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Episode 246

From $100 to a $20 Million Exit to Intuit: Nellie Akalp on Building, Selling, and Starting Again

In this episode of The Exit: Nellie Akalp, founder and CEO of CorpNet, takes us on a no-fluff journey from launching her first business with just $100 to securing a 20x EBITDA exit to Intuit — all before turning 32.

Nellie shares:

  • How she and her husband bootstrapped MyCorporation from their apartment
  • What made their business irresistible to Intuit (spoiler: no debt, no investors, ultra-clean books)
  • Why the post-acquisition “early retirement” didn’t last — and how that led to launching CorpNet in 2009 during the height of the recession
  • The pivotal B2B pivot that transformed CorpNet’s growth, including the launch of their Partner Program
  • How COVID turned into a major growth inflection point, scaling the team from 15 to 200
  • Why boundaries and mental wellness are non-negotiable for modern founders

If you’re a business owner thinking about exit strategy, reinvention, or how to scale sustainably while protecting your peace — this episode is packed with golden insights from someone who’s lived it twice.

Personal &/or Company Bio:

Nellie Akalp is an entrepreneur, small business advocate, and mother of four little rockstars. As founder and CEO of CorpNet.com, she has helped more than half a million entrepreneurs start their businesses. Through CorpNet.com, Nellie has also partnered with business professionals such as attorneys, CPAs and more as their silent fulfillment partner helping them incorporate and form LLCs for their clients. Nellie has been named a Top 100 Small Business Influencer by Small Business Trends for the past four years and counting. In 2016 she was named Women Business Owner of the Year by NAWBO VC and her company, CorpNet.com, has been recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing privately-held companies in America in 2015 and 2016. 

Website: https://www.corpnet.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/corpnet/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/corpnet.com/

Nellie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nellieakalp/

YOUR HOST

Steve McGarry

An entrepreneur, content creator, and investor based in sunny Tampa, Florida. In 2015, while living in San Francisco, Steve sold his first fintech startup LendLayer to Max Levchin’s (founder of PayPal) consumer finance company Affirm.

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