How to Build, Scale, and Exit a Business That Outlives You

2025-12-02

In this episode of Humans of Growth, host Aly Hathcock sits down with Jeff Parnell, founder and CEO of JHP Advisors, to talk about what it really takes to build a business that lasts — and to eventually step away from it. Jeff’s career spans from pioneering one of the internet’s first e-commerce businesses in the 1990s to guiding today’s CEOs through growth, succession, and exit planning. After surviving a heart transplant in 2018, Jeff brings a rare blend of hard-won business wisdom and deep life perspective to the convers...

Jeff’s career spans from pioneering one of the internet’s first e-commerce businesses in the 1990s to guiding today’s CEOs through growth, succession, and exit planning. After surviving a heart transplant in 2018, Jeff brings a rare blend of hard-won business wisdom and deep life perspective to the conversation.

Together, Aly and Jeff explore:

✔ How to scale your company by making yourself replaceable

✔ Why most entrepreneurs fail to plan their exit — and how it costs them millions

✔ The coming “silver tsunami” of aging business owners and what it means for small business

✔ How consolidation and private equity are reshaping local industries

✔ The difference between owning a business and being in the business

✔ Why patience, gratitude, and in-person connection still drive long-term growth

This isn’t just a story about business strategy — it’s a masterclass in leadership, legacy, and what it means to build something worth handing off.

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