The sell-side M&A advisor to technology services and consulting firms will lead a session on growing through acquisition in Fort Worth, October 26 and 27
DALLAS, TX, UNITED STATES, October 22, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Collective 54, the mastermind community for founders building AI-Native professional services firms, today announced Equiteq as a sponsor of The Reunion 2026, its annual gathering of boutique firm founders. The Reunion runs October 26 and 27 at Hotel Drover in Fort Worth, Texas, and is capped at 150 attendees.
Equiteq is a sell-side M&A investment bank focused exclusively on technology services and consulting firms. Founded in 2005, the firm has completed hundreds of transactions for founders of knowledge-based businesses and operates from offices in New York, Boston, Atlanta, London, Sydney, Singapore, and Bengaluru. Equiteq is also a Collective 54 Ecosystem Partner and has brought members valuable content as both a partner and a Reunion sponsor.
On Tuesday, October 27, Robby Riggs, Equiteq’s Chief Transformation and Operations Officer and Head of Coverage, will lead Buy to Build, a mainstage working session on growing through acquisition. Members will set their acquisition criteria and draft the first names on their target list, building on the 2027 operating plans they create on the Reunion’s first day.
Exits are the outcome Collective 54 is built around. Sixty-one members have sold their firms since early 2020, for just over $3.5 billion in total value. What those sales have in common is a firm that can run without the founder in the middle of everything.
“We’re excited to continue our partnership with Collective 54,” said Robby Riggs, Chief Transformation and Operations Officer and Head of Coverage, Equiteq. “The founders in this community are building the firms buyers want: specialized, well-run, and not dependent on the founder. Sharing what makes a firm valuable to a buyer and how to make changes today to set yourself up for a successful exit is some of the most useful work we can do for founders.”
“Every founder in the room wants an exit to be achievable, and most of them know their firm isn’t ready yet,” said Jeff Klaumann, President, Collective 54. “Equiteq has helped several of our members sell their firms, and they bring what they learn from those deals back to the whole community, from how to grow through acquisition to what buyers look for when it’s time to sell. We’re grateful to have them at the Reunion and for the guidance they give our members all year.”
About Equiteq
Equiteq is a global boutique investment bank and trusted advisor, dedicated to serving companies transforming the world through technology and specialty consulting. With emotional intelligence (EQ) at the heart of its approach, Equiteq combines deep sector expertise, established relationships with leading strategic and financial investors, and a people-first philosophy to deliver measurable outcomes. Its global platform spans major financial centers, enabling one collaborative team to leverage local intelligence and guide clients through complex transactions with empathy and expertise.
About Collective 54
Collective 54 is the mastermind community for founders and executives of boutique professional services firms. Collective 54 is the authority on helping those firms become AI-Native, and named the category: the AI-Native Boutique Firm. An AI-Native Boutique Firm is a firm where AI delivers the work and people supervise the judgment, so growth no longer depends on billable hours and headcount.
Collective 54 membership provides three things. Methodology: the proven ways to run an AI-Native boutique firm, from client acquisition to pricing to delivery to exit. Technology: Co-Founder, Collective 54’s AI, which puts that methodology to work inside the member’s firm. Capacity: Collective 54 staff who operate Co-Founder on a member’s behalf and hand back finished work.
Members are founders, owners, and equity-holding executives of firms with 10 to 250 employees and $5 million to $50 million in revenue. Every member firm is in NAICS 54, the professional services code Collective 54 is named for. NAICS 54 spans nine sub-verticals, and Collective 54 serves all nine: legal services, accounting and tax, architecture and engineering, specialized design, IT and software development, management consulting, scientific research and development, advertising and public relations, and other professional and technical services. Collective 54 has a few hundred members across North America.
Founders join Collective 54 to make more money, make scaling easier, and make an exit achievable. Sixty-one Collective 54 members have sold their firms since early 2020, for just over $3.5 billion in total value.
Learn more about how Collective 54 works: https://www.collective54.com/what-is-collective-54/
Listen to the Pro Serv Podcast: https://www.collective54.com/podcast/
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/collective54
Jeff Klaumann, President
Collective 54
contact@collective54.com
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