EFBC Breakfast Club Recap | April 2026

On a bright April morning, EFBC members gathered for a Breakfast Club session that was equal parts eye-opening and energizing. Patty Rioux, President of ODEA, delivered a sharp, candid, and practical look at what AI really means for your brand and what you need to do about it right now.

The room was full. The conversation was lively. And attendees left with a lot to think about and a few things to go do that same night.

Let’s Start With Shared Definitions

Patty opened by making sure everyone was working from the same vocabulary, because in a world where “AI” and “brand” get thrown around constantly, clarity matters.

AI, she explained, is not magic and it is not all-knowing. It predicts. It does not know. Unlike traditional software built on rigid rules, AI uses pattern recognition to generate outputs and simulate human interaction. LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini are trained on enormous amounts of text, images, audio, and video. Her description of them was memorable: think of an LLM as a very smart intern who has read more than you, but lacks your judgment, discernment, and taste because it has no worldly experience.

Brand, she reminded the room, is not your logo or your tagline. Drawing on Seth Godin’s definition, a brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories, and relationships that account for a customer’s decision to choose you over someone else. It exists solely in the minds of your audiences. It is built on two things: differentiation and resonance. And with the rise of AI, influencing that perception has gotten harder and more critical at the same time.

You Now Have Three Audiences to Influence

This was one of the sharpest reframes of the morning. For years, brands have focused on reaching one audience: humans. Now, Patty argued, there are three.

Humans. Google. AI.

Each reads your brand signals differently and ranks your credibility by different criteria. The stakes are real: if your customers don’t say your name when they interact with AI, the AI gets to choose who to recommend. Your business may not even be in the running.

She introduced two concepts every business leader needs to understand. AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) means optimizing to be the answer when someone asks an LLM a direct question. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) means ensuring your brand is present and credible enough online that AI-generated content pulls from it accurately and favorably.

She illustrated this with a live example. When asked “What peer group should I consider if I own a family business in Chicago?”, AI tools already surface EFBC by name, describing its history, its forum model, and its affiliation with DePaul. That is GEO working. But it only works if your brand has the digital footprint to support it.

And there was a wake-up call for everyone in the room: Google has patented a system that allows it to generate AI-created pages for organizations and insert them into search results. It is already rewriting headlines on news sites with no opt-out available. If your digital presence is weak or inconsistent, someone else will fill in the blanks about your brand. And you may not like what they write.

Your Brand Has Always Been Your Edge. AI Just Upped the Ante.

Patty introduced the concept of Perceived Authority, the digital version of what people say about you when you are not in the room. It is built through social presence, media mentions, thought leadership, reviews, and consistent credible visibility across the web. You cannot buy it or fake it. It has to be earned through effort, consistency, and distinction.

Google has codified what it looks for under the framework E-E-A-T: Experience (named authors, bio pages, active social media), Expertise (case studies, opinions, behind-the-scenes content), Authoritativeness (podcast appearances, media mentions, awards), and Trustworthiness (a named team page, HTTPS, real testimonials). These are the signals that Google, LLMs, and humans use to decide whether you are worth their attention.

If paid search is your primary lead generation strategy, Patty was direct: you are exposed. Building Perceived Authority needs to become a priority now.

She also made a point that resonated deeply with the room: audiences can smell AI. Authentic, specific, human content outperforms polished AI content with every audience that matters. Google rewards it. LLMs cite it. Humans feel it. The goal is not to be raw for the sake of it. It is to be so specifically and undeniably your brand that AI cannot replicate you and no competitor can fake you.

To prove the point, she broke down the anatomy of a typical AI-generated LinkedIn post, exposing its nine predictable moves: the hook, the restated problem, the short declaratives, the arrow bullets, the pivot line, the mic drop, and so on. Then she showed her own top-performing posts alongside ODEA’s best content. The difference was stark. The AI post performed as content. The human posts connected as brand.

You Are Going to Use AI. Use It Well.

Patty was clear that AI is not optional and not going away. The phase of experimentation is closing. The time for implementation is now.

Use AI for ideation, research, and thought partnership. It is a remarkable thinking partner for pressure-testing ideas, drafting outlines, researching competitors, and prepping for meetings. Data-driven and repeatable tasks are its sweet spot.

But teach it your brand first. If you cannot articulate your brand to a human, you cannot articulate it to a machine. The LLM will default to the pattern every time. Your visual brand guides and verbal brand playbooks are training documents for your AI tools. An undefined brand means generic output.

