Kevin Carlson on Five Investor Exits, a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, and What He Learned from Both

From P&G to Bankruptcy to Five Exits: Kevin Carlson's Journey with Top to Bottom Business SolutionsKevin Carlson, Director of Strategic Business Development at Top to Bottom Business Solutions, shares his journey from consumer packaged goods at Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, and SC Johnson, through a boardroom showdown that forged his executive character, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2008 that left him with 30 cents in his account, and five successful investor exits, to now helping a North Carolina bookkeeping firm grow from $600K to $6 million and beyond.Key Insights You'll Learn:Joined Audit Force as employee #11 and grew it to 1,400 people and $140M before it sold to Manpower as Jefferson WellsSurvived a board meeting where an investor tore his report in half and challenged him publicly for 45 minutesBuilt a metronome practice after feedback on speech tempo — a tool for managing intensity in high-stakes conversations2008 financial crisis wiped out his pipeline, his bank failed, and a union lawsuit arrived simultaneouslyWoke up to 30 cents in his account, felt sorry for himself for 15 seconds, then focused on the path backBankruptcy judge pulled him aside to commend how he handled the process — all employees were paid in fullTop to Bottom grew over $1M in one year by answering the phone and maintaining 95%+ client satisfactionAcquired 36 new clients in January alone, with the owner responsible for only one of those dealsPayroll is a race to the bottom because ADP and Paychex make their money on float — bookkeeping and advisory are the real growth enginesTrue scalability means the person at the lowest level has the confidence, authority, and training to decide without youKevin's Key Mentors:His Father, Chevrolet Dealer: Modeled resilience through the 1974 oil crisis, built a business from farm labor to dealership owner, gave Kevin his foundational mindsetMike Harris, Audit Force Founder: Took a chance on the only non-CPA in the company and gave Kevin his first investor-backed startup experienceBruce Smith, Board Member: The toughest public challenge of Kevin's career, and the moment that forged his executive composure under pressurePeter Drucker and W. Edwards Deming: The authors Kevin rereads every year for method, attitude, and the discipline of building organizations that scale through peopleDon't miss this conversation about what it actually feels like to lose everything and choose the path back, why the best growth strategy is answering the phone, and what Peter Drucker teaches about scale that most executives get completely wrong.Connect with Kevin Carlson:Website: t2bbsolutions.com