August 18, 2025 – Sold 12 Businesses Gregory Shepard, Melinda Emerson Quick 10, and Former Pixar CFO Lawrence Levy

Gregory Shepard – Former CTO of eBay, Founder and CEO of StartupScience.io and Author of The Startup Lifecycle: The Definitive Guide to Building a Startup from Idea to Exit

Every year, I choose one thing that I think is impossible, and I go after it.

From a challenging background as a “bullied, scrawny, autistic kid” growing up paycheck to paycheck, Gregory’s turning point came from recognizing opportunities others missed, fueling his mission to empower founders to achieve significant and sustainable startup success. He even met President Barack Obama and became a Fulbright Scholar. Gregory has built and sold 12 businesses in BioTech, TransitTech, AdTech, and MarTech. Over his career, he has done startups, turnarounds, cleanups, and roll-ups. He is the Author of The Startup Lifecycle, “The definitive guide to building a startup from Idea to Exit.” He is a contributor and has been featured or quoted in leading publications. A recipient of four private equity awards for transactions between 250M to 1B, Greg has appeared on TV, Radio, and popular Podcasts. Gregory Shepard is the Founder & CEO of StartupScience.IO, helping tech startups (Seed–Series A) scale and exit successfully. A 12X founder with over 35 years of experience and multiple exits, he’s the author of The Startup Lifecycle, a ForbesBooks podcast host, TEDx speaker, and 4-time Private Equity award winner. His BOSS system is trusted by TechStars alumni and Pitch Global EIRs for delivering rapid, high-impact results.











Lawrence Levy – Former CFO of Pixar and Author of To Pixar and Beyond: My Unlikely Journey with Steve Jobs to Make Entertainment History

What we did at Pixar essentially was put enough administration,

bureaucracy and strategy around the creative spirit without killing

that spirit. And in many ways, it’s the same… How do we keep

enough momentum in our lives, but really nurture our spirit, our

creativity, our hearts and in a nutshell, that’s what the Middle Way

does for us.

In 1994, Lawrence Levy received an unexpected phone call from Steve Jobs to see if he had any interest in running Pixar’s business. Over the next twelve years, Lawrence served as Pixar’s CFO, a member of its Office of the President and later as a member of its Board. During this period, Lawrence developed and put in place the strategy that would transform the company from a money-losing graphics company into a multibillion dollar entertainment studio. He took the company public and was there during the launch of Pixar’s iconic films. He resigned, with Steve’s blessing, to pursue his passion for eastern philosophy and meditation. He came to see these ideas as a way to realize our potential as individuals and for creating human-centered organizations that foster creativity and excellence. His first book, “To Pixar and Beyond” was an Amazon Best Book of 2016 in the Business and Leadership category and a Fortune Magazine Best Book of 2016. The NYT described it as “enchanting…Mr. Levy has quite a story to tell.” He also recently published an article in the Harvard Business Review entitled “Finding the Healthy Tension Between Being Confident and Collaborative.” Lawrence speaks regularly on topics including talks at Harvard Law School, Harvard Business School, Pixar and Google. In 2003, together with four co-founders, he created a non-profit called the Juniper Foundation that focuses on bringing Indo-Tibetan meditation practices to contemporary life and he teaches meditation weekly.