Clover Learning (acquired by Ascend Learning)

Chief Operating Officer

Hannah Grey VC

Venture Partner

PATHWAYos by Vector Solutions

Chief Executive Officer (acquired by Vector Solutions), Board of Directors

Edvance - Member Benefit Management in Higher Ed

Chief Operating Officer + Chief Of Staff

PresenceLearning

Chief Operating Officer (acquired by TPG & Spectrum)

Wiley

Vice President, Operations & Strategic Partnerships (acquired Ranku: Co-founder & COO)

U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Institute for a Competitive Workforce)

Senior Director of Education Policy

Minnesota Chamber of Commerce

➥ Recognized as "Business Leader in Public Policy" by Capitol Report/Politics in Minnesota

Education & Healthcare Lobbyist

CEO at Transeo 🔹 On a mission to close the skills gap by unlocking work-based learning opportunities for all 🔹 Innovative & Entrepreneurial COO (2x Exited) 🔹 Bridging Education to Workforce

Cecilia Retelle Zywicki is an experienced executive with a proven track record of driving transformative growth in the EdTech and HealthTech sectors. Expertise in defining and implementing strategies accelerating revenue and profit within highly competitive markets. Proven leader with a history of delivering exceptional outcomes, including multiple successful exits.

Cecilia is the COO of Clover Learning, overseeing all aspects of operations, including partnerships, customer success, customer support, finance, legal, and operational efficiency. She is adept at building high-performing teams, fostering collaborative environments, and maximizing operational efficiency to achieve ambitious growth objectives.

Cecilia has extensive experience leading technology-driven companies, focusing on developing and delivering innovative solutions in the healthcare and education sectors. She has demonstrated her ability to navigate complex business development transactions, including strategic acquisitions.

Passionate about upskilling the workforce and connecting education with real-world opportunities. Proven ability to scale enrollment and develop and implement online learning platforms. As a leader, she fosters a collaborative and supportive environment where team members are empowered to contribute their unique talents and achieve their full potential.

JD from the University of Denver and a BS and M.Ed. in Education from the University of Minnesota.

Cecilia Retelle Zywicki 🖥

Codie A. Sanchez

Investing millions in Main St businesses & teaching you how to own the rest | HoldCo, VC fund, Founder

On a mission to create financially free and free-thinking humans.

I founded a media company called Contrarian Thinking that teaches people to think critically and cashflow unconventionally with boring businesses.

Our newsletter has over 1M+ weekly readers, here → contrarianthinking.biz/li

Our community has taught 9,000+ members biz buying, biz growing, and doing deals. 

We value experience over degrees.
Betting on yourself over building someone else's dream.
Main Street over Wall Street.

My mission is less suits, more boots. Meaning: we the people holding the power… and the purse strings.

🔗Join 1M+ others who get our free newsletter: contrarianthinking.biz/li
🔗YouTube: @CodieSanchezCT
🔗Instagram: @codiesanchez
🔗Twitter: @Codie_Sanchez
🔗Weekly business-buying newsletter Main Street Minute: contrarianthinking.biz/minute-li

Founder

We help free minds and build bank accounts.

Investing millions in Main St businesses & teaching you how to own the rest | HoldCo, VC, Founder | NYT best-selling author

5 uncomfortable truths about success:

1. You can't be a real leader and a people pleaser.

2. One day they'll go from judging you to bragging how they know you.

3. You win in life by being ok with people: not liking you, disagreeing with you, and wishing you'd fail.

4. It’s supposed to be hard, and you’re supposed to do it anyway.

5. The underrated part about being rich... you get to do what you want, say what you want, and people unfollowing or not agreeing matters ZERO.

Hope this one puts a little air in your tires today 😉

Btw - feel free to follow me Codie A. Sanchez if you haven’t yet

It’s a tragedy how many hate what they do.

There is nothing I love more than solving big problems.

Playing the game of business.

Having big conversations.

Meeting smart people.

You deserve to do work that makes you feel the same way.

Feel free to repost or follow if you’re a psychopath like me who’s willing to publicly proclaim how much you love working😂

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Talks about #growth, #finance, #investing, #venturecapital, and #contrarianthinking

3 more harsh truths about success:

- You only have to be right ONCE. One big right move can erase a lifetime of wrong ones.
- You can't be upset at the results you’re not getting from the actions you’re not taking.
- The successful don't wait for someone to come save them. You want a better life, go build it.

