IQExit Inc. announced it has been selected as a featured presenter at the 2026 Dig South Tech, Venture & AI Summit. The Wilmington-based company will introduce Exit Readiness Intelligence™, an AI-powered intelligence platform designed to help financial institutions identify early signals that business-owner clients may be approaching a transition or sale, enabling earlier engagement around planning, liquidity, and relationship retention.
WILMINGTON, N.C., May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- IQExit Inc. announced it has been selected as a featured presenter at the Dig South Tech, Venture & AI Summit, one of the Southeast's leading gatherings of technology founders, investors, and innovation executives.
The company will present on the main stage in Charleston, South Carolina on June 12, 2026, before an audience of more than 1,200 industry leaders.
The presentation marks the first large-scale public introduction of Exit Readiness Intelligence™, a new category of business intelligence designed to help financial institutions identify, structure, and act on early signals of business-owner transition intent, often years before a formal sale process begins.
In practice, IQExit provides financial institutions with structured intelligence on which business-owner clients may be approaching a transition, at what pace, and with what degree of readiness.
Addressing a Structural Gap in the Exit Market
Approximately 6 million U.S. privately held businesses are expected to change hands over the next decade, representing $14 trillion in private business wealth transfer.
Yet most business transitions begin without structured intelligence, objective preparation benchmarks, or early coordination among advisors. As a result, owners often enter the market unprepared, transactions fail to close, and long-standing advisory relationships engage too late to materially influence outcomes.
IQExit was built to address this gap upstream of the transaction. The platform captures and structures owner intent and readiness progression 24 to 60 months before a potential transition, converting informal conversations into actionable intelligence.
This visibility allows advisors and institutions to engage earlier when valuation, timing, succession, and personal planning decisions can still materially impact outcomes.
"The private-company transition market is one of the largest and least-structured wealth events in the U.S. economy," said Tully Ryan, Chief Executive Officer of IQExit Inc. "For decades, the advisory ecosystem has lacked visibility into owner intent and readiness before a transaction process begins. We built IQExit to help institutions engage earlier — while outcomes are still highly influenceable."
The Scale of the Opportunity
- 6 million U.S. privately held businesses expected to change hands by 2035 (McKinsey)
- $14 trillion in private business wealth expected to transfer
- $2.2 trillion in private equity dry powder available for deployment
- 92% of small business exits result in closure rather than sale
Demand is not the primary constraint in the market. Capital is available and buyers remain active. The challenge lies in preparation, timing, and the lack of structured visibility available to owners and their advisors before a transition process formally begins.
The Dig South Stage
Founded in 2012, Dig South is a leading annual technology and venture summit in the Southeast, bringing together founders, institutional investors, and innovation executives. The 2026 Summit will take place June 11–12 in Charleston, South Carolina, as part of Charleston Tech Week, with more than 75 speakers and 100+ investors across fintech, AI, cybersecurity, and emerging technology.
IQExit was selected to participate in the Summit's Wild Pitch competition, a curated showcase of early- and growth-stage companies from across the region.
For IQExit, the Charleston stage represents an opportunity to introduce Exit Readiness Intelligence™ to financial institution leaders, innovation executives and investors evaluating the future of advisory infrastructure and private business transition planning.
A Win for the Wilmington Startup Ecosystem
IQExit is headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina, and its selection for Dig South reflects the growing presence of Cape Fear region companies on one of the South's most visible innovation stages.
"We are excited about what IQExit is doing in Wilmington — identifying a real, underserved market and building a scalable technology solution around it," said Jim Roberts, founder of the Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington (NEW). "The Wilmington startup ecosystem has been maturing after the formal start in 2013. Dig South is a big opportunity to impress prospects in a bigger market, and Tully and the IQExit team are ready for it. We have had a partnership with Dig South for more than five years with a group of coastal entrepreneurs making the annual journey to our Southern neighbor."
Roberts, the founder of the Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington and the inaugural Executive Director at UNC Wilmington's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, has spent more than 12 years connecting local coastal founders with the regional resources and relationships needed to support growth.
About IQExit
IQExit is an AI-powered intelligence platform focused on Exit Readiness Intelligence™ — helping financial institutions, advisors, and business owners identify and structure early indicators of business-owner transition intent and readiness before a formal exit process begins. The platform is designed to support earlier planning conversations, improve transition outcomes, and provide greater visibility into one of the largest wealth-transfer cycles in U.S. history.
Financial institutions and advisory organizations interested in learning more ahead of IQExit's presentation at Dig South may contact the company to request a background conversation.
Media & Speaking Inquiries
Tully Ryan is available for interviews, podcast appearances, and speaking engagements on topics including:
- The private-company ownership transition landscape: scale, timing, and systemic challenges
- Exit Readiness Intelligence™ as an emerging category of business intelligence
- The implications of $14 trillion in private business wealth in transition
- The role of intent data in how financial institutions understand and serve clients
- Building a company in the Southeast outside traditional startup corridors
Media Contact
Catherine Coleman, IQExit, 1 9105478028, [email protected], www.IQExit.com
SOURCE IQExit
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