About Madeline Ricci

Madeline Ricci, Founder and Strategic Business Advisor

CEO of BNN Services. Co-founder of Trustedpreneurs with David Ricci, CEPA. Creator of the F.R.E.E.D. method.

I still run the company I built, and I advise founders from that seat.

Eighteen years in corporate leadership, laid off in 2008, then BNN Services, built into an eight-figure firm in the recession that followed.

Madeline Ricci, operator and strategist
Madeline Ricci, Founder and Strategic Business Advisor

What is on the record

I built the thing I now advise on.

In 2008, after an 18-year corporate career, I was laid off. I started BNN Services in the middle of a recession, with no advertising and no social audience, and built it on service, systems, reputation, and execution.

I came up through title, mortgage and real estate closings, then ran the operations and the people who did that work.

I do the same work now for other founders, from inside the company I still run.

See the full record

What transfers is the part that had to keep working on Monday, in a company I still run.

Press coverage and broadcast appearances are listed on the media page, each with a link to its source.

The through line is easier to see backwards than it was to live forwards.

Madeline Ricci and David Ricci in a corner office with a city view behind them, both dressed in black
With David Ricci, CEPA, co-founders of Trustedpreneurs

Who I build with

Built with a partner, not an audience.

David Ricci, CEPA is co-founder of Trustedpreneurs with me and chief operating officer of BNN Services. As a Certified Exit Planning Advisor, he works on what a company has to look like before it can change hands.

I co-founded Trustedpreneurs with him and co-host the Build Beyond You podcast with him, currently published as Trustedpreneurs: The Podcast. Two operators, one standard: businesses that keep running when the founder steps back.

How it moved

Six seats. One conclusion.

  1. 01

    Corporate leader

    18 years inside large organizations.

  2. 02

    Entrepreneur

    BNN Services founded in 2008, mid-recession.

  3. 03

    Eight-figure operator

    National firm, network of 40,000+ trusted agents.

  4. 04

    Growth leader

    Brand, positioning, and growth leadership.

  5. 05

    Founder advisor

    Trustedpreneurs, F.R.E.E.D. framework.

  6. 06

    AI strategist

    AI operating leverage for founder-led firms.

This is a progression rather than a pivot. Each seat pointed to the same finding: in the companies I have worked in, growth stalled where the systems stopped.

Each step made the next one possible. None of them looked like a plan at the time.

Client work

One client, in her words.

Dr. Quatro Ott at her desk holding two binders from the Varsity Orthopedics operations library
The Varsity Orthopedics operations library, version 2.0, in the practice

There are no excuses anymore.

Dr. Quatro Ott, Varsity Orthopedics

Where the coaching training fits.

My training as a certified coach, in NLP, hypnotherapy and Time Line Therapy, informs how I approach behavior, accountability and adoption inside a team. The advisory work itself is structural: decision rights, owners, standards and systems.

Madeline Ricci seated at her desk in a cream suit, a plaque reading discipline creates freedom behind her
Discipline creates freedom, the standard behind the work

What the work runs on

Intention, focus, alignment, impact.

Four words on the cover of the notebook I write in every morning. They are the same four the work runs on.

Details from Madeline Ricci’s desk: a red notebook marked intention, focus, alignment, impact, a monogrammed mug, and a fountain pen mid-note
The morning notebook, intention, focus, alignment, impact

The facts

The short version.

The main facts in one place.

Name
Madeline Ricci
Title
Founder and Strategic Business Advisor
Company roles
CEO of BNN Services (founded 2008, national services firm), co-founder of Trustedpreneurs with David Ricci, CEPA, creator of F.R.E.E.D., co-host of the Build Beyond You podcast
Focus
Founder dependency, operational freedom, AI operating leverage
Methodology
The F.R.E.E.D. framework (Find, Redistribute, Engineer, Embed, Develop)
Location
Based in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. Works with founders worldwide. Advisory and AI consulting are delivered remotely.
Credentials
Professional Certified Coach (PCC), International Coaching Federation. International Master Coach. AI-Assisted Certified CMO, Industry Rockstar. Certified in AI implementation and business consulting.
Links
LinkedInInstagram@themadelinericciYouTube@Trustedpreneursmricci@themadelinericci.com
Founder advisoryProof

Common questions

Questions about the work.

Is this coaching?
No. My coaching training informs how I approach behavior, accountability and adoption inside a team. The work itself is structural: documented systems, named owners, and authority that moves with accountability.
Do you only work with healthcare practices?
No. Current engagements span an orthopedic practice, a consulting firm, a financial services SaaS company, a healthy aging clinic, and a first-time author. The pattern I look for, decisions that still route through the founder, shows up in each of them.
Do you work outside Texas?
Yes. I work with founders worldwide and the work runs remotely. BNN Services is a national firm and has been since long before this was a category.

Contact

Advisory work, writing and public appearances.

For inquiries, write to mricci@themadelinericci.com or use the contact page.

Talk with Madeline