Selling without disappearing.
Laurel Thornton · Beacon Mental Health · Boston · 52 min
“Kindwell was the first conversation that did not ask me to give up what I had spent twenty-five years building.”
Founder Conversations · A series
The conversations founders
don't get to have anywhere else.
Long-form, on the record, hosted by Jennifer. Behavioral health owners on the practices they built, the offers they walked away from, and the chapter they're writing next.
The host
Jennifer hosts the way founders actually talk when no one is selling anything.
Every conversation is shaped by a single rule: leave the room with something the founder hadn't said out loud before. Listeners get the unguarded version — the offers, the regrets, the second chances, the team they wished they'd built sooner.
Featured · Episode 41
Chapters
- 00:00
The practice she didn't mean to build
- 07:14
Three offers, two walkaways, one phone call
- 18:42
Clinical-first diligence, in plain English
- 29:05
What changes — and what doesn't — after the close
- 41:30
What she'd tell the founder she was in 1998
The archiveEvery conversation,
Every conversation,
in chronological order.
- Ep. 40Jun 04 · 47 min
The check that kept the keys.
Dr. Kari SandozRiverstone Associates · Denver
Three years into a growth partnership, on the difference between capital that grows you and capital that absorbs you.
- Ep. 39May 21 · 44 min
The hire that finally let me stop being the operator.
Dr. Devon WrightCypress Health · Atlanta
On founder-to-CEO transitions, the first clinical director, and the day the calendar stopped owning him.
- Ep. 38May 07 · 51 min
Why we said no to three offers before this one.
Dr. Allison ParkNorthbay Behavioral · Oakland
Pattern-matching the wrong buyer in the room — and the five questions Allison now starts every diligence call with.
- Ep. 37Apr 23 · 58 min
Two years post-close.
Dr. Maya ParkHalo Mental Health · Seattle
Halo's founder on the parts of the transition that surprised her — and the parts that turned out exactly like Kindwell said they would.
- Ep. 36Apr 09 · 39 min
Building the leadership team you'll need in three years.
Dr. Jonah EllisCedar Counseling · Madison
Why Jonah promoted three clinicians into operating roles before he hired a single MBA.
- Ep. 35Mar 26 · 42 min
What I'd protect first if I were starting over.
Dr. Sara KimAnchor Therapy · Brooklyn
The intake conversation, the supervision rhythm, and the comp model — in that order.
- Ep. 34Mar 12 · 46 min
Running the practice on a system, not on instinct.
Dr. Priya AnandNorthbay Behavioral · San Mateo
What changed in the twelve months after Residency.
- Ep. 33Feb 26 · 55 min
What clinical-first diligence actually looks like.
KyleClinical Advisor · Kindwell
Inside the Kindwell process — what we read, who we call, and the things that quietly kill deals.
- Ep. 32Feb 12 · 62 min
Why we built Kindwell.
Trenton Walker & JenniferCo-founders · Kindwell
Origin episode. The practices that wouldn't sell to the obvious buyer — and what we kept hearing on those calls.
Recurring columnsStories we keep
Stories we keep
coming back to.
- Monthly
The first call
What founders actually say in the first hour. Recurring, anonymized, with permission.
Read the archive → - Quarterly
Post-close diaries
Founders six, twelve, and twenty-four months after joining Kindwell — in their own words.
Read the archive → - Bi-weekly
The clinician seat
Conversations with the clinical directors and supervisors who keep practices clinical-first as they scale.
Read the archive →
Founder Conversations · Free to listen
One letter, every other Friday. New episodes, the transcript, and what we heard.
No spam. No upsell. Just the conversations and the work behind them.