Joel Vorra
Principal
Vorra Capital Corp.(Sold MACH Energy Services Ltd. & Midwest Propane Ltd.)
Hyatt Regency Calgary
Discover Actionable Growth & Transition Strategies from Top Entrepreneurs
Since 2015, the Business Transitions Forum has been guiding entrepreneurs through comprehensive growth strategies and ownership transitions, including opportunities for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to enhance shareholder value.
Join top entrepreneurs and North America’s leading experts to:
- Increase market share and shareholder value
- Identify growth and scaling opportunities
- Understand the acquisition and sale process
- Assess if M&A is the right growth path for your business
- Implement actionable strategies to elevate your business’s value at any stage in your transition journey
APRIL 21, 2026 • Hyatt Regency Calgary
Introducing Our 2026 Speakers
Explore the leaders and experts sharing insights on stage this year.
Hear From BTF Alumni
As a first-time attendee, BTF was the perfect starting point. The forum gave me a clear understanding of the landscape and how to prepare early.
BTF connected me with the right advisor at exactly the right time. That relationship directly led to a successful sale of my business in 2025.
You want to come to this conferences years in advance of wanting to sell, because you want to be thinking about how to build your business, you want to be meeting the strategic partners who may help you.
It’s a very welcoming conference, and a conference that anybody can just approach anybody and strike up a conversation.
April 21, 2026 • Hyatt Regency Calgary
Early Bird Sale!
SAVE UP TO $400!*
*With 2+ Entrepreneurs
Stay Up To Date
Gain expert insights, success stories, and practical resources to drive business growth and navigate transitions.
Get updates on upcoming events, promotions, and the latest strategies and trends from industry leaders to elevate your business’s value and ensure a successful transition.
Explore the Latest Articles from The BTF Insider
Geoff Bell On Building Businesses That Last Beyond The Founder
Some entrepreneurs plan every step before they take it. Others build the path as they go. Geoff Bell is one of the latter.From oil rigs in northern B.C. to multiple tech exits, his story proves that success rarely follows a straight line but persistence always pays off. When we spoke with Geoff ahead of BTF Vancouver 2025, he shared lessons from three decades of building, scaling and selling companies. His focus: how to make a business truly exit-ready, when to step back as a founder and why every entrepreneur should design for independence from day one.
read article
Rocky Ozaki On Courage, Culture & Company Value
Every owner knows that transformation is hard. But few realize that hesitation, not competition, is what quietly erodes company value. That’s the insight Rocky Ozaki, Founder and CEO of The NoW of Work, shared when we spoke ahead of BTF Vancouver 2025. Having spent the past decade helping established companies modernize for the digital age, Rocky sees a consistent pattern: most organizations know what needs to change but delay acting on it until the market forces their hand.
read article
From CrackBerry To Clicks: Kevin Michaluk On Life Before & After The Exit
Every founder dreams of building a business worth millions, few expect the emotional roller coaster that comes after they do. For Kevin Michaluk, better known as CrackBerry Kevin, the journey from a $15,000 bet to a $115 million exit was both exhilarating and disorienting. The Winnipeg-born entrepreneur turned his love for BlackBerry into Mobile Nations, a pioneering tech media company that built passionate online communities around mobile brands.
read article
Mike Milani On Building A Sale-Ready Business
For many business owners, selling a company is the most significant financial and emotional transaction of their life. Yet too often, preparation begins only when the decision to sell has already been made. Mike Milani, Executive Managing Director & Principal at Baker Tilly Capital, LLC and Chair of BTF SoCal 2025, has spent nearly four decades advising owners through M&A transactions. His message is clear: the owners who achieve successful exits start thinking years, not months, ahead.
read article
Why Trust & Culture Define Enterprise Value: Insights From Debby Carreau
Debby has advised countless executives through acquisitions, turnarounds, and restructuring. In every case, the first question is the same: do people believe what you say? “The leader needs to be trustworthy. Without that, no matter what you do, your organization’s not going to be successful because the people… they’re not going to believe your strategy.”
read article
Radical Transparency in a Negative Equity Crisis
Every entrepreneur faces moments when survival feels uncertain. For Mike and his team at Manitoba Harvest, that moment lasted more than two years. The company was in negative equity (its liabilities outweighed its assets) and it was relying heavily on trade credit to keep operations alive. For many leaders, this would have been the time to go quiet, hide from creditors, and hope for a turnaround. Mike chose the opposite path.
read article