If you needed to hear this today, feel free to share for next person who needs it ♻️

The best founders do one thing brilliantly... 

Hire.

Here’s how we think about finding & attracting A-players for our portfolio companies:

Most owners hire like they're running a restaurant.

They think more cooks = faster service.

Instead, they get a kitchen full of people bumping into each other, burning food, and blaming everyone else.

That’s why hiring isn’t a numbers game.

You don't need more people. You need the RIGHT people.

It’s impossible to build a worthwhile business with mediocre talent.

Over the years, we've developed a framework to find, attract, and close the top 0.001%. 

I call it the 4 C's to Top-Level Talent:

1. CURATE

Start hiring before you start hiring.

Follow smart people in your niche on Twitter. Connect on LinkedIn.

Bookmark stuff that makes you say, "Damn, I wish I wrote that."

Treat talent like a portfolio. Study first, invest later.

The best hires happen when you're NOT desperately hiring.

1. CULTIVATE

Engage without being weird.

Compliment their stuff. Comment. Ask smart questions. Send them ideas.

The best talent moves when THEY'RE ready, not when you need them.

Plant seeds early. Water them consistently.

3. CLOSE

When it's time to close the sale, go HARD.

Fly them in. Meet their spouse. Pay more than you're comfortable with.

I wasn't even looking for a company President when I met Marc. I wanted a CRO.

But after one conversation, I knew he was our guy.

So I changed the org to fit HIM.

That's how good hires work. They change you.

Don't squeeze top talent into your current structure.

Bend your business around exceptional people.

4. CONTINUE

Top performers won't always stay forever. That's okay.

Even when they leave, keep them close.

My old Head of Content now runs a 7-figure business. We still trade notes.

They send better talent than any recruiter ever could.

As someone who’s hired 100s of people, take it from me:

Your best hires won't walk in the door with a resume in hand.

They're already working somewhere else, crushing it.

It’s your job to go find them.

Hiring the right people is one of the most powerful growth levers for any business.

If you want to see exactly how we attract and retain top-tier talent across our portfolio, I’ll be breaking it all down in an upcoming workshop (tomorrow).

This is just one of several proven scaling strategies we’ll cover— more info here: https://lnkd.in/emd63SuT

Don’t be afraid of outgrowing EVERYONE.

Your friends. Yes.

Your family. Likely.

If you are great... Even the people you hire today you will outgrow.

Don’t apologize a f*cking second for outgrowing people who can not keep up with you.

You need to make the hard call to move on, and move on FASTER than you think.

I was on the phone with a friend the other day runs another portfolio and famous on the internet and we both had to fire a csuite executive. We talked on Friday, I asked on Tuesday when she was doing it, she said she already did it that morning.

“Once I know I have to, I rip the bandaid off.”

Tough truth I’ve never regretted ONCE parting ways with someone who isn’t going as fast as I am.

THIS is the hard and brutal truth of greatness.

Formula is do, fail, learn, fail, do again.

A reminder that it’s ok to rise a lil earlier and grind a lil harder…

The faster you move, the more money you make.

How to win in your 20s:

1. Choose your hard. If you don't choose your hard, hard will choose you.

2. Ask more questions. As Socrates said: “Smart people learn from everything and everyone. Average people learn from their experiences. Stupid people already have all the answers.”

3. Do whatever it takes

4. Chase purpose. A friend once told me: “I wish you not one penny over $299 million. Reality gets lost somewhere after that.”

5. Not every moment has to be productive. Silence is not your enemy.

6. Be bored more often

7. Get in shape, stay in shape (applies to both finances and fitness)

8. If someone you just met is talking shit about their ex, friend, partner, or boss, they will do the same to you next. Character matters.

9. Behind every successful person is a story that gave them no choice.

10. Put your relationships first. My number one regret in life is not prioritizing my marriage above just about everything.

11. You become the person you want when no one else is watching. It's the quiet, private reps that will never be cheered that actually lead to greatness.

12. Never take advice from someone who hasn't achieved what they're advising about. If you don't want their life, don't listen to their advice.

13. Inconvenience yourself. This generation went way too hard setting boundaries. Show up for those you love, even when it's not convenient.

14. The greatest muscle you can build is urgency.

15. If it's not a hell yes, it's a no.

16. You will be richer when you understand leverage. But you'll also be aware of when people are trying to take advantage of you. Learn it so you can spot it.

