From Combat Cockpit to Power Lines to Private Equity

Mission, Money, and the difficulty of What Comes After

NexChapter [https://nex-chapter.com/] is the home of unfiltered wisdom from post exit founders. Recorded in The Republic Studio, this show is for founders who are scaling businesses and founders who have sold and are figuring out what the hell happens next. Each episode explores the real story behind the exit, the decisions that mattered, and the personal transition that follows when the deal is done. In this episode, Raman Sehgal sits down with Adam Rossi. Adam  is a tech entrepreneur who built a 250-person software company serving law enforcement and intelligence agencies—often outcompeting giants like Lockheed Martin in head-to-head bids. When a banker returned with five acquisition offers matching the “absurd” figure he and his wife had once tossed around, Adam accepted an all-cash deal from SRA International, a publicly traded defense contractor. The sale created generational wealth for his family, with no earn-out or strings attached.   After the exit, Adam learned that the hardest part of selling a company isn’t the negotiation—it’s deciding what comes next. Today, he shares his journey and insights to help other founders navigate the challenges of building, selling, and redefining success beyond the business.   https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamrossi-indie/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamrossi-indie/]   What we cover * How 9 11 unintentionally pivoted his company into mission driven national security work with powerful tailwinds * Becoming a recognised expert in a narrow niche and winning prime government contracts that created real defensibility * The inflection point where removing himself as the bottleneck unlocked serious growth * Accepting an all cash deal with no earn out, yet choosing to operate with honour beyond contractual obligation * The emotional crash after exit, including depression, identity loss, and missing the mission * Why both scarcity and abundance create stress, and how he rebuilt purpose through discipline, diligence, and family   Your host Raman Sehgal [https://www.ramansehgal.com/] is the author of the best selling book The Floundering Founder, [https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Floundering-Founder-Lessons-Business-Yourself/dp/1544527217] Toronto Chapter Lead at Post Exit Founders (PEF), investor, and founder of several niche firms and platforms in the pharma and biopharma services space, one of which he sold a majority stake in to private equity. He created NexChapter to capture the hard earned wisdom of founders who have been through an exit and are willing to share what really worked, what surprised them, and what comes next. Connect with Raman. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramansehgalus/]

From Optimising for Exit to Optimising for Intentional Living

NexChapter [https://nex-chapter.com/] is the home of unfiltered wisdom from post exit founders. Recorded in The Republic Studio, this show is for founders who are scaling businesses and founders who have sold and are figuring out what the hell happens next. Each episode explores the real story behind the exit, the decisions that mattered, and the personal transition that follows when the deal is done.   In this episode, Raman Sehgal sits down with Joe Rideout. Joe is a software engineer turned entrepreneur. He co-founded Perpetua, a SaaS platform that automates advertising for brands on Amazon and other marketplaces. The company was acquired in 2021 and became part of Ascential’s digital commerce segment. In his next chapter, Joe is building at the intersection of technology and human performance while co-founding Burn Room, a Toronto-based fitness studio. He is a competitive marathoner and HYROX athlete, passionate about the intersection of ambition, health, and long-term performance. https://www.linkedin.com/in/joerideout/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joerideout/]   What we cover: * Lessons from a first exit where equity was exchanged for equity that did not fully materialise * Why a great market will pull a product out of the team * Discovering and doubling down on Amazon advertising at the right moment * Understanding the importance of choosing the right co founder and founding team the second time around * Structuring a deal with meaningful upfront consideration and an earn out aligned to performance * The complexity of post acquisition integration when multiple companies merge * The health cost of founder obsession and the stress that can continue after the deal * Moving from intensity to intentionality in life after exit Your host Raman Sehgal [https://www.ramansehgal.com/] is the author of the best selling book The Floundering Founder, [https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Floundering-Founder-Lessons-Business-Yourself/dp/1544527217] Toronto Chapter Lead at Post Exit Founders (PEF), investor, and founder of several niche firms and platforms in the pharma and biopharma services space, one of which he sold a majority stake in to private equity. He created NexChapter to capture the hard earned wisdom of founders who have been through an exit and are willing to share what really worked, what surprised them, and what comes next. Connect with Raman. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramansehgalus/]

From Combat Cockpit to Power Lines to Private Equity

NexChapter [https://nex-chapter.com/] is the home of unfiltered wisdom from post exit founders. Recorded in The Republic Studio, this show is for founders who are scaling businesses and founders who have sold and are figuring out what the hell happens next. Each episode explores the real story behind the exit, the decisions that mattered, and the personal transition that follows when the deal is done. In this episode, Raman Sehgal sits down with Shenar Wood. Shenar is a CEO and founder with a track record of building and scaling electric utility services organizations through growth, transformation, and strategic transition. As the founder of Dynetek Solutions in Tampa, he led the company through rapid expansion, building the operating cadence and capabilities that ultimately supported a successful sale and platform integration. He directed the full M&A lifecycle including valuation modeling, due diligence, negotiations, and operational readiness. Shenar has also driven enterprise modernization through the deployment of integrated operating systems that standardized workflows and strengthened compliance at scale, while improving safety performance across key metrics. A former U.S. Army rotary-wing pilot and Chief Warrant Officer, he brings high-consequence decision-making and team leadership developed in demanding environments. He holds an MBA from Emory University.   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shenar-wood/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/shenar-wood/]   What we cover * Why building culture in an unglamorous, operationally heavy business became a strategic advantage * How military principles such as servant leadership, calm decision making, and disciplined budgeting translated directly into entrepreneurship * The operational levers that drove value, including process automation, lean management, and investing in field teams * How his MBA reshaped his understanding of capital and led him toward private equity * The real value drivers behind the transaction, from future cash flows to niche capability and geographic strength * The emotional side of the deal, from validation and relief to stepping into a larger platform with renewed motivation Your host Raman Sehgal [https://www.ramansehgal.com/] is the author of the best selling book The Floundering Founder, [https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Floundering-Founder-Lessons-Business-Yourself/dp/1544527217] Toronto Chapter Lead at Post Exit Founders (PEF), investor, and founder of several niche firms and platforms in the pharma and biopharma services space, one of which he sold a majority stake in to private equity. He created NexChapter to capture the hard earned wisdom of founders who have been through an exit and are willing to share what really worked, what surprised them, and what comes next. Connect with Raman. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramansehgalus/]

