LinkedIn Voices: Carrie Kerpen
Discover how Carrie Kerpen helps women founders build exit-ready businesses. Learn strategies to maximize company value and prepare for acquisition.
Carrie Kerpen's career demonstrates that building a successful business is only part of the journey. The real challenge is creating a company that can thrive without its founder and attracts strong acquisition offers. After growing and selling her own agency, she shifted her focus to helping women founders build businesses with lasting value. Through practical guidance, proven frameworks, and M&A expertise, she helps entrepreneurs prepare for successful exits while closing the wealth gap for women-owned businesses.
Who is Carrie Kerpen?
Carrie Kerpen is an entrepreneur, exit planning advisor, and the founder of The Whisper Group, an advisory firm dedicated to helping female-founded businesses become exit-ready. She previously served as CEO of Likeable Media, a digital marketing agency she grew from an innovative startup into an international business before leading its acquisition by 10Pearls.
As both a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) and a Certified Merger and Acquisition Advisor (CM&AA), Carrie combines real entrepreneurial experience with technical expertise in business exits. Her mission is to help more women maximize the value of their companies when they decide to sell.
Niche & Specialization
Carrie specializes in business valuation, exit planning, founder succession, and M&A readiness for growing businesses. Rather than focusing on fundraising or daily business operations, she helps founders strengthen the elements that increase company value before an acquisition.
Her areas of expertise include:
Exit Readiness & The Whisper Way: Helping founders prepare their companies through a structured framework that evaluates business purpose, profitability, leadership, competitive advantages, operational systems, and negotiation readiness.
Reducing Founder Dependence: Teaching business owners how to replace founder-driven operations with scalable systems that continue to perform without constant involvement.
M&A Advisory for Women Founders: Supporting entrepreneurs throughout due diligence, organizational restructuring, and acquisition negotiations with guidance tailored to women-owned businesses.
Post-Acquisition Strategy: Advising companies during ownership transitions and helping businesses integrate successfully after acquisitions.
Her philosophy is simple: businesses should be built to operate independently, making them more attractive to buyers and more valuable over time.
Target Audience
Carrie's content and advisory services are designed for founders, executives, and investors focused on long-term business value.
Female Founders & Business Owners: Entrepreneurs preparing to scale their businesses and eventually pursue a successful exit.
Technology & Marketing Executives: Buyers and acquisition leaders looking for well-structured businesses with transferable operations.
Investors & Business Advisors: Professionals interested in improving acquisition outcomes and supporting women-led businesses.
Leadership Event Organizers: Organizations seeking speakers on entrepreneurship, business growth, acquisitions, and leadership.
Career Journey & Achievements
Carrie's entrepreneurial journey began with a creative marketing campaign that gained widespread attention and eventually led to the creation of Likeable Media. Over the next 15 years, she helped transform the company into one of the early leaders in social media marketing, serving major global brands.
In 2021, she led the successful sale of Likeable Media to 10Pearls and became Managing Director of 10Pearls Studio, overseeing its digital marketing operations.
After recognizing the significant gap between male- and female-owned businesses in acquisition outcomes, Carrie expanded her expertise by earning certifications in exit planning and mergers and acquisitions. In 2024, she launched The Whisper Group to help women founders prepare for high-value exits.
She is also the author of Work It: Secrets for Success from the Boldest Women in Business and The Whisper Way. In addition, she hosts The Exit Whisperer podcast and regularly speaks at leadership conferences and TEDx events.
Content Strategy & Teaching Approach
Carrie creates content that is practical, transparent, and focused on real business outcomes. She straightforwardly explains complex acquisition topics, making exit planning easier to understand for founders with little M&A experience.
Her content regularly covers business valuation, founder dependency, negotiation strategies, operational improvements, and deal preparation. Rather than relying on theory, she shares real client experiences and acquisition stories to demonstrate how strategic planning leads to stronger business outcomes.
Posts on LinkedIn
Metrics & Impact
Successfully scaled and sold Likeable Media in an eight-figure acquisition to 10Pearls.
Built a LinkedIn community of more than 14,000 founders, executives, and decision-makers.
Earned dual certifications as a CM&AA and CEPA.
Authored two business books focused on leadership, entrepreneurship, and exit planning.
Frequently speaks at leading business, technology, and leadership conferences.
Media Appearance
Why She Matters?
Carrie Kerpen has become an influential voice in helping women entrepreneurs build businesses with long-term value. Her work extends beyond business growth by teaching founders how to create companies that buyers want to acquire. By combining practical experience with technical M&A knowledge, she gives business owners the confidence and strategy needed to negotiate stronger deals and achieve successful exits.
Profile Summary
Followers: 14,019 on LinkedIn
Core Venture: Founder of The Whisper Group
Mission: Help women-owned businesses build scalable companies that achieve higher-value exits.
Recognition: CEPA, CM&AA, bestselling author, TEDx speaker, and former CEO of Likeable Media.
Background: B.S. in Marketing and Advertising from Emerson College and Executive Education at Harvard Business School.
