Most founders wait too long to prepare for a sale. By the time they start thinking seriously about it, value has already leaked, risk has already built up, and the deal gets harder than it should have been.

In this episode of The Deal Factory, Jeff Harkness sits down with M&A attorney Stephen Katz of Connell Foley for a brutally practical conversation about what business owners need to do long before they ever go to market. They break down the legal, structural, tax, and leadership decisions that can either protect enterprise value or quietly destroy it.

Jeff and Stephen unpack transaction bonuses, phantom stock, profit interests, rollover equity, operating agreement traps, employment agreement landmines, estate planning, I-9 compliance, and employee classification. If you are building with the hope of one day selling, raising capital, or creating real wealth from your company, this episode will help you think several moves ahead.

Key discussion points

• Why founders should prepare for a sale from day one

• The hidden cost of waiting too long to clean up legal and structural issues

• How transaction bonuses, phantom stock, and profit interests actually work

• Why rollover equity is not as simple as buyers make it sound

• The operating agreement terms that can come back to hurt founders after closing

• How employment agreements can quietly threaten your equity and economics

• Why tax planning, estate planning, and entity structure matter well before a deal

• The compliance issues buyers are digging into harder than ever

Most business owners think selling their company means walking away.But what if partnering with private equity actually accelerates growth, wealth, and opportunity for your entire team?

In this episode of The Deal Factory, Jeff Harkness sits down with Fred Rodriguez, founder of Remediation Group Inc., to unpack his journey from college wrestler working disaster cleanup jobs to building one of Atlanta’s leading restoration companies and partnering with private equity.

Fred shares how he built a scalable service business, why he chose to bring his leadership team into the deal with phantom stock, and how partnering with Percheron Capital and Right Restoration Partners unlocked new growth opportunities.

If you're a business owner wondering what life looks like before, during, and after a private equity partnership, this conversation delivers real-world insight from someone who’s lived it.

Key Discussion Points

• How Fred discovered the restoration industry while wrestling in college

• The “Mold is Gold” era and how early specialization created opportunity

• Why restoration companies must evolve into full-service operators to scale

• The importance of density and niche focus in service businesses

• Why Fred built his company around high-rise and multifamily clients

• Preparing the business for private equity interest

• Why Fred insisted on bringing his key leadership team into the deal

• How phantom stock created alignment and changed his team’s lives

• What private equity partnership actually looks like day-to-day

• Why the right PE partner can accelerate growth and remove operational burdens

  • Growth strategy: organic growth + acquisitions + new sales channels

A lot of trades business owners hit a revenue ceiling long before they hit their potential.

Jeremy Talboy started a landscape company with zero experience, zero clients, and no financial background. He built it to nearly $9 million in revenue. But behind the growth, he was flying blind on his numbers. Profit was last. Sales covered mistakes. And eventually the ceiling hit hard.

In this episode, Jeremy shares the moment everything changed. From hiring a fractional CFO to bringing in a true operator as GM, this conversation is a masterclass in breaking through growth plateaus and building a business that actually works.

If you are scaling a service company and feel the pressure building, this episode will challenge how you think about growth, leadership, and financial discipline.

Key Discussion Points

• Starting a landscape company with no experience
  

• How sales ability can mask financial mistakes
  

• The dangerous mindset of profit coming last
  

• Hitting the $3M revenue ceiling
  

• Hiring a fractional CFO and building real budgets
  

• Bringing in a GM to fix operational inefficiencies
  

• Growing maintenance revenue by nearly 60 percent
  

• Expanding into pool construction as a high ticket strategy
  

• The role of faith and family in staying grounded

• Why leadership is developed, not inherited