And do not just take what AI generates and paste it live. Inject your point of view every time or you are as generic as your competitors. Research shows that pure AI-generated content does not perform long-term. Google rewards quality regardless of who or what created it, but quality requires your voice, your experience, and your judgment.

Finally, get ahead of AEO and GEO now. Traffic from AI tools is still a small share of total web sessions but it is growing exponentially. The brands building credibility and digital presence today will have a head start that is very hard to close.

The Parting Thought

Patty closed with a line that was both sobering and motivating: AI is currently as bad as it will ever be. Everything it can do today will only get more sophisticated, more influential, and more pervasive. The question is not whether this matters to your business. It does. The question is whether you will be ready.

Her homework for the room: tonight, open Claude or ChatGPT and ask what it knows about your company. Then ask who the best in your category are in your market. See if your name comes back. If it does not, now you know where to start.

A sincere thank you to Patty Rioux and the team at ODEA for a session that was as practical as it was thought-provoking. To learn more about their work, visit teamodea.com or connect with them on LinkedIn.

We hope to see you at the next EFBC Breakfast Club. These conversations are exactly why this community exists.

Joel Spencer
EFBC President 2025-2026

Competing in a Private Equity World

EFBC Breakfast Club Recap

EFBC members and guests recently gathered at a Breakfast Club conversation with Greg Stanley, Founder and President of Accelerant Consultants. The session explored how private equity is reshaping the competitive landscape for closely held and owner-led businesses.

Private equity firms have traditionally focused on larger companies, but that is changing. Many are now actively investing in the lower middle market, placing them in direct competition with independent businesses across a wide range of industries.

Greg noted that even if business owners are not pursuing private equity, private equity may still be influencing their market.

Why Private Equity Is Expanding

Several forces are driving this shift. There are more private equity firms than ever before, with significant capital available to invest. Smaller companies often present attractive opportunities due to lower purchase multiples and strong growth potential.

At the same time, an aging population of business owners is creating more potential exit opportunities. Private equity has also broadened its industry focus beyond traditional sectors and is now active in areas such as manufacturing, professional services, consumer services, and industrial businesses.

A New Type of Competitor

PE-backed companies often enter markets with meaningful advantages. They tend to be well funded, highly structured, and focused on accelerating growth and building value. This can allow them to invest heavily, professionalize operations, and pursue market share aggressively.

Independent businesses, however, still hold important strengths. Owner-led companies often benefit from agility, strong customer relationships, deep institutional knowledge, and a long-term perspective that is not driven by a fixed investment timeline.

Rather than trying to operate like private equity, the opportunity is to understand how these competitors think while continuing to leverage what makes independent businesses distinctive.

Building Value, Not Just Revenue

A central theme of the discussion was the importance of focusing on value creation rather than simply increasing revenue.

Greg shared a framework for how businesses are evaluated, including past performance, future growth potential, and risk. Organizations with a clear strategy and operating model are better positioned to improve performance while reducing uncertainty.

He also emphasized that not all revenue contributes equally to long-term success. Pursuing every opportunity can strain resources and dilute value. Being selective about customers, projects, and growth initiatives can lead to stronger outcomes over time.

The Importance of Being Intentional

Intentional growth was a recurring theme throughout the session. Businesses that clearly understand their value drivers and ideal customers are better equipped to compete in a changing environment.

Leaders were encouraged to consider questions such as:

• Why do customers choose us over alternatives

• What truly differentiates us from competitors

• What characteristics define an ideal customer

• Which opportunities may not align with long-term goals

Clarity in these areas helps organizations allocate resources more effectively and build stronger customer portfolios.

Preparing for the Future

Even for owners who are not planning to sell, operating with long-term readiness in mind can strengthen the business. Greg described preparation as involving three areas: personal readiness, financial readiness, and preparation of the revenue function.

Research referenced during the presentation suggests that many businesses attempt to sell but only a small percentage achieve optimal value, often due to lack of preparation.

By focusing on value drivers, aligning strategy and resources, and building systems that support consistent performance, organizations can improve both competitiveness and resilience.

Key Takeaways for Business Leaders

The session concluded with practical ideas leaders can apply immediately:

• Identify where and how your business creates value

• Be intentional about growth and customer selection

• Align expectations, resources, and incentives

• Focus on long-term improvement rather than quick wins

These principles can help businesses scale more effectively, improve profitability, and compete successfully in an evolving market.

Private equity will likely continue to influence industries for years to come. For owner-led and family businesses, success does not require becoming something they are not. It requires clarity, intentionality, and a strong understanding of what makes the organization valuable.

Join Us at an Upcoming EFBC Event

EFBC events bring together business owners, executives, and next-generation leaders for thoughtful conversations, practical learning, and meaningful connections with peers who understand the unique challenges of privately held and family businesses.

