Entreprenista

Chantell Preston, Preston Partners, Redefining Success Beyond the Sale

February 16, 2026

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  • Success in entrepreneurship requires active self-advocacy, as opportunities will not automatically materialize by simply keeping one's head down. 
  • Building a scalable business hinges on establishing a solid infrastructure, prioritizing quality hires who bring necessary expertise over simply filling roles with friends. 
  • The definition of success often shifts post-exit, leading many founders to find their next chapter in empowering and investing in other women entrepreneurs. 

Segments

Chantell’s Career Background
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(00:03:39)
  • Key Takeaway: Early career success involved learning operational aspects by starting at a smaller company halfway up the ladder.
  • Summary: Chantell Preston began in healthcare without a clear roadmap, choosing a smaller company to gain comprehensive knowledge across operations and development. She specialized in developing various healthcare facilities, including ambulatory surgery centers and hospitals. This foundational learning period preceded her decision to build her own company.
Founding Mentis Neuro Rehabilitation
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(00:05:52)
  • Key Takeaway: Mentis Neuro Rehabilitation focused on cognitive and physical rehabilitation for TBI patients, offering a competitive advantage.
  • Summary: After consulting, Chantell and her partner started Mentis Neuro Rehabilitation, focusing on traumatic brain injury patients. Their competitive edge was integrating cognitive rehabilitation alongside physical therapy, which many competitors lacked. The company operated successfully for seven years before being sold to private equity in 2015.
Post-Exit Identity Crisis
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(00:06:39)
  • Key Takeaway: Selling a business can lead to a significant identity crisis, prompting a shift in focus toward empowering other women founders.
  • Summary: Following the sale, Chantell experienced misery and uncertainty about ‘what’s next,’ challenging the notion that selling is the pinnacle of success. For the last decade, her mission has centered on investing in and mentoring women entrepreneurs. She continues to hold stakes in various healthcare businesses while pursuing this new chapter.
Mindset Shift: Self-Advocacy
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(00:09:12)
  • Key Takeaway: The crucial mindset shift involved realizing that self-advocacy is necessary because others cannot know what you want unless you articulate it.
  • Summary: Chantell learned that waiting for recognition by keeping quiet does not lead to opportunities; founders must actively advocate for their goals. This realization applies equally to business and personal life, emphasizing that you are your best champion. Speaking up allows others to begin advocating for you.
Building for an Exit
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(00:10:48)
  • Key Takeaway: The business was intentionally set up methodically for an exit by prioritizing quality infrastructure over rapid quantity growth.
  • Summary: The ultimate goal for the first business was an exit, driven by a desire for money and title, viewing the process as concept-to-exit. They focused on quality, ensuring all facilities ran at 100% capacity by establishing solid infrastructure before scaling aggressively. This methodical approach made the business attractive for a liquidity event.
Infrastructure: Team as Key
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(00:12:05)
  • Key Takeaway: The number one component for solid infrastructure is being intentional about hiring the right expertise to fill necessary roles, not just finding jobs for friends.
  • Summary: The most critical element for infrastructure is the team, requiring intentional hiring based on defined needs and job descriptions. The team was built as a family that helped grow the business to its successful outcome. Departures from the team were viewed positively, as it meant the company helped employees reach new opportunities.
M&A Lessons and Gender Bias
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(00:14:14)
  • Key Takeaway: Navigating M&A revealed the pervasive gender bias in high-level business settings, which motivated Chantell to invest in and empower more women founders.
  • Summary: Chantell frequently found herself as the only woman in M&A rooms, often being mistaken for administrative staff. This experience highlighted how women were viewed in the workplace, contrasting with how her partners treated her equally. This eye-opening experience reshaped her mission to help other women reach similar levels of success.
Entrepreneurial Grit and Reality
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(00:15:18)
  • Key Takeaway: Entrepreneurship is defined by grit and resilience to withstand inevitable hard times, pivots, and financial scares, not just intelligence.
  • Summary: Founders must set true expectations that the journey involves hard times and potential pivots away from the original vision. Success is less about intelligence and more about the ability to withstand the up and down cycles, including payroll scares. Failures should be reframed as life lessons requiring pivots rather than setbacks.
Book Inspiration and Shared Lies
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(00:19:34)
  • Key Takeaway: The book was inspired by Chantell’s late mother’s encouragement and aims to dismantle societal ’nine lies’ that hold women back, such as the pursuit of unattainable perfection.
  • Summary: Chantell felt compelled to write her story after her mother, her biggest champion, passed away. The book addresses common societal ’nine lies’ women live by, including the expectation of having a perfect life (career, family, possessions) simultaneously. She emphasizes that saying ’no’ strategically is more important than saying ‘yes’ to everything.
Managing Multiple Commitments
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(00:25:05)
  • Key Takeaway: Managing numerous roles requires leveraging help (people and technology like AI) and setting firm boundaries to prioritize quality time over quantity.
  • Summary: Chantell manages her busy schedule by utilizing significant help, including nannies, and embracing technology like AI for efficiency. She reframes using external help as being strategic rather than feeling guilty about not doing everything herself. She also applies workplace principles like delegation and autonomy to her family life through structured weekly meetings.
AI Tools for Efficiency
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(00:35:17)
  • Key Takeaway: Founders must learn to utilize AI as a thought partner and efficiency tool, as those who don’t learn it now are already significantly behind.
  • Summary: Chantell strongly advises learning AI, using it as a thought partner to analyze strengths, weaknesses, and blind spots, rather than just a search engine. She uses custom agents for tasks like content production and generating board reports, saving hours of work. Tools like Gamma and Perplexity are recommended for specific research and presentation creation.
Lessons on Time and Relationships
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(00:40:17)
  • Key Takeaway: The biggest regrets involve not being present with family and friends, and founders should evaluate relationships based on their current season and reason.
  • Summary: Chantell wishes she had realized time is irreplaceable and been more present with family during her intense building phase. She advises evaluating friendships based on whether they align with the current season of life, rather than maintaining loyalty to relationships from a decade prior. Explaining the purpose of her work to her children fostered their pride and understanding.