We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Carrie Kerpen. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Carrie below.

Carrie, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

When I sold my company for 8 figures in 2021, it was an exciting, incredible success. And yet, during that process, I never felt more scared or alone. Although my husband and I cofounded the business together, he had moved on from the company several years earlier. As a female founder, I felt utterly ill-prepared in the process of exit planning and the ultimate sale of the business. I suspected I wasn’t alone in that feeling. I began to research exits of women-owned businesses, and discovered that women capture .8% of total dollars allocated to company acquisitions. For every $1 spent on a company exit, female founded companies captured less than a penny! We are starting businesses at twice the rate of the population, and we need a network of women who have done this before to lead us through these unchartered waters and close “The Exit Gap™”. I then realized my calling, and what I was put on this earth to do. I help women turn lifestyle businesses into life-changing assets through exit readiness planning. I match female founders with women in their industry who have previously sold businesses, to help guide them through one of the most exciting and challenging events in their lives– their exit. We are on a mission to close the exit gap and get as much money in the hands of women as possible.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My husband Dave and I got married at a minor league ballpark in one of the world’s largest sponsored weddings in 2006, We attracted national and international press for our sponsors and raised thousands for charity. When the sponsors asked us to do something again, we decided we would start an agency based on creating buzz-worthy events and word of mouth marketing. In early 2007, Facebook opened beyond the college market, and we quickly realized social media was the fastest form of word of mouth. We quickly became experts and established ourselves as one of the world’s first social media agencies.

In 2013 Dave, who was the CEO, left the business to launch a tech startup, leaving me as the leader. As I looked around, I saw leaders of agencies who were loud, extroverted and male. I was none of those things. Faced with increased competition in social media marketing, and an agency that had prioritized fast growth and therefore was not focused on profit, I was overwhelmed and afraid. I decided to build the company towards an exit. I read Built to Sell by John Warrilow, which I credit with helping me find the direction I needed to do so.

In 2021, I took the company through to exit, selling to a technology services company. for 8 figures. In that process, I realized a few things. First, I realized that there were very few women who had been through the process of selling their company. Second, I realized that the value that they extracted was a fraction of that of their male peers. Through my research, I developed an annual report called The Exit Gap ™ that details the disparity and some of the reasons it exists.

Because there were so few women in my network who had experiences like this, I felt alone during my exit process . It was post exit that I discovered my life’s calling — to help close the Exit Gap and provide support for women who are looking to build and exit sellable businesses.

The Whisper Group does exactly that, through our methodology to help generate happy, healthy exits. WHISPER stands for the seven tenets needed to do so– your why, your how, your income, your secret sauce, your profit, your executive team, and your ROAR factor. We have an assessment which looks at your strengths in each of these areas. We provide all areas of exit advisory work, and we match female founders with women who have sold businesses in their industry.

Through my podcast “The Exit Whisperer”, I interview exited female founders and share their stories, helping women feel less alone.

The Whisper Group is defining a new category in exit readiness, focusing on the personal and business ramifications and benefits for women owned businesses exclusively.

I am so proud of this business and the reaction to it. I will be most proud when I close the exit gap.

We’d appreciate any insights you can share with us about selling a business.

I sold Likeable for 8 figures in 2021. Lessons that I learned:

– Ask lots of questions, even if you are afraid you’ll look dumb by not knowing the answers– it is very important to understand the details of your acquisition

– Think hard about WHY– why are you selling, and is the amount enough to achieve your goals?

– 75% of business owners profoundly regret their exits just 1 year after they’ve sold. These businesses are part of our identities, they are part of who we are. Do a lot of inner work before you sell.

– Make sure you are okay with the first payment at close, as you never know what will happen with anything not received in that moment– nothing else is truly guaranteed.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My cofounder was the top salesperson at Radio Disney when I joined the company.

I quickly dropped him to #2.

That was when he realized we should get married and go into business together :)

The timing wasn’t right back then, but years later we reconnected, and did exactly that.

With Dave, I had complete trust, and complimentary skill sets. Plus, all the money came into one house. There were challenges for sure, but overall I feel so lucky to have built a business with my life partner.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://wearethewhispergroup.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/carriekerpen
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/carriekerpen
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheOnlyCarrieKerpen

Image Credits

Sarah Behrens