ByYola Robert,
Senior Contributor.
Earlier this year, Shelly Sun Berkowitz sold a majority stake in BrightStar Care and Care Homes to Peak Rock Capital for $750 million. What began as a personal mission in 2002 grew into a franchise system with more than 400 locations, employing over 20,000 professionals. As she remains a material shareholder and active board member, her focus has now shifted to supporting the next generation of founders, specifically female entrepreneurs.
Through Founder 2 Founder and her family office, Next Phase Capital, which offers patient, values-aligned capital to franchise businesses, she helps founders scale and prepare for exit. Having lived the founder journey from start-up to successful exit, Sun Berkowitz brings a rare combination of operational insight and emotional understanding to one of the most personal and high-stakes decisions a founder can make. She helps business owners clarify their goals, evaluate the right partner, and move forward with confidence across stages of building, scaling, and exiting a business—with both head and heart. Drawing on her own successful exit and two decades of experience leading and franchising a national brand, she offers objective, founder-aligned guidance to help business owners grow with purpose, steward their legacies, and prepare for the next phase of leadership. Through coaching, peer community, events, and strategic investments, Founder 2 Founder connects entrepreneurs with the mentorship, frameworks, and capital needed to scale sustainably. Sun Berkowitz’s mission is to pay it forward—empowering especially women founders to build values-driven, enduring companies and define success on their own terms.
