About Ben Wagner
Hello!Ben Wagner spent the early part of his career doing the work that most business owners hire someone else to worry about: public accounting at Kerkering Barberio, international management consulting, private equity, and a series of CFO roles across industries. Along the way, he served as CFO of the Sarasota Yacht Club and holds board and advisory positions with companies including Nuvocar, Inc., Mariposa Technologies and Meals on Wheels.
That track record eventually led to a question he kept hearing from business owners: how do I actually get out of this thing on my terms? He heard it often enough that it became the foundation of a firm.
Ben co-founded LiNQ Ventures, LLC with his wife, building it around the idea that small and mid-size business owners deserve the same quality of financial guidance that large companies take for granted. LiNQ is based in Sarasota, Florida, and works with business owners across the state.
What LiNQ Ventures Does
LiNQ Ventures operates across four areas, each connected by the same underlying belief: business owners make better decisions when they have serious financial expertise in their corner.
Business Exit Advisory. This is the core of what LiNQ does. Ben works with business owners who are thinking about selling, whether that's six months out or three years away, and helps them understand what their business is actually worth, what needs to change before going to market, and how to navigate the sale process without leaving money on the table. Most owners only go through this once. Ben has been through it many times, on both sides of the table.
Fractional CFO Services. Not every business needs a full-time CFO. But most growing businesses need more financial leadership than a bookkeeper and a tax CPA can provide. LiNQ offers fractional CFO engagements that give owners access to senior financial expertise at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire: cash flow forecasting, financial modeling, banking relationships, reporting, and the kind of forward-looking analysis that helps owners make decisions with confidence.
AI for Business. Ben's introduction to AI was the same as a lot of business owners: a mix of curiosity and skepticism, wondering what was actually useful and what was noise. He did the work to figure it out, and now helps owners cut through the hype and identify the tools and workflows that make a real difference in their operations. The goal is not to turn anyone into a technologist. The goal is practical: AI should save you time, reduce costs, and help your business run better.
Real Estate and M&A Advisory. Ben is a licensed REALTOR® through LPT Realty with M&A advisory experience that informs how he approaches transactions involving commercial real estate. For business owners selling a company that includes owned property, that dual perspective matters: the business transaction and the real estate transaction have different valuation drivers, different tax implications, and different buyer pools, and handling them well requires someone who understands both.
Recognition and Credentials
Ben has been recognized by The Observer Group as a 40 Under 40 honoree and received the CFO of the Year award from the Business Journal, recognitions that reflect his track record in both the financial and business communities in the Sarasota region.
He is also a certified mindfulness professional. That credential is not unrelated to the advisory work. Business owners facing a sale, a financial challenge, or a major strategic decision are often operating under significant stress. Ben brings a grounded, steady presence to those conversations and believes that good financial advice and clear thinking go together.
Why It Matters That He Has Done This
There is no shortage of people who will tell a business owner what to do. There are fewer who have actually held the CFO seat, sat across the table from buyers, worked inside private equity, built advisory relationships over years, and then built a firm of their own.
Ben has done all of that. When he talks about what drives business valuation, he is drawing on deals he has been part of. When he talks about what due diligence looks like from the buyer's side, he knows because he has been on that side. When he helps a business owner build a 12-month cash flow model, he is not working from theory.
That experience is the reason LiNQ Ventures exists, and it is the credential that matters most.
A Note on AI
Ben's perspective on AI for business owners is worth explaining directly, because it shapes how LiNQ approaches this area.
When AI tools started becoming accessible to small businesses, Ben's initial reaction was the same one he hears from a lot of owners: what is this, and do I actually need to pay attention to it? He answered that question by diving in, testing tools, understanding what they could and could not do, and building practical workflows into his own business before advising anyone else to do the same.
That experience made him a more useful guide. He is not evangelizing AI from the outside. He has lived the learning curve, made the mistakes, found the tools worth using, and can help business owners skip the part where they waste time and money figuring it out themselves.
Working with Ben
LiNQ Ventures is intentionally a close-in advisory practice. Ben works directly with each client. The work is not handed off to a junior team or templated into a standardized process. Every engagement starts with understanding where the owner actually is and where they want to go.
If you are a business owner in Florida thinking about an exit, looking for better financial leadership, trying to figure out how AI fits into your operations, or navigating a transaction that involves real estate, the best starting point is a direct conversation.
Ben Wagner is co-founder and Managing Partner of LiNQ Ventures, LLC, based in Sarasota, Florida. He is a licensed REALTOR® with LPT Realty, a certified mindfulness professional, a 40 Under 40 honoree recognized by The Observer Group, and a CFO of the Year recipient from the Business Journal.
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