Jeff Martin

Jeff Martin Profile Photo

Exit Planner and Value Growth Advisor

Jeff Martin is an Exit Planner and Value Growth Advisor who has spent more than 40 years as an entrepreneur, building and selling four companies after serving four years in the military. Having never held a traditional paycheck job, Jeff brings real-world experience to entrepreneurs and business owners who want to grow their companies without losing sight of the people who make them successful. He believes deeply that businesses thrive when leaders invest in developing their team members both professionally and personally—a philosophy captured in his tagline, As People Grow, Companies Grow.
Jeff is the bestselling author of Business Mulligan: How to Give Your Business and Your Life a Second Chance in a Changing World, co-founder of the custom clothing brand Short & Fat, founder of Company Growth Academy, and host of the Lead. Grow. Live. podcast. He is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor, certified in Story Brand, Business Made Simple, and E-Myth Mastery.
He and his wife Katie reared three amazing children, in Lafayette, LA, and they are now enjoying empty nesting.

July 20, 2026

Stuck in the Founder Trap? How to Free Yourself From the Day to Day with Jeff Martin

Four-time exiter Jeff Martin on escaping the founder trap: why owner dependency collapses exit value, the 90-day vacation test, and building a business that can be sold as a company.