We’re looking forward to introducing you to Jose Ortiz CPA. Check out our conversation below.
Jose , a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
Honestly, I’m being called to step fully into leadership and legacy work – to move beyond traditional tax planning and build a firm that helps entrepreneurs and athletes design wealth intentionally from start to finish.
For a long time, I operated behind the scenes, quietly helping clients minimize taxes and grow their businesses. But over the last few years, I’ve felt called to expand our impact — to help clients not just make money, but multiply and monetize it through strategic exits and smarter wealth structures. Exit planning is the next evolution of what we do at The Scale Collective. It’s where tax strategy, valuation, and long-term vision intersect. It’s about helping business owners turn the companies they built into freedom — for themselves, their families, and their next chapter.
At the same time, I’ve felt drawn to serve a completely different audience – NIL recipients and professional athletes. Many of these young athletes experience sudden wealth without the structure or education to sustain it. I see that as a massive opportunity for transformation. We’re not just helping them save on taxes; we’re teaching them ownership, discipline, and financial independence. We want to help them turn short-term fame into generational wealth.
But I’ll be honest, stepping into these spaces brought a lot of imposter syndrome at first. It’s easy to question whether you’re “ready” or “qualified” to serve at that level. What I’ve learned, though, is that calling doesn’t wait for perfection. It demands courage. And courage, in my world, means building systems, teams, and education that make wealth accessible and sustainable for the people who need it most.
So right now, my calling is to lead — boldly. To bring strategic, holistic financial planning to high performers -entrepreneurs, investors, and athletes alike – and to help them move from income to independence.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Jose Ortiz, a CPA and founder of The Scale Collective, a boutique advisory firm helping entrepreneurs, real estate investors, and high earners design wealth with purpose. Our philosophy is simple: Taxes are not the finish line; they’re the foundation for freedom.
At The Scale Collective, we’ve evolved beyond traditional accounting. We focus on strategic tax planning, exit planning, and valuation – helping clients transform their income into independence. For business owners, that means building companies that are profitable, transferable, and ready for a successful exit. For athletes and NIL recipients, it means turning short-term opportunities into lifelong wealth.
What makes us different is that we’re not transactional, we’re transformational. We take a holistic approach that combines financial clarity, business strategy, and personal purpose. My goal is to change how people experience their money – not as something they work for, but as something that works for them.
Right now, I’m especially focused on expanding our Exit Planning and Athlete Wealth programs, helping high performers build legacies that outlast their careers.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world told me who I had to be, I was curious, creative, and driven by possibility – not titles or expectations. I grew up fascinated by how people built wealth, but even more fascinated by why some people seemed to find freedom while others stayed trapped chasing it.
When I became a CPA, the world told me to stay in my lane – to focus on compliance, taxes, and transactions. For a while, I did. But deep down, I knew I was meant to do more than file returns; I wanted to help people design their financial lives with purpose.
Now, through The Scale Collective, I’ve come full circle. I get to combine strategy, psychology, and purpose to help entrepreneurs, investors, and athletes create real wealth – not just money, but meaning. The kid who used to dream big is finally leading big ….on his own terms.
What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned (and probably one of my hardest failures) was believing that being “the expert” meant I had to do everything myself. Early in my career, I thought success meant working harder, being the smartest in the room, and having all the answers. But that mindset eventually led me to burnout and frustration.
The moment I realized that control and leadership aren’t the same thing was a turning point. I failed at scaling my business because I was trying to protect my clients from anything that didn’t come directly from me. It came from a good place -wanting to serve well – but it kept me small.
What I’ve learned since is that real growth comes from collaboration, not control. Now, I build teams, partnerships, and systems that allow us to serve at a higher level. I’ve changed my mind about what “value” means – it’s not about doing everything yourself, it’s about designing structures that help others thrive alongside you.
That shift has shaped how we operate at The Scale Collective, and it’s why I’m so passionate about exit planning. You can’t build a transferable business if it depends solely on you. You have to build something bigger than your own effort – and that’s both a business lesson and a life lesson.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
I think a lot of smart people are getting it wrong by playing defense with their success. They work hard, they build income, but they stay trapped in reactive thinking – especially when it comes to taxes, wealth, and business strategy.
We’ve been conditioned to think that if we just “make more” or “save more,” we’ll eventually reach freedom. But that’s not strategy – that’s survival with nicer packaging. The truth is, smart people often confuse activity with progress. They know how to earn money, but not how to design wealth.
In my world, that shows up as entrepreneurs who build businesses that depend entirely on them… or high earners who save aggressively but have no exit plan. They’re working hard, but they’re not working toward anything.
The smartest move right now isn’t optimizing for income – it’s optimizing for independence. That’s what we teach at The Scale Collective: how to align your taxes, your business, and your investments so they move you toward freedom instead of keeping you busy. Smart people don’t need to think harder – they need to think longer-term.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people say that I helped them see themselves differently, that I helped them believe they could build something bigger than income, bigger than circumstance. Professionally, I want to be remembered as someone who changed how people experience money — not as something to fear or chase, but as a tool for freedom, purpose, and legacy.
Through The Scale Collective, I’ve tried to build more than a firm. I’ve tried to build a movement around intentional wealth. I want people to look back and say, “He helped me design my life, not just my tax return.” Whether that’s a business owner who sold their company and finally had peace of mind, or a young athlete who learned how to turn a contract into generational wealth – that’s the story I want told.
On the personal side, I hope my family and friends say I was present. That I built something meaningful, but never at the expense of who I loved. That I lived what I taught – that freedom isn’t a number, it’s a state of mind. And that I left people better, clearer, and more confident than I found them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thescalecollective.net/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_scalecollective
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josethecpa/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thescalecollective
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thecparevolution
- Other: Substack: https://cparevolution.substack.com/
Image Credits
Graciela Valdes
