There’s a feeling that comes with certain seasons in business, times when you feel it’s time for a refresh or change. In my journey as an entrepreneur, this has come at various key times.
Years ago, I said out loud on a podcast that I just wanted to mow grass for a living. The complexity had become overwhelming, the debt was mounting, and I couldn’t see a path forward that didn’t involve escaping to something simpler, more tangible, more controllable. That “mow grass” fantasy wasn’t really about lawn care. It was about craving results I could see and measure when everything in my business felt uncertain. It was about wanting control when growth brought nothing but chaos.
The Journey Through Seasons
What I’ve learned over 25 years is that the moments when you most want to escape are often signaling something deeper. They’re not telling you to quit—they’re telling you it’s possibly time to choose. Maybe choose something new.
My partner, Julie Shipp and I, find ourselves in a similar season with Thriveal right now—not one of crisis, but one of choosing. The past couple of years has been about envisioning our future through research, counsel from others, and deep soul searching. We’ve been asking ourselves the same questions all business owners must ask:
- What is required of us in our work?
- What do we want to commit to?
- What should we commit to?
Now, after 15 years of serving the accounting profession broadly, we’re choosing to go deeper with fewer rather than broader with more. We’re choosing to build something that will leave a legacy for future leaders in both our firm and our community. We’re choosing intimacy over scale, depth over breadth, commitment over convenience.
This isn’t about limitation—it’s about focus. It’s about acknowledging that we can’t serve everyone equally well, and that trying to do so serves no one fully.
Why We’re Changing
For 15 years, Thriveal has cast a wide net. We’ve offered community-level membership for anyone interested in growing their firm. We’ve hosted Deeper Weekend as a global, profession-wide conference. We’ve produced the Thrivecast podcast for anyone who chose to listen.
These were good things. They helped hundreds of firm owners imagine new possibilities.
But as we look at the next 15 years, we recognize something crucial: the firm owners who transform aren’t the ones who sample ideas occasionally. They’re the ones who commit to sustained accountability, who show up monthly, who do the hard work of implementation with others beside them. We want to pour our energy into those relationships. We want to walk alongside firm owners and their teams through the messy middle of transformation, not just inspire them from a stage once a year.
So we’re making changes that will allow us to build the kind of intimate, high-accountability community we believe creates lasting transformation.
What’s Changing in 2026
Here’s what the new landscape looks like:
| What’s Changing | Timeline | What’s Next |
| Community Level Membership, along with Mentor Hours, and Community Groups sunsets | Ends December 31, 2025 | As our Community level sunsets, members are invited to join Venture or Ascent programs starting January 1, 2026. Programs are monthly attendance accountability groups for firm owners and their teams. |
| The Thrivecast Podcast | Final episode Summer 2026 | After 15 years and hundreds of episodes, we’re sunsetting the show |
| Deeper Weekend Conference | Discontinued | Not returning (last conference held in 2025) |
| Venture Program | Becomes monthly starting January 2026 | Meeting 4th Wednesday each month at 4pm EST (first meeting: January 28, 2026) |
| Venture Summit | May 13-15, 2026 in Greenville, SC | Now open to all Thriveal program members (previously Venture-only); $950 member ticket |
| New Event: Live Scaling Workshop | Fall 2026 (dates TBD) | Led by Ian Vacin, Jason Blumer, and Julie Shipp – focused on our book Scale with Purpose |
| Ascent Program | Continues monthly | For firm owners with $1M+ in revenue; ongoing high-accountability group |
| Masterclasses | Continuing | Quarterly educational webinars with CPE, taught by Jason Blumer and with guest speakers |
| Thriveal Courses | Launching July 2026 | Virtual self-study courses available to public |
What Stays the Same
Our commitment to you hasn’t changed. We’re still here to help traditional accounting practices evolve into strategic advisory firms, ones that can scale. We’re still focused on helping you build scalable, profitable businesses that deliver exceptional value.
What’s changing is how we do that—our service in Thriveal will come with more focus, more accountability, and more sustained support for those ready to commit to the journey.
Leadership Changes
To support this new direction, we’re making two important team transitions:
- Lauren Day has been promoted to General Manager and will run the day-to-day operations of Thriveal
- Andreay Hyman will move exclusively to Blumer & Associates CPAs, continuing as the firm’s Operations Manager
For Current Community Members
If you’re currently in our Community level, Lauren Day will be reaching out personally to discuss how you can transition to either Venture or Ascent by January 1, 2026.
Current Venture members: Your program becomes monthly starting January 1, 2026, meeting on the 4th Wednesday of each month at 4pm EST. You already have your ticket to the 2026 Venture Summit.
Community members considering Venture: If you upgrade by January 2026, you can attend the 2026 Venture Summit for the member price of $950.
For more information, reach out to Lauren at [email protected].
A Note on Seasons
After 25 years of building a firm and 15 years of building a community, I can tell you with certainty: the work is worth it, and the struggles are temporary.
The moments when you feel like walking away from complexity are often the exact moments when you need to lean in and choose what matters most. Not everything. Not for everyone. But something specific, for someone specific, with your whole heart.
That’s what Julie and I are doing with Thriveal. We’re choosing depth. We’re choosing commitment. We’re choosing the firm owners who are ready to do the hard, consistent work of transformation alongside us and each other. We’re excited to grow deeper with you in this next season!
What’s next for you? Join one of our programs and share your inspiration with other like-minded firm entrepreneurs.