The award highlights Grandmaison’s growing impact in exit planning and business acceleration across global markets.
Impact Ventures International (IVI) co-founder Kelly Grandmaison has been named among the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2025 Women of Influence in Finance, a recognition that underscores her growing presence in exit planning, business scaling, and financial strategy for entrepreneurs and business owners across industries.
The honor places Grandmaison among a distinguished group of financial leaders in one of the country’s most competitive business markets, reflecting not only her work as a strategist, but also the broader momentum behind the firm she helped build.
That momentum has been evident in IVI’s continued growth beyond its California base. The firm now serves clients across the United States. It maintains active international operations in Malaysia, Costa Rica, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, with plans to expand into South America and select African markets within the next 12 months.
Under the leadership of Grandmaison and co-founder Joshua Kirshbaum, IVI has worked with more than 200 clients, including entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and high-net-worth individuals, helping businesses double or triple their valuations within 13 to 24 months and supporting owners through multimillion-dollar exits across a range of sectors.
What distinguishes Grandmaison’s leadership is that it is informed as much by personal resilience as it is by technical expertise. A first-generation Mexican American, she grew up watching hardworking people build businesses without the tools or guidance needed to protect what they had created.
Later, she faced a personal challenge that would deepen her perspective even further: Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, or CRPS, a debilitating condition that nearly took away her ability to walk. Overcoming that experience, she has said, reinforced two beliefs that now shape her work: that people cannot afford to wait for life to happen to them, and that overcoming difficult challenges requires the right team.
That experience has become central to the way Grandmaison approaches business and leadership. After beating CRPS against the odds, she began to see resilience, strategy, and problem-solving not simply as personal traits, but as principles that could help business owners avoid preventable failure and move toward long-term financial freedom.
In that sense, her leadership style is rooted not only in financial acumen but also in a firsthand understanding of navigating uncertainty, relying on support, and building with intention.
IVI’s consulting model reflects that broader philosophy. The firm operates through three interconnected programs designed to help business owners strengthen operations and prepare for transition. VentureMax360, IVI’s flagship scaling program, is designed for business owners targeting a high-value exit within 12 to 18 months, with a focus on operational efficiency, revenue acceleration, and valuation maximization. Meanwhile, the Certified Exit Planning Advisor, or CEPA, program takes a longer-term approach, helping owners establish the financial structures, succession plans, and operational documentation needed to support premium sale valuations.
The IVSS Digital Office provides the technology infrastructure, integrated customer relationship management, and automation platform that allow businesses to operate more effectively through growth, leadership changes, or ownership transitions.
For Grandmaison, effective business strategy extends beyond numbers alone. She has emphasized that owners need trusted partners who can help them see the full picture and execute accordingly.
“Business owners need a team they can trust,” Grandmaison says. “One that not only provides guidance but also does the hard work behind the scenes so they can focus on building their vision. At IVI, we prioritize building a holistic, integrated plan that truly serves our clients and maximizes every aspect of their ecosystem.”
That philosophy is particularly relevant in a market where many businesses remain unprepared for transition. Exit planning research has found that 80% of businesses fail to sell, not because they are unprofitable, but because they are not properly prepared for a handoff. IVI’s CEPA-certified approach is designed to close that gap by engaging business owners early and aligning their business strategy, personal finances, and long-term goals into one cohesive plan rather than treating them as separate concerns.
Grandmaison’s background in psychology, sociology, financial licensing, and CEPA certification further distinguishes IVI’s methodology from more traditional consulting firms. Her work integrates behavioral strategy with financial modeling, recognizing that the success of a growth plan or exit strategy often depends as much on the person leading the business as on the business itself. IVI also works collaboratively with clients’ legal and financial advisers, helping ensure alignment across every dimension of the engagement.
The broader market has created room for this kind of integrated approach. The global management consulting market was valued at more than 330 billion dollars in 2023 and continues to expand, driven by increasing demand from mid-sized businesses seeking structured guidance on growth, operations, and ownership transitions. IVI’s digital-first infrastructure has allowed the firm to serve clients across geographies while maintaining the same high-touch engagement it provides domestically.
For business owners and entrepreneurs seeking to scale, optimize operations, or prepare for a high-value exit, Grandmaison’s story offers more than a professional credential. It provides a lens into the mindset behind IVI’s work, one shaped by perseverance, long-range thinking, and a belief that success is rarely built alone.
Her recognition by the Los Angeles Business Journal reflects that influence, but it also points to something larger: a leadership philosophy grounded in the idea that resilience, preparation, and the right support system can change business outcomes just as powerfully as they can in life.
About Impact Ventures International
Impact Ventures International is a full-service business consulting and exit planning firm co-founded by Kelly Grandmaison and Joshua Kirshbaum. With over 30 years of combined experience across nonprofit leadership, corporate finance, business acquisitions, and global strategy, the IVI team works with entrepreneurs, family offices, and mid-sized businesses to optimize operations, increase enterprise value, and structure high-yield exits.
IVI’s flagship programs, VentureMax360, CEPA, and the IVSS Digital Office, are available to clients across the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and select international markets. Kelly Grandmaison was named among the Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2025 Women of Influence in Finance. IVI has committed 20% of net profits to nonprofit initiatives through the IVI Foundation’s GIVING Project.
