Staying Independent While Scaling: David Wurtzbacher on the Ascend Model
LP Partner Russell Shapiro recently interviewed David Wurtzbacher, Founder and CEO of Ascend, a growth platform for entrepreneurial accounting firms that offers capital, technology, and talent support to help them grow while staying independent.
In this conversation, Russell and David discuss the current state of the M&A market for accounting firms, what is valuable about independence, the benefits firms can gain by becoming part of a platform network, and more.
Key topics include:
- How David’s background led him to found Ascend
- The current status of valuations in the accounting firm market
- Today’s competitive environment for acquisitions
- How Ascend’s model fits into the landscape
- How ownership with Ascend is structured, and why it’s structured the way it is
- How scale allows Ascend to introduce its firms to areas of expertise they might not otherwise have access to
- The current pace of M&A in different segments of the market
- The role AI has played in Ascend’s success, and how AI impacts profitability
- How exit models may differ depending on the capitalization model a firm is using
- How Ascend values firms, and how a firm’s age and potential for longevity plays in
- The “scrape”: How it is determined, and whether the market is showing “scrape creep”
- How Ascend’s deals are structured and how its shareholders participate in Ascend’s multiple-expansion and value-creation activity across the platform
- Ascend’s value proposition: shared services, resources for talent, growth capital for M&A, community, and collaboration alongside the independence
- How partners who are earlier in their careers can create wealth for themselves in the Ascend model