How Cleveland’s entrepreneurship-through-acquisition ecosystem is redefining path to business ownership
Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management leading national model for buying, growing existing companies
When Denise Shade (MGT '96) acquired AuditOne in June 2025, becoming CEO of one of the nation's largest independent risk management firms, she wasn't making a risky leap into the unknown. She was executing a carefully prepared plan, developed through Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management and its pioneering entrepreneurship-through-acquisition (ETA) ecosystem.
Shade's journey from bank executive to business owner exemplifies a growing alternative to traditional startup entrepreneurship—one that preserves jobs, expertise and community investment by helping professionals buy and grow established businesses rather than starting from scratch.
After spending two decades at KeyBank, leading multiple business units, Shade joined Promise Partners, the nonprofit ETA accelerator co-founded by the late Weatherhead School Professor Richard Osborne. There, she found the structure, mentorship and investor network needed to transition from employee to owner.
In 2023, Shade launched Cormitto Partners to search for an existing business to acquire. By the time she identified California-based AuditOne, she had 11 banks competing to finance her deal—setting her apart from private equity competitors.
“Denise represents exactly what Weatherhead and Promise Partners were built to do,” said Scot Lowry, the Richard L. Osborne Professor of Entrepreneurship at Weatherhead School. “She combined the discipline of a corporate leader with the entrepreneurial courage to take the leap.”
For more than 30 years, Weatherhead and Promise Partners have cultivated one of the nation's most mature ETA ecosystems, Lowry said. During that time, 75 Promise Partners members—including 44 Weatherhead alumni—have acquired and now lead 110 companies, many of them in Northeast Ohio. Those companies represent more than 2,750 jobs—a “conservative” estimate, Lowry said.
He said the model addresses a critical regional need: aging business owners seeking successors who will grow their companies rather than liquidate them. After acquiring AuditOne, Shade got to work creating local jobs and building partnerships—including engaging a fellow Weatherhead alumnus to introduce AI capabilities to the business.
She’s also planning to open a second headquarters in Northeast Ohio.
“I wish more people knew this path is absolutely doable,” Shade said. “The impact of keeping these businesses here and helping them grow is tremendous. There's a proven roadmap to success, with 30 years of data showing this works.”
Shade was among hundreds attending the Osborne ETA Symposium at the Tinkham Veale University Center in October, featuring business leaders and community partners discussing entrepreneurship through acquisition strategies. She also led the opening panel discussion, offering advice on successful search campaigns, as well as a workshop session exploring how the ETA ecosystem can and should welcome other credible buyers who don’t fit the traditional persona of acquisition entrepreneur.
