DELTA HOTEL WINNIPEG
October 16, 2025 • Delta Hotel Winnipeg
Relive BTF Winnipeg 2025!
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
Mike Fata
2025 Conference Chair
Mike Fata is a best-selling author, podcast host, serial entrepreneur, and natural health advocate who co-founded Manitoba Harvest in 1998 and led it to a $419M strategic sale to Tilray. With over 25 years of experience in health, wellness, and sustainable business, Mike has completed three nine-figure exits, serves as CEO of Fata & Associates, and continues to mentor and invest in the next generation of purpose-driven entrepreneurs. He was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014 and one of the Top 100 Health Influencers in 2017.
Featured speakers
Learn from the best in the field
Hear from business owners and experts and learn from their experiences.
Hear From BTF Alumni
What I love about BTF is that it’s really that one stop shop for an entrepreneur.
Celine Bacani
Owner & CEO, Lee’s Donuts
The Business Transitions Forum have really fostered that sense of let’s share, let’s learn, let’s grow together and let’s help each other.
Tom Shepansky
Founder, Rethink Communications
BTF is a great place for business owners to potentially find people to buy their business.
I know I made a lot of mistakes and I wish I went to something like this in the past.
Grant Findlay Shirras
Co-Founder, Hylo AI & Director, Startup Grind Kelowna
The earlier you can come to a conference like this in your entrepreneurial journey the better.
Katie Bennett
Master Certified Forum Chair MacKay CEO Forums
Stay up to date
Explore the Latest Articles from The BTF Insider
Josh Hotsenpiller On The Four Fundamentals Of A Strong Exit
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
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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