About Carol
Carol Roth is a business strategist, content producer, deal maker, former investment banker and author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Entrepreneur Equation. Carol 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 $750+ million in mergers and acquisitions, secure high-profile licensing and partnership deals and create 7-figure brand loyalty programs.
Carol is known for her tough love style- she tells it like it is, but as she says, she will give you a hug afterwards. 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 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. She brings both the sugar and the spice to everything she does.
Ms. Roth puts her vast experience with the “good, bad and ugly of business” to work on a daily basis. She has over 16 years of business advisory experience, which began at investment banking firm Montgomery Securities in San Francisco (subsequently 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.
Carol is a frequent radio, television and print media contributor on the topics of business and entrepreneurship, appearing regularly on Fox News, MSNBC, Fox Business, WGN TV Chicago, among others. To supplement her active media participation, Carol has completed media and improv training with The Second City, the leading improvisational comedy school in the US. Additionally, Carol’s Unsolicited Business Advice blog at CarolRoth.com was recently named as one of the Top 10 small business blogs online and she was named a 2011 Top 100 Small Business Influencer. Carol is a contributing blogger to outlets like The Huffington Post, AllBusiness.com and Crain’s Chicago Business/Enterprise City.
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 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) to “business beer goggling”. She also is known for her proprietary Customer Loyalty 3.0 methodology to engage business senders and spenders. 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). She is currently the first and only business strategist with her own fashion doll made in her likeness.
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