https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-fork-in-the-road--6941038
Perry brings more than 40 years of experience guiding founder led companies through growth, complexity, risk and transition. He began his career as a CPA, then became a founder himself. Today he leads PSK Consulting, and has advised hundreds of private companies across a variety of industries in areas of finance, operations, leadership, and scale.

The Fork in the Road turns Perry’s real-world experience into direct conversations about how to understand the different stages of a predictable business life cycle, strategies for each, intertwined with the founder’s personal goals.

If you are approaching or already standing at a fork in the road between enjoying the status quo, scaling up, or considering an exit, this show gives you food for thought, and knowledgeable insights along with comfort that you have unique options about where to go from here.
]]>enEntrepreneurshipCopyright The Authority Companyhttps://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/c861b7866904ae383d658a2bb7f64517.jpghttps://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-fork-in-the-road--6941038Tue, 04 Aug 2026 12:10:07 +0000The Authority CompanyThe Authority Companyjpardavila@theauthoritycompany.comThe Fork in the Road with Perry S. Kaufman is a show for successful founders who face many decisions and questions about pushing the business forward and how their role may need to change. Each episode focuses on moments where owners face real choices...
Perry brings more than 40 years of experience guiding founder led companies through growth, complexity, risk and transition. He began his career as a CPA, then became a founder himself. Today he leads PSK Consulting, and has advised hundreds of private companies across a variety of industries in areas of finance, operations, leadership, and scale.

The Fork in the Road turns Perry’s real-world experience into direct conversations about how to understand the different stages of a predictable business life cycle, strategies for each, intertwined with the founder’s personal goals.

If you are approaching or already standing at a fork in the road between enjoying the status quo, scaling up, or considering an exit, this show gives you food for thought, and knowledgeable insights along with comfort that you have unique options about where to go from here.
]]>falsec0c06a8a-c827-5215-b1d5-935dc6253db6episodichttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/jon-sayah-almost-lost-millions-selling-the-family-business--73281868
In this episode of The Fork in the Road, Perry S. Kaufman speaks with Jon Sayah from LES Family Investments about growing up inside his father’s lighting company, navigating the complicated dynamics of working with family, professionalizing the organization, and eventually selling the business to private equity.

Jon shares how his father grew a small Dallas lighting operation into a company with as many as 30 retail showrooms. After an unsuccessful first attempt to join the family business, Jon spent 15 years building experience at a major lighting manufacturer before returning with a clearer role and a deeper respect for what his father had created.

The conversation explores how the company adapted as e-commerce, foreign competition, and LED technology disrupted the lighting industry. Jon also explains why the company’s first private equity deal fell apart after due diligence revealed gaps in its financial systems, inventory controls, and business data.

Perry and Jon discuss why founders should begin preparing for a sale several years before going to market, how a transaction can distract key employees from running the company, and why working capital disputes can reduce the amount a seller receives after closing.

They also examine family succession, estate planning, ownership among siblings, and the challenges that can arise when private equity investors become heavily involved in daily operations.This episode offers practical lessons for founders considering succession, outside investment, or the sale of a privately held company.

Topics include:
Family business succession
Preparing a company for sale
Private equity due diligence
Business valuation
Working capital adjustments
Estate planning for business owners
Professionalizing a founder-led company
Managing family dynamics
Selling a privately held business
Post-acquisition leadership

Learn more about Perry S. Kaufman and The Fork in the Road at perryskaufman.com.

