Michael Stier on the Multiple Revenue Walls All Businesses Hit and How to Overcome Them

🎧 From $13 Billion Fintech Exit to Fractional CFO: Michael Stier’s Journey to Focus CFOMichael Stier, area president for the Carolinas at Focus CFO, spent 18 years building Adhesion Wealth from a dot-com pivot to a $13 billion managed assets platform before completing a strategic sale in 2018. What came next taught him something most business owners learn too late: the financial discipline he wished he’d had inside his own company was exactly what he could now bring to others. Today he helps founders across the Carolinas build businesses worth buying — and prepares them for the identity shift that follows.✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn:Walking away from an aerospace cubicle farm at 22 and choosing Accenture instead — the moment that defined his careerWhy he left Goldman Sachs for Bank of America: being home before 9 p.m. was the selling pointBuilding Adhesion Wealth through a giant pivot after 9-11 decimated the entire pipelineWhat the savviest VC investors bet on — and why it’s never the business modelHow growing revenue can torpedo your cash flow if you’re not managing it with a CFOThe six-week vacation test: the simplest benchmark for whether a business is exit-readyWhy exit planning isn’t something you do when you’re ready to sell — it’s what you do every dayThe emotional reality of packing up your office after an 18-year runWhy the $10M to $20M revenue jump is the hardest wall most private businesses never clearWhat it means to embed a CFO — versus just calling one when the monthly close is done🌟 Michael’s Key Mentors:Original Founder at Adhesion Wealth: serial entrepreneur who had the foresight to recognize when it was time to step aside and hand the reins to MichaelSavvy VC Partners: the one firm that stayed through the 9-11 downturn and bet on the management team over the business modelHis Adhesion Co-Founders and Leadership Team: constantly challenged him and helped break the tunnel vision that comes with solo entrepreneurshipFocus CFO Partners: showed him a model he wished he’d had access to during his own 18-year runBusiness Owners He Serves Now: every client engagement deepens his conviction about what fractional CFO services actually change👉 Don’t miss this candid conversation about what it actually takes to build a business worth buying — and why the hardest part is never the financial work.🔗 Connect with Michael Stier:Website: focuscfo.comLinkedIn: Michael Stier, Focus CFO📤 Transcript Available: Michael Stier on the Multiple Revenue Walls All Businesses Hit and How to Overcome Them📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: AddBack Benefits Agency - Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line Website: addbackbenefits.com