Explore upcoming events.

Interested in Becoming a Member?

EFBC offers a trusted community of peers, educational programming, and long-term relationships designed specifically for leaders of family and privately held businesses.

Learn more about membership.

EFBC President’s Message:

Where Does Your Team Need Stronger Commitment?

Hello, EFBC,

Before the holidays, we spent some time talking about The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, specifically trust and the importance of healthy conflict. We talked about what happens when trust is missing and how avoiding conflict creates false harmony.

Today, I’d like to pick that thread back up, because what happens next is commitment.

Trust allows truth. Conflict sharpens direction. And commitment locks it in.

This is where teams either accelerate or drift. And it is usually not because of a lack of talent or effort, but because they have not fully decided.

Commitment does not mean consensus. It means the conversation has happened, tension has been aired, and now we can move forward together.

Now it is February, and the excitement of our new goals has usually settled. This is where commitment becomes visible. It shows up in follow-through, in alignment, and in whether we actually execute what we said mattered.

So I will challenge you this month:

Where does your team need stronger commitment?
Where have you had the discussion, but not the buy-in?
And where do you need to say, “This is the direction,” and fully stand behind it?

It was great seeing many of you at our Breakfast Club last week. The energy in that room is always a reminder of what real engagement looks like.

If you have not yet, be sure to sign up for our next one on April 8. We would love to see you there.

In the meantime, let’s keep building trust, lean into healthy conflict, and commit fully to what we say matters.

I will talk to you all soon.

Thank you.

Joel Spencer
EFBC President 2025-2026

Making Money While Doing Good

A Fireside Chat with Paul Herman

What Is Impact Investing?

Impact investing is an approach to investing that seeks to generate financial returns while also creating positive outcomes for people, communities, and the environment. Rather than viewing purpose and profit as competing priorities, impact investors look for opportunities where long term value and positive impact reinforce each other.

Rethinking Where Value Comes From

At a recent EFBC Fireside Chat, Paul Herman shared a clear message. Doing good and doing well are not competing goals.

Drawing from his work in impact and HIP investing, Paul explored how long term financial performance is increasingly tied to how companies treat people, manage risk, and build trust. Much of today’s market value is intangible, shaped by culture, leadership, employee engagement, and reputation rather than physical assets alone.

In his presentation, Paul highlighted that nearly 90 percent of stock market value is now intangible, underscoring why factors like employee satisfaction, governance, and environmental stewardship matter more than ever.

Culture, Innovation, and Long Term Performance

The conversation also touched on workplace culture and performance. Research shared during the session showed that companies recognized as the best places to work have significantly outperformed the broader market over time, reinforcing the connection between engaged employees and strong financial results.

More diverse leadership teams also tend to generate stronger ideas and better decision making, which contributes to long term growth and resilience.

Thinking in the Long Term

Paul offered a long term perspective on climate risk, using the shifting cherry blossom season in Kyoto as an analogy. Change often happens gradually, then becomes undeniable. Businesses that account for these slow moving risks early are better prepared for what comes next.

The takeaway was simple. Impact investing is not about sacrificing returns. It is about recognizing where real value is created and making decisions that align values, performance, and long term growth.

EFBC President’s Message:

Starting the Year with the Right People at the Table

As we begin a new year, I find myself reflecting on what consistently makes the biggest difference for business owners and leaders. It is not having all the answers. It is having the right people at the table.

Over the years, I have seen how powerful collaboration can be. Leaders who actively engage with peers tend to make better decisions, navigate uncertainty with greater confidence, and feel less isolated as challenges arise. In my experience, some of the most meaningful progress comes from honest conversation, shared perspective, and a willingness to learn from one another.

This spirit of connection is at the heart of EFBC. Whether through Forums, events, or informal conversations, our community exists to create space for thoughtful dialogue and long-term relationships. These moments of reflection and exchange often shape how we think, lead, and move forward.

That same spirit carries into our programming for the year ahead. In the coming weeks, we will continue bringing leaders together for conversations that encourage perspective, curiosity, and shared learning. One example is our upcoming Breakfast Club with Greg Stanley, where we will explore how private equity is shaping today’s business landscape and what that means for closely held and owner-led companies. It is designed to be an open, approachable discussion, and like many of our events, it is open to both members and guests who want to learn more about EFBC.

As we move into the year ahead, I am grateful for this community and the relationships that make EFBC what it is. I look forward to the conversations, insights, and connections still to come.

Thank you.

Joel Spencer
EFBC President 2025-2026