Join us for another episode of the Richmond Leadership Lab.In this episode, co-hosts Christian Mosier (BenX Consulting) and Taylor Quinn (Filmspire and Richmond Podcast Studio) sit down with Keith Middleton, Co-Founder of Fahrenheit Advisors, to talk about building a company around values, letting go of control, and leading through growth, crisis, and change. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in leadership, entrepreneurship, company culture, change management, and creating meaningful community impact.Episode Highlights:Meet Keith Middleton: Keith grew up in Salisbury on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, the son of a lifelong public-school educator and a nurse, working on his family’s nursery and chicken farms. Those early years shaped a work ethic he carries to this day.From Arthur Andersen to the C-Suite: After earning an accounting degree from Lynchburg College, Keith spent a decade at Arthur Andersen, then moved into industry at Perdue Farms and later Performance Food Group, where he served as corporate controller and divisional CFO.The Question That Changed Everything: Keith shares the moment his daughter asked if he’d be home for her senior year after missing her first three years of high school — and why he quit the very next day.A Company Built on a Couple of Beers: Introduced by angel investor Karen Booth Adams, Keith and co-founder Rich met over drinks, talked about values and family instead of business plans, and launched Fahrenheit two weeks later.500 Coffees and Counting: With no business plan and one small office, Keith and Rich built the firm one relationship at a time — logging more than 500 coffee meetings in year one, often from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.Values That Never Changed: Doing the right thing, community give-back, accountability over micromanagement, and treating the business as one big experiment have guided Fahrenheit from day one.Pivoting to Meet the Market: Keith explains how Fahrenheit shifted from high-end consulting for large corporations to fractional and interim work for middle-market companies, and grew into finance, HR, executive search, IT strategy, and AI advisory.Giving Up Control: From a team “intervention” early in his career to building a real leadership team in 2019, Keith talks about learning to trust others — a decision that carried the firm through COVID when it lost half its revenue overnight.Hiring for Fit, Not Just Skill: Keith shares the three traits every Fahrenheit leader needs — an entrepreneurial mindset, risk tolerance, and faith in leadership to do the right thing — and why great résumés don’t always mean the right fit.A New Chapter with Smith + Howard: Keith discusses Fahrenheit’s acquisition by Atlanta-based CPA firm Smith + Howard, why culture drove the decision, and the move to a single national brand with all advisory practices led from Richmond.Advice to His Younger Self: Keith’s message to the leader he was 17 years ago: chill out, invest in culture, and embrace life-work integration. He also gives a shout-out to First Tee – Greater Richmond for its work building leadership and life skills in young people.Learn more About Fahrenheit/Smith + Howard: https://fahrenheitadvisors.com/Connect with Keith:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkeithmiddleton/Richmond Leadership Lab is Produced and Co-Hosted by:Taylor Quinn, CEO – Filmspire & Richmond Podcast Studiohttps://www.filmspirevideo.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-quinn-filmspire/Christian Mosier, President – BenX Consultinghttps://benxconsulting.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-mosier/Learn More About Richmond Leadership Lab: https://www.richmondleadershiplab.comThis podcast was produced and recorded by Richmond Podcast Studio. Want to start a podcast without the tech hassle? Get your professional video podcast the same day you record. 👉 Learn more: https://www.richmondpodcaststudio.com