JASON TRENT
Jason Trent is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor and founder of Guidelight Legacy Advisors, a strategic advisory practice serving business owners approaching ownership transitions. Rather than offering transactional M&A services, he operates as a strategic quarterback—coordinating credentialed specialists (appraisers, attorneys, CPAs, wealth managers) around a cohesive strategic framework aligned to the owner's actual priorities and timeline.
His approach is rooted in three convictions: that a business transition is a stewardship question first and a financial question second; that clarity about what success looks like comes before clarity about valuation; and that the owner's confidence in their advisors matters as much as the technical competence of those advisors.
As a business owner for three decades—building and running operations across financial services and insurance—Jason brings a rare credibility to conversations with owners at inflection points. He has lived the patterns that derail otherwise sound transitions: misaligned timelines, unclarity around what you actually want from the transition, and advisors pulling in different directions. He built Guidelight Legacy Advisors specifically to eliminate those patterns, speaking from the same seat his clients occupy.
Guidelight Legacy Advisors serves privately held business owners typically within a five-year ownership transition window. Jason is based in Brevard, North Carolina, and works nationally through a network of referral partners and strategic collaborators.
Jason Trent is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor and founder of Guidelight Legacy Advisors, a strategic advisory practice serving business owners approaching ownership transitions. Rather than offering transactional M&A services, he operates as a strategic quarterback—coordinating credentialed specialists (appraisers, attorneys, CPAs, wealth managers) around a cohesive strategic framework aligned to the owner's actual priorities and timeline.
His approach is rooted in three convictions: that a business transition is a stewardship question first and a financial question second; that clarity about what success looks like comes before clarity about valuation; and that the owner's confidence in their advisors matters as much as the technical competence of those advisors.
As a business owner for three decades—building and running operations across financial services and insurance—Jason brings a rare credibility to conversations with owners at inflection points. He has lived the patterns that derail otherwise sound transitions: misaligned timelines, unclarity around what you actually want from the transition, and advisors pulling in different directions. He built Guidelight Legacy Advisors specifically to eliminate those patterns, speaking from the same seat his clients occupy.
Guidelight Legacy Advisors serves privately held business owners typically within a five-year ownership transition window. Jason is based in Brevard, North Carolina, and works nationally through a network of referral partners and strategic collaborators.
, hs_object_source_label=AUTOMATION_PLATFORM, url_slug=jason-trent, lname=Trent, hs_object_source_id=enrollmentId:2563213854860;actionExecutionIndex:0, hs_createdate=1780061505614, state=North Carolina, id=56575564886, advisor_type=Exit Planner / Value Advisor, custom_page_title=Exit Planning Institute - Find a CEPA | Jason Trent, member_profile_approval_flag=false, email=jason@guidelight.com, associated_contact_record_id=218675683955, website=https://guidelightlegacyadvisors.com/, cepa_certificate_url=https://exit-planning-institute.org/hubfs/5_Account%20Management/CEPA%20Certificates/CEPA%20MAY%202026/12309_Trent_CEPA-Certificate-2026-May.pdf, is_editable=editable, pending_profile_information=, url_slug_2=jason-trent, impersonate_user_url=https://exit-planning-institute.org/member-detail/jason-trent?impersonation=true, user_profile_updates_pending_epi_team_review=false, full_name=Jason Trent, hs_lastmodifieddate=1780067303502, phone=828-577-3601, company_name=Guidelight Legacy Advisors, hs_object_id=56575564886, name=Jason, associated_resources=0, hs_object_source=AUTOMATION_PLATFORM, postal_code=28768, status=Published}- Advisor Type: Exit Planner / Value Advisor
- Website:
https://guidelightlegacyadvisors.com/ - Phone: 828-577-3601
- City: Pisgah Forest
- State: North Carolina
- Postal Code: 28768
- Country: United States
- Designations:
- Markets Served:
- Company Name: Guidelight Legacy Advisors
JASON TRENT

120-Day CEPA Playbook: Download the Playbook

2022 Colorado State of Owner Readiness Quick Look Brochure

2022 Colorado State of Owner Readiness Report

2023 National State of Owner Readiness Report
.png)
2024 Webinar Series

2025 Webinar Series
.png)
2026 Webinar Series

5-4-3-2-1 Whitepaper

5-4-3-2-1 Whitepaper

A Look Inside The Unique World of Value Creation Whitepaper

A Look Into Pressure Solutions Inc.: An Exit Planning Case Study

Access My Courses

Best-In-Class Whitepaper

Beyond CEPA Roadmap

Business Attractiveness Scorecard

Case Study: A Framework To Build Value In Your Business

Case Study: CEPA and CPAs

Case Study: CEPA and EOS

Case Study: CEPA and M&A

Case Study: How to Strategically Build Transferrable Value

Case Study: How To Utilize Your CEPA Credentials In A National Wealth Management Firm

Case Study: Human Capital, The Exit Planning Institute

Case Study: The Value of Transitioning a Business to its Employees

Case Study: The Value of Transitioning a Business to its Employees

Case Study: Value Acceleration

CEPA Development Scorecard

CEPA: 2024 APR | Online

CEPA: 2024 AUG | Online

CEPA: 2024 FEB | Online

CEPA: 2024 JAN | Online

CEPA: 2024 JUL | Online

CEPA: 2024 JUN | Online

CEPA: 2024 MAR | Online

CEPA: 2024 MAY | Online

CEPA: 2024 OCT | Online

CEPA: 2024 SEP | Online

Chapter Logos

Confidential Estate Planning Form

Decentralizing the Business Owner

Decentralizing the Business Owner

Email Marketing Templates

EPI Chapter President Circle Meeting Notes

Exit as a Business Strategy: A Collection of Case Studies from Advisors and Owners

First Steps

Five Stages of Value Maturity Infographic

Five Stages of Value Maturity Infographic

From Successful to Significant

From Successful to Significant Whitepaper

Infographic: Beyond CEPA Path

Infographic: Decentralizing the Business Owner

Infographic: Five Stages of Value Maturity

Infographic: The 5 D's

Infographic: Who Has a Seat at the Table

Issue One: The Annual Exit Magazine

Know Your Gaps

Phase 1 Stage 1: The Value Maturity Index - Identifying Value

Sample Personal Contingency Plan

The Impact of Unplanned Consequences on Business Value Whitepaper

The Value Acceleration Methodology
.png)


