Suzanne Shelton built one of the top sustainability communications agencies in the US from scratch, then shocked the experts by selling it for double her target price. In this episode, she spills the unfiltered truth: the gut-wrenching moments, the bets that almost broke her, and the secrets behind her once-in-a-lifetime exit.01:20 – Starting With Nothing: Her Accidental Agency Journey03:40 – Agency Owners Told ‘You’ll Never Sell’06:00 – Planting the Sustainability Flag: The Risk That Paid Off08:10 – The Greenwashing Gold Rush & Real Industry Challenges11:00 – When Big Clients Come Knocking (and Why She Said ‘No’)13:20 – Turning Down Fortune 100s: Scarcity or Smart Strategy?15:10 – Betting the Company—And Her Own Salary—On the Future17:30 – The Pain of Specializing (and Losing 80% of Her Staff)19:10 – Surviving the Agency Trenches & Going All-In on Niche21:00 – Deciding to Sell: The Real Reasons23:00 – How She Picked the Buyer (Money vs. Mission)25:00 – Rejecting “Disrespectful” Offers & Why Earnouts Suck26:30 – What No One Tells You About LOIs27:40 – Losing Control After the Sale: What She Misses Most29:00 – Building Her Next Chapter—Without the Stress31:00 – Advice for Founders: The One Thing You Must Do Before You Sell32:19 – Wrap-Up & Final Lessons