17. Learn to be disliked or you will find yourself stuck in a prison of other people's beliefs.

18. You don't have time to hate someone when you're busy building. The less you build, the more you criticize.

19. Your input eventually becomes your output.

20. 99% of people don't move fast enough. Every time you say "one day," you cost yourself future dollars.

21. Complexity makes you seem smart. Simplicity makes you money.

22. The longer something has been successful, the more likely it is to continue being successful.

23. Say you will do a thing, then actually do the thing.

24. The fastest way to build a memorable brand is to pick a fight.

25. Never let your worry be bigger than your faith. God doesn't give you a seed without provision for it to grow.

26. Nobody cares about your life.

27. Someone not as good as you is making more money because they're not afraid to start.

28. You will wish you started earlier and worked harder when you are young.

29. Waking up at 5:45 a.m. solves 99.9% of daily issues.

30. Work smarter, not harder is a beautiful lie. You will not know how to work smart until you've worked very hard for an irrationally long time

31. The size of the problems you solve equal the size of your bank account.

32. The smartest people I know obsess over their reputation. Do not play short-term games with your name.

Money = options. Poverty = trapped.

It's not the money we want. It's the freedom.

↓ ↓ ↓

You’re either the hammer or the nail.

Hammers make things happen. They drive the point home. They aren’t afraid to swing hard, take calculated risks, and make an impact. They don’t wait for things to happen; they make things happen.

Nails? They get pounded. They hold things in place, but only because *someone else* decided that’s where they should be.

Nails wait for instructions. They stay put, keep their heads down, and hope they don’t get bent out of shape. Nails might hold things together, but hammers built the house.

No one remembers the nails — they remember who hammered them in.

It can be easy to look at the work of a hammer and think, “Must be nice.” But don’t be mistaken, the toll on a hammer is rough.

What you don’t see are the years of blunt force trauma on the hammer’s head, face, neck, cheek, throat, eye, and claw (all real parts of a hammer). Years of being thrown around. Years of missing the mark and smashing a finger.

Are you starting to get it now?

Hammers are owners.

Nails? The owned.

(PS: This is an excerpt straight from my newsletter. Get it every Thursday here → https://lnkd.in/euh-mDd8)

What they dream of: Starting the next Apple

What I dream of: Owning a painting biz...

Trillions of dollars are about to fall into the hands of those who are paying attention.

Let's talk numbers:

• 33.3 million small businesses in the US.
• That's 99.9% of all businesses.

What does this mean?

A sea of opportunity. 

Over 80% of these businesses have no employees. Just solo owners, doing their thing.

But of the other 20% (aka 6.6 million)... Many are ready to sell.

Problem is, most people are still daydreaming about sexy startups and AI breakthroughs.

They’re not daydreaming about plumbing companies. Laundromats. Self-storage units.

Because they’re not sexy.

In fact, they kind of smell like hard work. They smell like Main Street.

But the thing about these businesses is:

They quietly cashflow.

So.. why don’t you just start one?

A few reasons why starting sucks:
• Cashflow takes time
• You start with 0 employees (aka, you do all the work)
• You start with 0 customers (aka, even more work)
• You have to find a profitable biz model.

But there’s another option…

BUYING a business (done right) means:
• Instant cash flow.
• Existing customers.
• Proven business model.

You're not reinventing the wheel. You're taking something that works and making it work better.

It's a path to financial freedom that most people overlook.

The opportunity of a lifetime is hiding in plain sight.

So here's my challenge to you:

Stop dreaming about the next big startup.
Start looking at the businesses in your backyard.

Then go big and DO the damn thing.

↓↓↓↓

Disclaimer: I know I've made this sound easier than it is. 

Buying & running a biz is NOT easy. 

One of the reasons why I'm hosting a (free) Masterclass next week on biz buying. I'll break down the 10-step process I've used to buy dozens of cashflowing businesses.

My goal? You leave with the confidence & roadmap to buy your first biz. 

More info here → https://lnkd.in/e24qgbuh

Work smarter not harder is a beautiful lie.

Hard lesson for me and you...

The people doing better than you aren’t smarter than you. They aren’t better than you. They aren’t luckier than you.

They’re just working so much harder than you, you can't even imagine.

The only thing separating you from them is:

Grit + Time + Consistency

The difference between a $1M business and a $100M business:

Systems.

