In this episode of Your Advantage Play® with guest Greg Schroeder, I sat down with Greg Schroeder, who built and sold Comergence Compliance - a company that became the “mortgage police” after the 2008 housing crisis. Greg shares how he turned industry chaos into opportunity, landing major clients like Citigroup, and the importance of staying focused and building your business with the end in mind. His story is a masterclass in planning your exit, knowing your value, and seizing that second bite of the apple. Don’t miss these takeaways for every entrepreneur looking to build a sellable, standout business!

Here are 3 key takeaways for any founder or business operator thinking ahead to a future exit:

• Build to Sell from Day One: Greg shared that every decision, from accounting to operations, was made with a potential exit in mind - making due diligence and acquisition conversations so much smoother down the road.
• Land Flagship Clients for Market Credibility: Signing Citigroup was a game-changer. With a big name on board, client acquisition accelerated as credibility and urgency in the industry soared.
• Stay Focused - Avoid Distractions: As tempting as it was to expand into adjacent markets, Greg emphasized that sticking to your core business keeps you efficient, lean, and more valuable to acquirers (something he attributes to his own successful exit).

If you’re building a business—especially in a regulated or niche industry—Greg’s journey is proof that a smart, focused playbook pays off.

Jennifer Barlund

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenn-barlund-10969348/

Phone: 605-910-5000

www.falconplastics.com

Jenn Barlund, aged 34, serves as the President of Falcon Plastics, where her passion for plastics is deeply rooted in a lifetime surrounded by injection and blow molding. A proud alumna of South Dakota State University, she holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Entrepreneurship with minors in Marketing, Business, and Economics. Barlund’s journey with Falcon Plastics started as a Machine Operator and evolved through various roles, eventually leading her to oversee production in Lexington, TN, in 2017 and manage the Brookings plant in 2018. She ascended to the presidency in April 2021. Recognized as a Plastics News Plastics Industry Rising Star in 2020, Barlund also boasts membership in the International Economics Honor Society and is a Leadership Brookings graduate.

Her journey has been greatly influenced by her grandfather, Don Bender, the founder of Falcon Plastics, who championed the role of women in business and saw in Jenn a leader of tomorrow. Inspired by Don's dedication to the Falcon team, Jenn has molded her leadership style to mirror his, gaining respect from colleagues and clients alike. Her position as a third-generation leader carries immense pride and the drive to uphold Don's legacy while nurturing Falcon's growth.

Beyond her professional expertise, Jenn is dedicated to community enrichment, often volunteering and supporting local initiatives. She contributes her insights on the advisory board for the Boys & Girls Club of Brookings and holds a position on the board of directors for the Manufacturers Association of Plastics Processors (MAPP). Barlund, along with her husband Craig and two children, calls Brookings, South Dakota, home.

Jason Grady

Interim Chief Executive Officer

DSS, Inc.

275 Wiregrass Pkwy, West Henrietta, NY 14586

www.dssworld.com | NYSE American: DSS

DSS focuses on operating business segments in blockchain security, consumer, healthcare, consumer packaging, real estate, renewable energy, and securitized digital assets. The DSS business model is based on a distribution sharing system in which shareholders will receive shares in its subsidiaries as DSS strategically spins them out into IPOs.

Jason Grady serves as the Interim Chief Executive Officer of DSS, Inc., and concurrently holds the position of President at Premier Packaging Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of DSS, Inc. Additionally, Jason is an integral member of the DSS Executive Committee, contributing his expertise in various board and officer roles within the company. These include serving as CEO and Director of DSS Biohealth Holdings, President and COO of DSS Financial Management, COO & Director of HWH World, COO and Director of USX Securities, and Chief Business Officer of Impact Bio Medical, among others. With over 25 years of experience navigating the forefront of business growth and industry dominance, Jason has played a pivotal role in propelling DSS into the successful, global portfolio company it is today.

Heather Fritzsche

heatherf@spearheadglobal.com

Heather Fritzsche is the co-founder of Spearhead Global, an innovative packaging solutions provider. Included on the Inc 5000 list, Spearhead Global now operates in the United States, Mexico, Italy, and India.

With a career spanning over two decades, Heather has been instrumental in redefining the spirits industry, working with iconic brands to create award-winning packaging that stands out on shelves and elevates the customer experience. As the owner of a certified Women’s Business Enterprise, Heather is known for disrupting the industry with revolutionary ideas that challenge the status quo.

Website: www.kleinerlabs.com

Dr. Kleiner is a Denver, CO native who trained at Stanford University, University of Colorado, Rush/Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Hospital in Chicago and University of CA at San Diego for pre-medical, medical and residency training. He was an NIH postdoctoral fellow in the biochemistry of tendons and ligaments and fellowship trained in adult and pediatric reconstructive spinal surgery at Colorado Spine Center and the University of Colorado. He is renowned for his compassion, medical knowledge, skill as a surgeon, and as a teacher and scholar.

Dr. Kleiner is a devotee of minimally invasive strategies for spinal surgery and has contributed to the armamentarium of instrumentation, strategies and intellectual property in this area with over 60 issued patents. He is the founder and CEO of Kleiner Device Labs (KDL) and an Assistant Clinical Professor at The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He has concentrated his efforts on commercializing the intellectual property portfolio of KDL and has succeeded in procuring FDA clearance, market acceptance, and sales of two spinal surgical devices designed to improve patient outcomes, simplify complex surgeries, reduce the risk of complications, and make good surgeons better.

AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc.

bill.irby@ageagle.com.

https://ageagle.com/

NYSE Symbol: UAVS

Prior to joining AgEagle as President, Bill Irby served as President of MTI Motion, a Steel Partners company specializing in motors and hardware for aircraft, weapons systems, and commercial equipment from November 2022 to February 2024. He has a long career spanning several executive roles in innovative defense organizations. Bill served as the Chief Operating Officer at Martin UAV (assisting in its acquisition by Shield AI) from March 2021 to December 2021, President of the Reconnaissance Mission Systems sector of L3Harris Technologies from October 2018 to February 2021, SVP/GM of Textron Systems’ Unmanned Systems business from November 2012 to October 2018, and as VP of two business units at Northrop Grumman in Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Tactical Communications.

Bill is married, with three children, and lives in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Mr. Ordan Trabelsi

ir@supercom.com

https://www.supercom.com/

Mr. Ordan Trabelsi joined SuperCom in June 2013. Ordan has over 15 years of experience as CEO growing high tech companies globally. He also has experience in research and development, product innovation, go-to-market strategies and leadership of global multi-disciplinary teams, as well as hands-on technology experience in cyber security, encryption, advanced mathematics, and mobile and internet networks technologies, along with experience in strategic mergers and acquisitions and product strategies.

Prior to joining SuperCom, he has served as the co-founder and CEO of Klikot Inc, a global social networking company.

​Ordan holds an MBA from Columbia University Business School, New York, and a BSc in Computer Engineering from The Technion: Israel Institute of Technology.

Ezra Beyman

Chairman and CEO

Reliance Global Group Inc.

NASDAQ: RELI

https://relianceglobalgroup.com/

732-380-4600

Mr. Beyman brings nearly three decades of entrepreneurial experience in real estate and ten years in insurance. His portfolio of commercial and residential properties at one point consisted of more than 40,000 residential units, as well as several insurance companies. In 1985, he founded his first mortgage brokerage, which rapidly grew into the third largest licensed mortgage brokerage in America by 2008. He also expanded to real estate acquisition, having grown his portfolio at one point, to over three billion dollars.