In practice, ownership transitions where livelihoods, legacies, and long-term sustainability intersect, Erupt has emerged as a consulting firm shaped by two distinct but complementary perspectives. Led by CEO and founder Melissa Maddux alongside economist and Chief Data Human Michael R. Dicks, the firm reflects a collaboration between hands-on operational understanding and long-range economic analysis. According to both leaders, the work centers on helping business owners understand their options clearly when buying, operating, or transitioning ownership, particularly in environments where those decisions carry lasting personal and financial consequences.
Maddux explains that Erupt's work began in response to a growing complexity around practice ownership and succession, especially in professional services where traditional paths to ownership have narrowed. From her perspective, many owners and incoming professionals face decisions without full visibility into how structures, risks, lifestyle, and financial realities align with their long-term goals. Rather than offering standardized recommendations, she notes that the firm focuses on designing transition and operational plans that reflect each organization's specific circumstances, allowing stakeholders to evaluate paths that are economically workable for both those stepping out and those stepping in.
That individualized approach reflects Maddux's background as a practicing veterinarian with experience in business management prior to entering medicine. She brings direct familiarity with the operational realities of running a practice, from staffing and service delivery to decision-making pressures that are not always visible on financial statements alone.
According to Maddux, this perspective allows her to evaluate affordability, income dynamics, and day-to-day feasibility in ways that resonate with practitioners who are navigating both professional identity and business responsibility. "There's a financial piece, but there's also a decision-making piece," she explains, "Ownership can mean very different things depending on a person's goals and tolerance for risk."
Dicks approaches the same challenges from a different vantage point. A retired applied economist, Dicks spent decades studying how markets, demographics, and long-term trends shape the viability of businesses over time. From his perspective, evaluating a practice requires looking beyond recent performance and toward what a business could become under changing conditions. He often examines location, population growth, and community characteristics, explaining that these external factors can meaningfully influence future outcomes. "The number one reason someone chooses a practice is proximity," he notes. "Geography and demographic patterns affect sustainability in ways that balance sheets alone cannot capture."
Together, Maddux and Dicks explain their partnership as one built on constant dialogue between operational realism and economic foresight. While Dicks tends to assess longer-term potential and structural conditions, Maddux focuses on income dynamics, affordability, and the practical experience of ownership. She explains that this balance allows the firm to avoid one-size-fits-all models, instead tailoring strategies to a client's staffing mix, service offerings, and historical performance. In their view, transparency is essential throughout that process, ensuring that all parties understand not only projected outcomes but also the assumptions and trade-offs behind them.
Transparency surfaces repeatedly as a guiding principle in their work. Maddux emphasizes that clarity around valuation, risk, and decision-making authority helps clients make choices that align with their values, whether that leads to an internal transition, a partial ownership structure, or another path entirely. Dicks adds that many professionals are highly skilled in their craft but have had limited exposure to financial education, making it difficult to assess why a business performs the way it does. "People know how to do the work," he says, "but they don't always know why the business works, or doesn't."
Looking ahead, both leaders explain ambitions that extend beyond a single sector. While their early work has focused on professional practices, Dicks suggests that the underlying frameworks can apply across many industries where owners face succession challenges. He also points to ongoing efforts to develop tools and systems that would allow professionals to explore options independently, lowering barriers to information and helping individuals engage with complex decisions before committing to outside support.
For Maddux, that future vision remains rooted in informed choice. She explains that success is not defined by a single outcome but by ensuring people understand the implications of each path available to them. "As long as they have the information to make the decision," she says, "that's what matters." In a landscape where transitions often feel rushed or cloudy, Erupt's work reflects a shared belief that clarity, context, and alignment are as critical as numbers themselves.