Here’s how we think about building systems for our portfolio of 30+ businesses:

Think of systems like a car. You need:

- Vision = windshield (see where you're going)
- Dashboard = gauges (track your speed)
- Goals = GPS (know your destination)
- Communication = alerts (stay coordinated)
- People = maintenance (keep everything running)

Miss any one and you're broken down on the side of the road.

1. Start With The Foundation

Most owners focus on tiny processes instead of the big stuff.

It's like saying "I want to build the Sistine Chapel" then starting out by picking out what candles you want inside.

You have to start with the foundation first or you'll never get the thing done.

2. Use 'Proven' Frameworks

Everyone on the internet acts like they have the best new "battle-tested" system, when realistically it's often a lot of fluff.

That said, there is a lot of merit in implementing systems that have worked for someone else - just make sure you're getting them from the right place.

3. Follow Dual North Stars

The danger of single metrics is it creates tunnel vision.

But when you have two, they keep each other honest. It could be:

- Revenue + Followers
- Sales + Customer satisfaction
- Growth + Team retention

Just remember to keep one qualitative and the other quantitative.

4. Keep Pace With Your Yearly Vision

Without systems, it’s easy to get caught up in busywork.

I’ve met hardworking owners who thought they were moving the needle only to realize the opposite at EOY.

Building the right systems prevents that:

5. Use Scorecards

It’s not enough to give deadlines when assigning tasks.

You also want to create a dashboard where you can track:

- Completion rates
- Who’s responsible for what
- Color-coded status updates

That way, you can see a bird’s eye view of what's moving along and what isn’t.

6. Apply The Rule of Three for Documentation

Do you like repeating yourself? Me neither.

Anything you do more than 3 times in a week (or has at least 3 steps) should get documented.

Use Loom + Google Docs to create playbooks so specific that even a highschooler can follow.

- 

Only so much I can get into in a single post.

If you’re curious to learn more, I’m hosting a workshop on November 12th where we’ll walk you through the four simple levers every business owner can pull to unlock new profit in their business.

Last time, we helped owners uncover $5.4 million in hidden cash. Now, it’s your turn.

Save your post here: https://lnkd.in/emd63SuT

This reminds me of a study I learned about.

It found what's called The Spillover Effect:

Kellogg Insight did a study across 58,000 hours in 11 companies.

There were two main findings.

1) Positive Spillover

If you sit within 25ft of a HIGH performer, your performance increases by 15%.

You are no smarter, you work no harder... and you're 15% better.

These highest performers are not impacted by the low performance of their neighbors.

My takeaway = the strong lift up the weak.

But there was a second finding too, a much more concerning one...

2) Negative Spillover

If you sit near a LOW performer… Things get bad fast.

How they define “low performer” in the study is important:

These are “toxic workers.”

A “toxic” person = someone who ends up being fired for their behavior/performance.

On average:

- A toxic worker costs a company $12,800
- 2% of all workers are toxic
- They infect FAST.

And actually – the poison of a toxic worker spans way beyond 25ft:

Researchers said, “You can see their negative imprint and negative effect across an entire floor.”

So remember:

Success is contagious.

But so is toxicity.

↓ ↓ ↓

The same is true for the media you consume. Doomscroll hate on social media, you become a hateful person.

But if you'd rather surround yourself with stories of business owners & freedom finders, read this instead → https://lnkd.in/euh-mDd8

The 6 secrets to increasing your biz's value all start with one term: 

Recurring revenue.

The holy grail of business.

It's predictable, stable income that comes in month after month, year after year. Plus, there are a ton of other benefits:

• Higher Customer Lifetime Values (CLVs)
• for lower acquisition costs
• More predictable cashflow
• which makes budgeting & planning easier

Potential buyers LOVE recurring revenue. It makes it 10x easier to hire an operator, secure funding, and scale.

As an owner, your end goal is likely an acquisition... And recurring revenue increases your chances.

There are 6 types of recurring revenue:

(Ideally, your biz has at least 3 of these)

1. Long-term contracts

These are agreements of over a year that lock in guaranteed revenue. The longer the contract term, the more valuable it makes a business.

2. Auto-renewal subscriptions

This is the "set it and forget it" model. Customers sign up once, and their card is charged every month, quarter, or year.

3. Sunk money subscriptions

This is also known as the 'razor and blades' business model: You buy a base product (a razor), then have to continually buy refills (blades). Since the real money's in the refill, the base product is often sold cheap.

4. Pay-as-you-go

Customers only pay for what they use, but are still subscribed long-term as there’s friction in moving to another platform.

