be the best way to reach us. And you know, our team's always happy for anyone listening who's interested in the platform. You know, Cal runs all the sales operations. His team's happy to walk you through a demo of all those in real time as well as my team on the success side, um, through a deeper dive and just learn about what we have currently out of market and what's to come here in the future.
Speaker B: That's great. Kevin. Thank you again for joining uh me today on the Finish Big podcast. I want to thank our sponsor, uh, Succession Plus. Check us out at Succession Plus Us. All things succession value maximization. Talk about our uh, partners like Bize Equity. Our guests today have been Kevin Saad and Cal Parker, uh, of Bizequity, the world's largest online business valuation tool based in the city of Brotherly Love. Until we meet again, ladies and gentlemen. Here's to Finishing Big. Thanks guys.
Speaker A: Hope you enjoyed listening to Finish Big, the podcast with Mark Dorman sponsored by Succession Plus. Don't forget to click the follow button to be notified when new episodes become available. Visit our website website at www.succession.plus us or give us a call at 330-350-5410. The information covered and posted represents the views and opinions of the guests and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Succession Plus. The content has been made available for informational and educational purposes only. The content is not intended intended to be a substitute for professional, tax or legal advice. Always seek the advice of your legal or tax professionals with any questions you may have regarding your specific situation.
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