Compressing 5 Years of Growth In 12 Months

Title: 5 Years of Growth In 12-Months: The CEO Playbook
Presenter: Tom Shipley
Duration: 60 minutes

Topic Description:
Tom Shipley makes a compelling case that strategic acquisitions are the ultimate force multiplier for exponential growth, sharing how buying just one business annually at half your size can 12x your enterprise value in five years while solving virtually every business challenge from cash flow to talent gaps. He frames 2026 as a critical "go time" moment where the $10 trillion "silver tsunami" of retiring business owners creates unprecedented opportunity.

Presenter Description:
Tom Shipley is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and M&A strategist whose journey spans from the Israeli special forces to building and exiting multiple nine-figure brands. After his first two ventures ran out of cash, Tom turned to acquisitions, buying $15M companies to engineer his first exit and later scaling Atlantic Coast Brands past $100M, generating over $2 billion in revenue.

Today, he’s recognized as a pioneer in programmatic M&A for mid-market companies, teaching founders how to scale through acquisitions instead of starting from scratch. Tom’s story is one of bold thinking, relentless grit, and turning adversity into exponential growth.

Tom raised $100M for FOUNDRY Brands, launched AVA to acquire performance agencies, and now is launching his next roll-up platform. At his DealCon CEO M&A Summits, Tom teaches 7–9 figure founders how to scale fast, plug capability gaps, and engineer premium exits, all through acquisitions.

His core belief? Nearly every business challenge or exit goal can be solved with the right deal.