Carol Roth has worked with hundreds of companies, ranging from a single entrepreneur with an idea to Fortune 500 businesses, on all aspects of business and financial strategy. Collectively, she has helped her clients raise more than $1 billion in capital, complete hundreds of millions of dollars in mergers and acquisitions, secure high-profile licensing and partnership deals, create online and other direct dialogues with customers and more. She draws upon her broad experience base to provide advice ranging from the business basics to the bold (think firing your customers) with a fresh, no-holds-barred and often tough-love style and approach. She refers to her advisory style as the “Spinach in Your Teeth®” philosophy, warning business owners to never trust anyone who won’t tell them that they have spinach stuck in their teeth.

Ms. Roth puts her vast experience with the “good, bad and ugly of business” to work on a daily basis. She has over 14 years of business advisory experience, which began at investment banking firm Montgomery Securities in San Francisco (currently Banc of America Securities), where she rapidly rose internally to become one of the youngest officers of the company by age 25. She is known for her significant knowledge base, can-do attitude, extreme efficiency, client dedication, frank opinions and “colorful” vocabulary. Her experience has encompassed a wide variety of products and services, including initial public offerings (IPOs), secondary offerings, private equity placements, private debt placements, buy-side M&A, sell-side M&A, LBOs/MBOs, recapitalizations, valuations, fairness opinions, licensing, marketing services, franchise work, start-up advisory and general strategic advisory work. She will also go out on a limb for her clients, who have asked her to do some very strange things, including filling-in as an auctioneer for a charity event auction.

Ms. Roth has truly “seen it all” from her diverse client base. Over her career she has worked with a wide variety of branded entities (her specialty is branded/consumer companies). Some of her noteworthy clients have included Integrity Toys, Applica and Pelstar/Pelouze, among many others. Ms. Roth is also a shareholder of and investor in several of her clients.

More recently, Ms. Roth pioneered the FIRED-UP® entrepreneurship assessment, a proprietary five-step methodology for assessing if someone has what it takes to be an entrepreneur. By assessing whether someone has the appropriate Finances, Inspiration, Responsibility profile, Experience and Dedication & Unbridled Passion for entrepreneurship, she gives those with the true fire in their bellies the confidence to pursue their dreams and tells those who have no business being entrepreneurs not to quit their day jobs.

Ms. Roth holds a B.S. Degree from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, arguably the top business program in the world, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. She is a published author on a variety of business-related topics, a frequent media contributor and has coined a number of terms and phrases ranging from “Cirque-du-So-Lame” (something that is beyond pathetic and pitiful) to “jobbie” (a hobby disguised as a job, career or business).  Her first book, The Entrepreneur Equation, is due out Q1 2011.  Ms. Roth is a former Director of Travelzoo (NASD:TZOO) and currently participates in a number of social, civic and other groups. She is also well versed on popular culture and consumer trends.

Ms. Roth currently resides in the Chicagoland area with her husband, who is also an investment banker (and her former business partner). They have no children, pets or plants and are avid sports fans (particularly of NFL football). Ms. Roth is also a recovering toy collector, recently trading in a portion of her collection for a more sophisticated toy (a Simpsons pinball machine).