Half of New Businesses Don't Make It Five Years. One 53-Year-Old Founder Wants to Give More Owners a Fighting Chance.

After 25+ years working with thousands of business owners, Michaelle Bragassa built WickIQ to make experienced whole-business help more accessible to the entrepreneurs who often need it most.

LAWRENCEBURG, Ind., Oct. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Roughly half of new employer businesses survive five years, according to long-term data from the U.S. Small Business Administration. After more than 25 years working across sales, growth, client success, retention, operations and strategy, Michaelle Bragassa has seen the people behind that statistic.

"I've worked with and spoken to thousands of business owners," Bragassa said. "When I've gone back to check on people I knew earlier in my career, hundreds aren't in business anymore. They gave up the good fight and went back to working for someone else. Many were incredibly good at what they did. They just didn't know how to navigate everything else that comes with building a business."

At 53, Bragassa turned those decades of experience into WickIQ, a whole-business intelligence platform for coaches, consultants, advisors and other expertise-based owners. Her goal was not simply to create another business tool, but to close an access gap she had watched for years.

"There's always been something backwards about this to me," Bragassa said. "The businesses that most need experienced help are often the ones least able to afford it. Larger companies can have people responsible for sales, marketing, operations, client success and strategy. A small business owner may be trying to figure out all of that alone while also doing the work they actually started the business to do."

WickIQ makes whole-business support accessible without the giant price tag of multiple specialists or senior advisors. It learns the business across positioning, offers, marketing, revenue, sales, retention, capacity and operations. And it does not stop at diagnosis. Wick helps the owner fix what needs attention, whether that means strengthening an offer, building marketing, improving sales, addressing retention or creating better systems.

With more software, AI, courses and advice than ever, owners still have to know what actually applies to their business. WickIQ learns the individual business first, determines what matters now and helps move the owner from diagnosis to action instead of handing them another generic playbook.

"I don't think access to good business thinking should be reserved for businesses that can already afford to be successful," Bragassa said. "Starting a business takes courage. Keeping one alive takes knowledge most people were never taught. I can't guarantee every business will make it, but I can give an owner a fighting chance. That's why I built WickIQ."

Select WickIQ memberships also include one-on-one strategy with Bragassa. Because Wick already knows the business, those conversations can begin with the context in place and focus on what is happening, what matters and what to do about it.

WickIQ also offers a free Business Health Check that gathers evidence, identifies the probable constraint, explains the reasoning and gives the owner a practical first action.

"Someone can be extraordinary at their craft and still have never been taught how to build the business around it," Bragassa said. "WickIQ is my way of putting 25-plus years of experience to work for the owner who doesn't have 25 years to figure it all out the hard way."

WickIQ is available at wickiqsystem.com. The free Business Health Check is available at wickiqsystem.com/business-health-check.

MEDIA CONTACT
Michaelle Bragassa
Founder, WickIQ
[email protected]
513-926-6835
wickiqsystem.com

SOURCE WickIQ