Timestamps
00:00 Welcome to The Fork in the Road
01:25 Growing up in the family lighting business
03:09 How Lights Fantastic was created
04:03 The ceiling fan opportunity
05:04 Working in the business as a child
05:48 Why Jon’s father sent him elsewhere first
08:08 Returning to a struggling family company
09:06 Why Jon and his father clashed
10:14 The challenges of family business dynamics
12:15 From founder to second-generation leader
14:30 Returning after 15 years
16:11 Dividing responsibilities between generations
17:20 Why the second attempt worked
19:01 Professionalizing the company
21:29 Hiring a CFO and improving operations
23:31 The disruption of e-commerce and LED lighting
26:09 Why the company fell behind
28:31 Deciding whether to sell
29:44 Starting the private equity process
32:01 Why the first deal fell apart
33:53 Prepare your business three years early
34:58 How a sale distracts your leadership team
37:11 The reality of private equity due diligence
39:10 Working capital adjustments after closing
42:00 Estate planning for family business owners
44:45 Using a trust to transfer the business
47:42 Dividing ownership among siblings
49:32 What private equity gets wrong
52:01 Why sellers struggle after an acquisition
53:00 Jon’s biggest lessons for founders
55:41 Why preparing for a sale improves any business]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73281868Tue, 04 Aug 2026 12:00:04 +0000The Authority CompanyWhat really happens when a successful family business enters the private equity market before it’s fully prepared? In this episode of The Fork in the Road, Perry S. Kaufman speaks with Jon Sayah from LES Family Investments about growing up inside his...
In this episode of The Fork in the Road, Perry S. Kaufman speaks with Jon Sayah from LES Family Investments about growing up inside his father’s lighting company, navigating the complicated dynamics of working with family, professionalizing the organization, and eventually selling the business to private equity.

Jon shares how his father grew a small Dallas lighting operation into a company with as many as 30 retail showrooms. After an unsuccessful first attempt to join the family business, Jon spent 15 years building experience at a major lighting manufacturer before returning with a clearer role and a deeper respect for what his father had created.

The conversation explores how the company adapted as e-commerce, foreign competition, and LED technology disrupted the lighting industry. Jon also explains why the company’s first private equity deal fell apart after due diligence revealed gaps in its financial systems, inventory controls, and business data.

Perry and Jon discuss why founders should begin preparing for a sale several years before going to market, how a transaction can distract key employees from running the company, and why working capital disputes can reduce the amount a seller receives after closing.

They also examine family succession, estate planning, ownership among siblings, and the challenges that can arise when private equity investors become heavily involved in daily operations.This episode offers practical lessons for founders considering succession, outside investment, or the sale of a privately held company.

Topics include:
Family business succession
Preparing a company for sale
Private equity due diligence
Business valuation
Working capital adjustments
Estate planning for business owners
Professionalizing a founder-led company
Managing family dynamics
Selling a privately held business
Post-acquisition leadership

Learn more about Perry S. Kaufman and The Fork in the Road at perryskaufman.com.

Timestamps
00:00 Welcome to The Fork in the Road
01:25 Growing up in the family lighting business
03:09 How Lights Fantastic was created
04:03 The ceiling fan opportunity
05:04 Working in the business as a child
05:48 Why Jon’s father sent him elsewhere first
08:08 Returning to a struggling family company
09:06 Why Jon and his father clashed
10:14 The challenges of family business dynamics
12:15 From founder to second-generation leader
14:30 Returning after 15 years
16:11 Dividing responsibilities between generations
17:20 Why the second attempt worked
19:01 Professionalizing the company
21:29 Hiring a CFO and improving operations
23:31 The disruption of e-commerce and LED lighting
26:09 Why the company fell behind
28:31 Deciding whether to sell
29:44 Starting the private equity process
32:01 Why the first deal fell apart
33:53 Prepare your business three years early
34:58 How a sale distracts your leadership team
37:11 The reality of private equity due diligence
39:10 Working capital adjustments after closing
42:00 Estate planning for family business owners
44:45 Using a trust to transfer the business
47:42 Dividing ownership among siblings
49:32 What private equity gets wrong
52:01 Why sellers struggle after an acquisition
53:00 Jon’s biggest lessons for founders
55:41 Why preparing for a sale improves any business]]>3413falsefullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/patrick-murphy-ceo-of-maket-how-ai-is-changing-home-design-forever--72436821
In this episode of The Fork in the Road, Perry S. Kaufman sits down with Patrick Murphy, Co-Founder and CEO of Maket, an AI-powered platform transforming how homes are designed. Maket allows homeowners and builders to instantly generate and customize residential floorplans, giving everyday people access to tools that once belonged only to architects and specialists.

Patrick shares the founder story behind Maket, the friction of building an AI company in a slow-moving industry, and why housing has become one of the biggest systems problems in the world. The conversation explores the future of AI-assisted architecture, affordable housing, design accessibility, and the challenge of balancing creativity with real-world practicality.With more than 900,000 registered users, Maket is quickly becoming one of the most talked-about companies at the intersection of AI, housing, and design technology.

