#448: Jennifer Davis | Bootstrapping Davisware to $20M+, Selling to PE, Raising 10 Kids, & Living Exponentially

Jul 3, 2025

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Jennifer Davis is the co-founder and former CEO of Davisware, a vertical ERP platform she and her husband started at 17. Over two decades, they scaled it to $20M+ in revenue, built a team of over 200, and sold to private equity. She’s also the mother of ten kids and the author of two books, including Living Exponentially.

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In this conversation, Jennifer walks us through the full arc of building, leading, and eventually stepping away from a company she built from the ground up. We talk about the early growth years, the identity shift from founder to CEO, what she learned inside private equity, and how she’s now designing her next chapter with clarity and intention.

Jennifer Davis is the co-founder and former CEO of Davisware, a bootstrapped ERP platform scaled to over $20M in revenue and sold to private equity. She’s a tech entrepreneur, mom of 10, and author of two books, including Living Exponentially. Now, through her new venture BExponential, she helps growth-minded women lead with clarity and purpose. Her story blends grit, systems thinking, and a deep commitment to impact.

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction and Jennifer's "Gen 2.0" mission statement at age 50

(07:10) Starting Davisware at 17, meeting husband on Grapevine Lake boat

(14:19) Family farm background, sixth of nine kids, entrepreneurial roots

(19:31) India outsourcing journey, Dan spending 200 days there

(24:03) First major acquisition in 2007, saving competitor with cash bag

(27:48) Selling to private equity in 2019, COVID leadership as portfolio CEO

(34:09) Land development disaster, 80-acre subdivision bankruptcy and banking crisis

(41:08) Bank president meeting, driving three hours for personal negotiation

(52:44) Separation of business and personal finances, ownership mindset lessons

(74:30) Life integration philosophy, writing book and exponential mindset framework

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Resources:
Jennifer Davis: https://www.itsjenniferdavis.com/
Davisware: https://www.davisware.com
Ryan Tansom Website: https://ryantansom.com/