About
Why this exists.
Most owners who've built a real business over 20 or 30 years don't have a great way to find the right people when things start to change. They ask around. They take a meeting with whoever calls. They sit through a pitch and hope for the best.
The Owner's Shortlist is a different approach. It's a hand-picked list of specialists who do this kind of work well: valuation, taxes, legal structure, deal financing, family transfers, and everything else that comes up when an owner starts thinking about what's next.
The goal is simple. You should be able to find the right person in less time than it takes to take three bad meetings. No directory games, no paid placements, no middleman.
Who built this
Remi Taffin
Founder
I spent 15 years in data engineering, most recently as Director of Engineering at Ordergroove. I built Acquisition Edge to help acquirers find owner-operated businesses before they hit the broker market, which meant spending a lot of time understanding what owners actually need when they're thinking about stepping back.
I talk to business owners every day. What I hear, over and over, is the same thing: they did not know what they did not know. They wish they had started earlier. They wish someone had been straight with them about what to expect. And a lot of them wish they had thought harder about what life after the business actually looked like before they signed anything.
That feedback is what drives this site. I'm documenting what owners wish they had known, what they wish they had done differently, and what actually helped them get to a good outcome. If you've been running something for 20 or 30 years and you're starting to think about what comes next, this is the resource I'm building for you.
"Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or financial advice. It's a starting point, not a substitute for a real conversation with a real specialist."