About

Karen Schorkopf is the Managing Director of TBB and is a Certified Business Intermediary with 38 years’ experience working with businesses spanning from International Investment Banking clients on Wall Street to serving Main Street & Middle Market businesses in a variety of professional roles. In addition to her vast experience selling businesses, other positions have included decades as a Business Banker, Consultant, Loan Production Leader, and a variety of Sale & Service Leadership positions.

"Thank you! I know it was a challenge with my being 4 hours away from my business, but you were fantastic in selling both my restaurant and real estate at a price and terms that worked well for my situation. I could not have done it without all your constant help day in and out." - Marina ~ Restaurant with Real Estate Seller

Jim Shaub is an experienced business sales intermediary, M&A Advisor, and bank and private capital sourcing specialist, having been involved in all aspects of a business’s life cycle. This experience includes starting, selling, buying, on the Board of a startup bank they took public on the NASDAQ, mergers, family and management ownership transitions, restructuring and bankruptcy reorganizations. He is a published journal author on the subjects of financing a business, and investment business analysis

Tracy serves as an Executive Vice President at Tennessee Business Brokers, bringing over 15 years of experience in entrepreneurship, business consulting, and business development. She has a comprehensive background in managing and expanding businesses, with particular expertise in the retail, hospitality, medical, and service sectors. Previously, Tracy founded and grew Medical Spas, multi-location Lash and Brow and beauty education business in Boston, where she demonstrated a strong aptitude for driving business growth and maximizing shareholder value.

Paul Schorkopf has over 30 years’ experience in the Financial Markets, starting as a specialist on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and continuing into the futures markets in New York and Chicago, and in Mortgage Back Securities and Asset Backed origination on Wall Street. Paul also worked as an award-winning engineer for Dell and Verizon. In 2002 Paul and his family moved to Brentwood, Tennessee. To teach their three sons how to run their own business, Paul worked with them to restore a 1969 Good Humor Ice Cream truck. 

David Newell has over 40+ years of financial experience in commercial and investment banking. Initially trained as a commercial lender, David gravitated to the Asset/Liability side of a major regional bank and dealt with the buying and selling of the bank’s loan portfolio. Subsequently he was asked by the Union Planters Bank (NYSE: UPC) to develop and manage the bank’s Trust business within its community bank network. David was the only officer outside of the Memphis headquarters authorized to accept fiduciary business for the bank in both personal and corporate trust matters. In this role he became very familiar in dealing with business owners exit strategies and the proper management of the sales proceeds post transaction. He served as Trustee for several large leveraged Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and in all cases was asked to make presentations to the employees on the rights, benefits, and importance of employee ownership whether the transaction be qualified or non-qualified.

Ed Legum is a ‘people, process, & profit’ expert.

"I can’t thank you enough for all your time and work with us through the process of selling our business. Your calm demeanor and sound advice helped us stay patient and focused on what was best. We’re thankful we called you." - Melissa Hood

Their key to success is their ability to inspire trust, their commitment to communication, their perseverance and also strong desire for “win-win” outcomes.

Strong skills necessary to close deals honed over decades of corporate experience including financial analysis, marketing, due diligence, business valuations, intermediation, lending/underwriting and negotiations.

Seasoned business and community leaders with very extensive networking resources both locally and globally.

The Tennessee Business Brokerage Team is well connected throughout the Regions they serve. Their Brokers are affiliated with multiple Real Estate Groups and work closely with other Business Brokerage firms to assure their clients find the maximum leads for their opportunities. Their Centers of Influence include an extensive list of CPA firms, Private Equity Groups, Private Investors, Strategic Corporate Buyers, Banks, Attorneys, Exit Planners and Professional Consultants. All of these business partners have vast experience working with sophisticated valuation models, in depth due diligence processes and the professional teams involved in strategic acquisitions including legal experts, investment bankers, and due diligence and compliance examiners.