Topics discussed include:
• AI-generated architecture
• The future of residential design
• Affordable housing and technology
• Why architecture has remained inaccessible
• Founder lessons from scaling an AI startup
• The emotional impact of designing your own home
• Technology adoption in traditional industries
• How AI is changing the built environment
• Product-market fit and startup growth
• The future of housing infrastructure

Subscribe for more conversations with founders, investors, and business leaders shaping the future.

Chapters / Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:12 Meet Patrick Murphy and Maket
03:08 The origin story behind the company
06:25 Why housing became a systems problem
09:14 What traditional architecture gets wrong
12:40 How Maket’s AI platform works
16:18 Democratizing home design
20:11 Why AI and housing move at different speeds
24:05 The emotional reaction users have to designing homes
28:16 The biggest misconceptions about AI architecture
32:47 Affordable housing and the role of technology
37:22 When Patrick realized Maket was becoming real
41:35 The challenges of scaling an AI company
46:50 Trust, regulation, and the future of housing
52:08 What most people still don’t understand about AI design
57:41 What success looks like now
01:01:20 Final thoughts]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/72436821Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:00:02 +0000The Authority CompanyWhat happens when AI collides with one of the world’s oldest industries? In this episode of The Fork in the Road, Perry S. Kaufman sits down with Patrick Murphy, Co-Founder and CEO of Maket, an AI-powered platform transforming how homes are designed....
In this episode of The Fork in the Road, Perry S. Kaufman sits down with Patrick Murphy, Co-Founder and CEO of Maket, an AI-powered platform transforming how homes are designed. Maket allows homeowners and builders to instantly generate and customize residential floorplans, giving everyday people access to tools that once belonged only to architects and specialists.

Patrick shares the founder story behind Maket, the friction of building an AI company in a slow-moving industry, and why housing has become one of the biggest systems problems in the world. The conversation explores the future of AI-assisted architecture, affordable housing, design accessibility, and the challenge of balancing creativity with real-world practicality.With more than 900,000 registered users, Maket is quickly becoming one of the most talked-about companies at the intersection of AI, housing, and design technology.

Topics discussed include:
• AI-generated architecture
• The future of residential design
• Affordable housing and technology
• Why architecture has remained inaccessible
• Founder lessons from scaling an AI startup
• The emotional impact of designing your own home
• Technology adoption in traditional industries
• How AI is changing the built environment
• Product-market fit and startup growth
• The future of housing infrastructure

Subscribe for more conversations with founders, investors, and business leaders shaping the future.

Chapters / Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:12 Meet Patrick Murphy and Maket
03:08 The origin story behind the company
06:25 Why housing became a systems problem
09:14 What traditional architecture gets wrong
12:40 How Maket’s AI platform works
16:18 Democratizing home design
20:11 Why AI and housing move at different speeds
24:05 The emotional reaction users have to designing homes
28:16 The biggest misconceptions about AI architecture
32:47 Affordable housing and the role of technology
37:22 When Patrick realized Maket was becoming real
41:35 The challenges of scaling an AI company
46:50 Trust, regulation, and the future of housing
52:08 What most people still don’t understand about AI design
57:41 What success looks like now
01:01:20 Final thoughts]]>2586false13fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/from-failed-startup-to-200m-company-tejas-manohar--71183838
Tejas walks through his full founder journey, from teaching himself to code as a teenager to landing a job in Silicon Valley at 16, to building HighTouch, a company transforming how businesses use data and AI.

You’ll hear how he:
Got hired without revealing his age
Found his first customers through cold outreach and online communities
Pivoted after losing everything
Built a product the market started pulling, not pushing
Scaled from 3 founders to 350+ employees

