Branching Out: TreeFork Strategies
Host Elizabeth Shea sits down with seasoned founders and CEOs who have successfully sold their companies through a strategic or financial transaction. They discuss the thinking and planning that went into their decision to sell, what worked well, what they would do differently, and the valuable lessons they would pass along to founders with a sale on the horizon. This is a podcast for business owners looking for a playbook to use in order to approach their own sale with confidence and clarity.
Branching Out: TreeFork Strategies
Take the Leap: Interview with Bess Winston
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this episode of Branching Out, Elizabeth sits down with Bess Winston, the founder of The Winston agency. She talks about how one modest media relations project-turned-campaign laid the foundation for her to meticulously build a nationally respected boutique firm with a powerhouse team before ultimately selling her agency in 2022. Bess shares her journey with the humor and unfiltered honesty only an experienced founder can bring. She sheds light on the emotional jolt of parting with a company, the importance of protecting your people, navigating post-acquisition culture shifts, the advice she wishes she hadn’t ignored, and the moment she learned the hard truth: “When you sign your name, you’re done.” This episode is for anyone weighing a major inflection point — whether you’re debating when to slow down, when to scale up, or who really deserves a seat at your deal table.