5. Loyalty programs

Giving your customers points & perks makes a customer feel they're "losing out" on potential savings if they go elsewhere. No one does this better than airlines.

6. Simple consumables

These are one-off items that are repurchased out of sheer habit & loyalty. Think, regulars at coffee shops, your favorite brand of toothpaste, transportation you have to take every day.

Recurring revenue is a HUGE key to retirement as a business owner.

With so many different types, the options are limited only to your creativity.

↓ ↓ ↓

Best way to track & forecast recurring & non recurring revenue? 

A cashflow tracker. 

Because the only real business advice you really need is...don't run out of cash. 

Feel free to use my template: https://lnkd.in/eHEiMUr9

MBA graduates aren't chasing jobs at Goldman or Google anymore.

They want ownership.

Here’s why some MBA graduates are choosing acquisitions over startups: 

In the 70s, 80s, 90s, MBA grads bought fancy suits and gloated about their big corner offices.

Now, they’re being taught to acquire companies.

We’re living in a GOLDEN ERA for business buying...

Baby Boomers hit ‘peak 65’ last year and it was the largest surge of in our beautiful nation's history. 

An average of 4.1 million Americans will retire EVERY year until 2027. 

And many own businesses they don’t know what to do with…

It’s up to us to continue their legacy and keep their businesses alive. 

Use my 3-6-12 framework to go a-z in buying your first biz... 

The TL;DR is this: 

• 3 months minimum to learn dealmaking
• 6 months to source and secure your deal
• 12 months post-purchase to master the business

Now, let’s break each step down: 

Your first 3 months should be pure learning.

There’s no such thing as a perfect business. Only a perfect business for YOU.

Figure out exactly what that business looks like before you start searching for it.

Terms, financials, tactics, structuring.

Acquisitions is a language. You need to get fluent.

The next 6 months are about finding YOUR deal:

• You'll look at 50+ businesses
• Submit 10-25 offers
• Perform due diligence on 3-5
• Close on 1

The numbers game isn't sexy. But it works.

Once you buy, give yourself 12 full months to master the business.

Why?

• Month 1-3: Learning systems
• Month 4-6: Stabilizing operations
• Month 7-9: Building team trust
• Month 10-12: Growing strategically

Rush this timeline and you'll destroy what you just bought.

I can’t stress this last point enough — you need to be patient. 

As the wonderful Warren Buffett once said: 

"You can't produce a baby in 1 month by getting nine women pregnant."

You CAN have the business you want. But it comes on its own timeline, not yours.

And that’s it!

Remember, before buying ANYTHING, ask yourself:

1. What kind of business would I actually ENJOY running?

2. What skills do I bring that would ADD VALUE?

3. Can I handle the pressure of other people's livelihoods depending on me?

Then, execute on the 3-6-12 framework.

↓↓↓↓

If you've read this far... I've got something for you. 

I'm sure there are a bunch of questions running through your mind like: 

• How do I buy a business?
• Which is the right one to buy?
• Would I be capable of running it?
• How do I know if this would be the right path for me?

Give me 90 minutes and I'll answer you.

I'm hosting a live Masterclass next week on all of this. Completely free.

Get details & save your spot here → https://lnkd.in/e24qgbuh

We’ve completely forgotten why we're entrepreneurs.

When did we become a group of vitamin-D-deprived, Allbird-wearing, alternative-milk-drinking, extreme PowerPointers?

Many of us got soft.

We don’t climb mountains, we only take risks with other people’s money, we sit behind keyboards bragging about how ChatGPT did all the work.

What a terrible thing to strive for.

How can you make the most money by employing the fewest people and doing the least amount of work? How can you get mailbox money? Or a fast exit so you can tweet about it?

The secret:

Entrepreneurs don’t exist just for a bunch of zero’s and some big exit, but because we are crazy people willing things into very existence.

We are supposed to be the next generation of explorers, risk-takers, adrenaline junkies. Addicts to the masochistic mission of achievement and ownership.

The feeling of being so damn unemployable your only option is owner. The inability to sleep because of visions so big they pull you from bed in the dead of the night. Dreams so futuristic people laugh when you tell them.

Those are the entrepreneurs I admire.

My husband and I have a saying: “Protect those who can’t, cast aside those who won’t, enable those who want.”

Here’s to all of you who want so badly your wants become realities.

↓
💥 Follow me Codie A. Sanchez for more

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