From Exited Founder to Acquirer to Advisor

NexChapter [https://nex-chapter.com/] is the home of unfiltered wisdom from post exit founders. Recorded in The Republic Studio, this show is for founders who are scaling businesses and founders who have sold and are figuring out what the hell happens next. Each episode explores the real story behind the exit, the decisions that mattered, and the personal transition that follows when the deal is done. In this episode, Raman Sehgal sits down with Randy Woods . Randy is a twice-exited entrepreneur and senior M&A executive who has spent more than 30 years building, acquiring, and selling technology-enabled businesses across North America, Europe, and Latin America. He co-founded Nonlinear Creations in 1995 and led it for over two decades, scaling it into a multinational digital agency before running a competitive process that culminated in its strategic sale to Valtech   He then joined Valtech’s North American executive team, helping drive strategic growth and contributing to nine acquisitions as the company expanded significantly Earlier, as co-founder and CEO of Buystream, he raised over $20M in venture capital and navigated the firm through the dot-com collapse, ultimately managing the sale of its intellectual property to Watchfire (later acquired by IBM).   Today, as Vice President at Corum Group, Randy draws on hard-won experience from every side of the table to help founders exit successfully - achieving strong valuations, thoughtful deal structures, and outcomes aligned with life beyond the transaction. Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/in/randwoods/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/randwoods/]   What we cover * How Randy scaled a digital agency over 23 years by embracing mistakes, staying brave, and getting the timing right on offshoring before it became the norm * The painful lesson that salespeople can walk out, and the pivot to a content engine that created a measurable marketing flywheel independent of founders * Why he chose not to niche by vertical, instead building resilience across sectors while going deep in a capability niche through Sitecore expertise * The value drivers that made the business irresistible in a strategic sale, including geographic presence through an integrated Brazil team, capability, management depth, and crystal clean books years before going to market * The double transition after exit, moving into Valtech as an operator and corporate development leader, helping drive 9 acquisitions as the business grew from 2,000 to 8,000 people * What he learned on the buy side, including red flags in founders and deals that led him into his new NexChapter   Your host Raman Sehgal [https://www.ramansehgal.com/] is the author of the best selling book The Floundering Founder, [https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Floundering-Founder-Lessons-Business-Yourself/dp/1544527217] Toronto Chapter Lead at Post Exit Founders (PEF), investor, and founder of several niche firms and platforms in the pharma and biopharma services space, one of which he sold a majority stake in to private equity. He created NexChapter to capture the hard earned wisdom of founders who have been through an exit and are willing to share what really worked, what surprised them, and what comes next. Connect with Raman. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramansehgalus/]

Two Exits. And More Yet to Come...

NexChapter [https://nex-chapter.com/] is the home of unfiltered wisdom from post exit founders. Recorded in The Republic Studio, this show is for founders who are scaling businesses and founders who have sold and are figuring out what the hell happens next. Each episode explores the real story behind the exit, the decisions that mattered, and the personal transition that follows when the deal is done. In this episode, Raman Sehgal sits down with Ryan Atkinson. Ryan is a serial entrepreneur and investor with more than 25 years of experience building, scaling, and successfully exiting recruitment and professional services companies. He’s co-founded and led some of Canada’s fastest-growing staffing and technology firms, including Redwood Global, Direqlink, and CORE Resources, a national leader in IT staff augmentation and Agile consulting. Known for his ability to spot market gaps and move fast, Ryan has built businesses through every phase of the cycle—startup, hyper-growth, acquisition, and integration. He grew Redwood Global from two founders to $30 million in annual revenue, earning multiple PROFIT 500 awards before selling to S.i. Systems. At CORE, he helped hundreds of enterprise clients modernize their workforces through Agile transformation and cloud-based staffing models.   A lifelong problem-solver, Ryan’s superpower is turning complexity into clarity—whether that means building go-to-market engines, scaling sales teams, or closing the deals others can’t. He leads with energy, candour, and a bias for action, helping founders and executives push through the noise to execute. Ryan Atkinson - Rylora Ventures [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanatkinson?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_ios]   What we cover * How building A player teams and A list clients became the repeatable playbook behind two high growth exits * Why contract staffing created defensible, cash flowing annuity revenue that drove valuation * The difference between selling exclusively the first time and creating competitive tension the second time * What it really takes to be diligence ready, from clean books to ironclad client and contractor agreements * The bucket of money versus cash flow dilemma that hits after exit * Achieving escape velocity financially, yet still feeling the pull to build again Your host Raman Sehgal [https://www.ramansehgal.com/] is the author of the best selling book The Floundering Founder, [https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Floundering-Founder-Lessons-Business-Yourself/dp/1544527217] Toronto Chapter Lead at Post Exit Founders (PEF), investor, and founder of several niche firms and platforms in the pharma and biopharma services space, one of which he sold a majority stake in to private equity. He created NexChapter to capture the hard earned wisdom of founders who have been through an exit and are willing to share what really worked, what surprised them, and what comes next. Connect with Raman. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramansehgalus/]