Bryan Carruthers started his first company in the middle of the 2008 financial crisis, right after college. A tiny consulting firm called Consilium. He sold it to a publicly traded business a few years later. Then he went the private equity route—got backing, bought a 15-person shop, and built it into a national $50 million EBITDA business in under five years. Then he sold it to one of the largest consulting firms in the world.

Most founders are obsessed with ownership percentage. Bryan was obsessed with acceleration. He gave away two-thirds of his first company to partners who knew more than he did. He took 5-10% in a PE-backed roll-up because he knew he could build something bigger, faster. He called it "ignorance as a superpower"—jumping before he knew what he was doing, then bringing in the pieces to make it work. Three exits. Each one bigger than the last. And he never owned more than a third of any of them.

Running a blue-collar business? Wondering how to think about value or selling? Iconic Founders Group helps founders like you explore what's next. If you're doing over $2M in profit, check us out at iconicfounders.com or send us a message at theturn@iconicfounders.com.

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