This is a real look at what building a company looks like, messy, unpredictable, and driven by persistence.If you’re a founder or thinking about starting, this episode will change how you see the journey.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Welcome + Tejas intro
1:00 Early obsession with programming
2:30 Influence of immigrant parents
6:20 How he got hired at 16 (without saying his age)
10:30 Learning + dreaming at Segment
13:00 Why you don’t need a “perfect idea”
16:00 The first startup (and why it failed)
18:00 COVID wiped out the business overnight
20:00 The pivot that led to HighTouch
21:30 What HighTouch actually does (simple explanation)
24:00 Stage 1: Survival and first product
27:00 How they got their first 3 customers
30:00 Why early customers are the hardest
33:00 The moment they knew it would scale
35:00 Growth tactics: communities, content, sales
38:00 Scaling leadership from 3 people to 350
41:00 Raising $200M and investor mindset
44:00 Building a “generational company”
45:30 Advice for founders: agency, resourcefulness, curiosity]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/71183838Tue, 14 Apr 2026 12:00:04 +0000The Authority CompanyWhat happens when your startup fails overnight?In this episode of The Fork in the Road with Perry S. Kaufman, Tejas Manohar shares how his first company collapsed during COVID… and how that failure led to building a company that has raised over $200...
Tejas walks through his full founder journey, from teaching himself to code as a teenager to landing a job in Silicon Valley at 16, to building HighTouch, a company transforming how businesses use data and AI.

You’ll hear how he:
Got hired without revealing his age
Found his first customers through cold outreach and online communities
Pivoted after losing everything
Built a product the market started pulling, not pushing
Scaled from 3 founders to 350+ employees

This is a real look at what building a company looks like, messy, unpredictable, and driven by persistence.If you’re a founder or thinking about starting, this episode will change how you see the journey.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Welcome + Tejas intro
1:00 Early obsession with programming
2:30 Influence of immigrant parents
6:20 How he got hired at 16 (without saying his age)
10:30 Learning + dreaming at Segment
13:00 Why you don’t need a “perfect idea”
16:00 The first startup (and why it failed)
18:00 COVID wiped out the business overnight
20:00 The pivot that led to HighTouch
21:30 What HighTouch actually does (simple explanation)
24:00 Stage 1: Survival and first product
27:00 How they got their first 3 customers
30:00 Why early customers are the hardest
33:00 The moment they knew it would scale
35:00 Growth tactics: communities, content, sales
38:00 Scaling leadership from 3 people to 350
41:00 Raising $200M and investor mindset
44:00 Building a “generational company”
45:30 Advice for founders: agency, resourcefulness, curiosity]]>2944false12fullhttps://www.spreaker.com/episode/serving-up-a-startup-how-volleybird-turned-pickleball-frustration-into-a-scalable-sports-brand--71132810
What started as frustration over a 70-page pickleball rulebook evolved into a sports rules app powered by proprietary AI. At the same time, they launched a subscription box company serving passionate players of tennis, pickleball, padel, and golf. Every 60 days, customers receive curated gear, apparel, and sustainable products they will not find in big box stores.

The conversation dives into:
• Why necessity sparked their first product idea
• How they pivoted their rules app from direct-to-consumer to a B2B API model
• The realities of customer feedback as founders
• Building a brand around sustainability and niche sports
• Why working for yourself is both harder and more rewarding
• What young entrepreneurs should understand before launching a business

Cassandra and Tracy also share how they differentiate in crowded markets by focusing on sustainability, women-founded brands, and unique products, including eco-friendly tennis balls designed to reduce waste.

If you are a founder navigating your own fork in the road, this episode offers a candid look at scaling, pivoting, and staying close to your customer while building something you truly believe in.
]]>https://api.spreaker.com/episode/71132810Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:10:02 +0000The Authority CompanyOn the premiere episode of Fork in the Road with Perry S. Kaufman, Perry sits down with Cassandra Toroian and Tracy Thomas, co-founders of VolleyBird, to explore how they built two businesses at the intersection of sports and entrepreneurship. What...
What started as frustration over a 70-page pickleball rulebook evolved into a sports rules app powered by proprietary AI. At the same time, they launched a subscription box company serving passionate players of tennis, pickleball, padel, and golf. Every 60 days, customers receive curated gear, apparel, and sustainable products they will not find in big box stores.

The conversation dives into:
• Why necessity sparked their first product idea
• How they pivoted their rules app from direct-to-consumer to a B2B API model
• The realities of customer feedback as founders
• Building a brand around sustainability and niche sports
• Why working for yourself is both harder and more rewarding
• What young entrepreneurs should understand before launching a business

Cassandra and Tracy also share how they differentiate in crowded markets by focusing on sustainability, women-founded brands, and unique products, including eco-friendly tennis balls designed to reduce waste.

If you are a founder navigating your own fork in the road, this episode offers a candid look at scaling, pivoting, and staying close to your customer while building something you truly believe in.
]]>2168false11full