Teresa Sabatine - Business Advisory

I work at the intersection of strategy and human complexity—where the business decisions that will define your next decade meet the emotional reality of actually making them.

For twenty years, I've helped founders and family enterprises navigate transitions that most advisors won't touch: succession planning when family dynamics are messy, organizational transformation when your team isn't ready, stakeholder conflict when nobody wants to say what's actually wrong, and the hard conversations that unlock everything.

Here's what I know: The biggest obstacles to your growth aren't hiding in spreadsheets. They're in the unspoken tensions between partners, the misalignment nobody wants to address, the fear of letting go, and the patterns you can't see because you're standing in the middle of them. I help you get clear on what's really happening so you can actually move forward.

How I Work With Founders & Family Businesses

Succession Planning & Legacy Stewardship

I help families and leadership teams navigate the relational complexity of transitioning power. This means clarifying roles, addressing the fears nobody wants to say out loud, and designing a path forward that honors what you've built while preparing the business for what's next.

Organizational Operations & Team Effectiveness

If you're drowning in daily chaos and can't focus on actual leadership, I help you extract yourself. I audit operations, design accountability structures, and develop teams that can execute without you in the weeds. The goal is to get you back to the work only you can do: vision, strategy, and stewardship.

Complex Stakeholder Navigation

When family dynamics, co-founder tensions, or multi-generational leadership create gridlock, I facilitate the conversations that break things open. I help diverse stakeholders get clear on shared vision and individual accountability so you can stop spinning and start building.

Founder Transitions & Leadership Development

Helping you shift from operator to visionary, from managing everything to leading strategically. If your business has outgrown you being in every decision, we build the infrastructure and team that lets you lead the way you need to.

My Approach

We start by understanding what's really happening beneath the surface—the resistance, the fear, the patterns keeping you stuck. I draw on Internal Family Systems, neuroplasticity principles, and Self-Determination Theory to help you and your stakeholders see clearly, then we build the operating structures and relational clarity that get you moving.

I have a soft spot in my heart for family businesses and founders who've poured everything into their vision. I come from Italian and Irish heritage—I know what it means to honor your roots, to care deeply about what you're leaving behind, to feel the weight of other people depending on what you've built. That's why I take legacy work seriously. Your values matter. The people you're trying to take care of matter. I'm here to help you create the sustainability and survival your business needs so it outlasts you and continues to serve the people who built it with you.

Teresa working with clients / whiteboard session / farm setting

What This Looks Like

9-figure family business exit with three generations of stakeholders aligned and relationships intact

Pre-revenue startup to $18M in three years through operational clarity and leadership development

Founders freed from daily operations, reclaiming 30+ hours weekly for strategic vision

Successful succession transitions where the business survived and the family stayed together

Candid photo of Teresa - personal, warm, at the farm or in thoughtful moment

About Me

I started my career at The Late Show with David Letterman—grief-stricken, 22 years old, having just lost my mom to cancer. The lights inside the Ed Sullivan Theatre and the magic of collaboration kept me alive during those early years. I learned that when you gather talented people around a shared vision, you can build something from nothing. That lesson stuck.

I spent a decade managing $350M projects at Nike, leading teams of hundreds through complex execution. Built the Indianapolis Film Commission from scratch and grew it to $21M in economic impact. Founded three businesses. Lobbied for legislation and won. Worked on Hollywood films and inside global brands.

The throughline in all of it: I help people build things that last.

I'm professionally trained in coaching with specialization in Internal Family Systems and neuroplasticity. But honestly, what my clients tell me they value most isn't the frameworks—it's my ability to cut through what's in the way, get to what's actually happening, and help them move forward with conviction.

Love, Lizzy: My Mission Work

My mom, Elizabeth Sabatine, was a therapist and radical feminist who dedicated her life to advocating for women. When she died, I was 22 and completely unmoored. Years later, I founded Love, Lizzy in her honor—a movement and podcast where I create space for women navigating grief, change, self-doubt, and the gap between who they are and who they're becoming.

This work is where I channel my creativity and commitment to advocacy beyond the boardroom. It's proof that I believe deep feelings and emotions aren't something to shrink or shy away from—they're the terrain we have to navigate to build lives and businesses that actually matter.

What Clients Say

Teresa has the rare ability to see what you can't see about yourself and your business—and then help you actually do something about it. She doesn't waste time. She gets to the heart of what's blocking you and creates the structure to move forward.
Working with Teresa gave our family the clarity we needed to navigate one of the hardest decisions of our lives. She helped us see past the emotion and build a succession plan that honored my father's legacy while preparing the business for the future.
Teresa was awesome at walking the line of being a 'critical friend.' She knew when to listen and sympathize, and when to give me a loving kick in the bum. She held me accountable without stressing me out.

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