About Us
Local advisors, a national network, and one promise
We help owners across the Mountain West sell the businesses they spent a career building. We do it with real preparation, honest numbers about what your business is worth, and a national network that puts your company in front of the right buyers. Neither of us gets paid until your business actually sells, so our incentive is the same as yours.
Our story
First Choice Business Brokers (FCBB) has helped owners sell their companies since 1994. What began as a single office founded by Jeff and Linda Nyman, who still own and guide the company today, has grown into one of the largest business-brokerage networks in North America.
Years ago the founders chose to grow through franchising, and that structure is a real advantage for you. Today around 85 independent owner-operators across North America, the founders among them, collaborate like a national partnership, supported by more than 300 agents on their teams. Since 1994, the network has facilitated roughly $15 billion in transactions.
We function as one company. We collaborate on deals and share a common pool of vetted buyers across markets, so your business is never limited to one broker's contacts. When it is something the network has sold many times, you get a proven playbook. When it is newer to us, we put it in front of that nationwide network, find the owners and agents who have sold one like it, and build the right game plan together.
Meet the FCBB Summit Team
Our advisors live and work across the Mountain West. Click any name to view that advisor's full bio and contact details.
Meet the owners: Mike and Lynn Lee
Mike and Lynn Lee own First Choice Business Brokers franchises across the Mountain West as Team Lee. Mike is Managing Director and a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA).
Mike Lee, Managing Director, CEPA
Mike got into high tech right out of college and never stopped being an entrepreneur. He founded and bootstrapped IP3 Networks out of his garage, a company that brought high-speed internet access to hotels and public spaces, and grew it as Founder and CEO with backing from Garage Technology Ventures and Sequoia Capital. Later, as head of sales for Tail-f, he was the rainmaker who got AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile to standardize on the company's technology, which led to its acquisition by Cisco, where Mike spent four more years leading sales of network automation and orchestration software.
Across thirty years and many ventures, what he loved most was architecting a deal so everyone walks away feeling like they won. That instinct is what pulled him into business brokerage. Back in 2023, while doing due diligence to acquire a steel-fabrication company, Mike and the owner mutually decided the deal did not make sense to continue. As they wrapped up, the owner told Mike that if he implemented the very changes Mike had been planning to make, he believed he could grow the business for a few more years and sell it for roughly twice as much, and then asked Mike to help him do it as his business broker when the time came. That was the moment it clicked, and Mike became a business broker.
He earned the Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) designation, a credential most brokers do not hold. He brings an operator's eye and a dealmaker's instincts to every engagement.
Lynn Lee, Business Advisor
Lynn Lee spent 30 years in the hospitality industry in sales and business development, focused on large corporate events. She was right alongside Mike through the due diligence on that steel-fabrication acquisition, and while Mike was choosing which business-brokerage firm to build with, Lynn decided she wanted to be part of it.
Married since August 1994, Mike and Lynn have been life partners for three decades and business partners for the last three years. They run the Mountain West as Team Lee.
Why Experience Matters in Business Sales
A national network behind a local advisor
You work with our team in the Mountain West, and you get the reach of the full network behind you. Around 85 independent owner-operators and more than 300 agents collaborate across markets and share qualified buyers, so your business reaches the right buyers faster. Roughly $15 billion in transactions have been facilitated since 1994, which means proven processes, proprietary valuation insight, and a buyer pool that reaches well beyond any single office.
Results that come from preparation
We lead with preparation, and the numbers reflect it. About 87% of the businesses we take to market reach a successful close, because we prepare them properly first and we do not rush to market. A few outcomes worth knowing:
- 94% of asking price on average, compared with an industry average closer to 85%.
- 4.7 months average time to close once on-market, compared with an industry range of 9 to 12 months.
- 95% employee retention 12 months after close.
- 92% customer retention through the transition.
- 89% of sellers report their values and culture were preserved.
Straight talk about value
We are straight with you about what your business is worth. Many brokers will tell an owner whatever it takes to win the listing, even a number the market will not support. We will not. Neither of us gets paid until your business actually sells, so our incentive is the same as yours: a price the market will pay, on terms that hold up. When we share an Estimate of Value and a Suggested Asking Price, they are grounded in market data, not in what sounds good in a pitch. We focus on enterprise values of roughly $1M to $10M, which typically means transactions in the $500K to $20M range.
The Strategic Buyer Search
For the right businesses, we run a second track most Main Street brokers do not offer: a Strategic Buyer Search. It is a proactive, confidential, structured outreach to the buyers most likely to value your business, including competitors, ecosystem partners, strategic acquirers, regional operators, private equity, and family offices. Running several qualified buyers in parallel creates competition, and competition tends to produce a better price and better terms.
What we believe
Aligned Outcomes
Every successful deal begins with aligned goals between buyer and seller. We focus on transparency and strategic fit, not just transactions.
Results With Integrity
We are here to deliver outcomes you can be proud of. Confidentiality, professionalism, and trust drive every step of our process.
People Over Process
We do not treat business sales like checklists. We build relationships, understand motivations, and tailor each engagement to the human side of the deal.
Regional Roots, National Reach
From Salt Lake to Jackson Hole, from Missoula to Bozeman, we know the unique dynamics of the Mountain West, and we market your business to a nationwide buyer pool.
What we believe
Aligned Outcomes
Every successful deal begins with aligned goals between buyer and seller. We focus on transparency and strategic fit, not just transactions.
Results With Integrity
We are here to deliver outcomes you can be proud of. Confidentiality, professionalism, and trust drive every step of our process.
People Over Process
We do not treat business sales like checklists. We build relationships, understand motivations, and tailor each engagement to the human side of the deal.
Regional Roots, National Reach
From Salt Lake to Jackson Hole, from Missoula to Bozeman, we know the unique dynamics of the Mountain West, and we market your business to a nationwide buyer pool.
Our Approach
Ready to Work With Our Team?
Whether you are ready to sell your business, want an Estimate of Value, or simply want to explore businesses for sale, our team is here to help. Reach out for a confidential, no-pressure conversation.
Find a Local Advisor
We specialize in aligning seller and buyer goals to create smooth, win-win transactions. More than just advisors, we’re strategic matchmakers with expert dealmakers located throughout Utah, Montana, and Wyoming—ready to guide you at every step.




















