{"id":2441,"date":"2026-06-28T18:40:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T18:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=2441"},"modified":"2026-06-28T18:40:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T18:40:42","slug":"this-entrepreneurial-couple-cashed-out-their-401ks-and-sold-a-126-million-company-now-they-run-a-u-k-soccer-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=2441","title":{"rendered":"This entrepreneurial couple cashed out their 401(k)s and sold a $126 million company\u2014now they run a U.K. soccer team"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The couple started their careers like any other: nine-to-five office jobs in immigration law and corporate America. But by the time they hit their mid-thirties in 2010, they couldn\u2019t ignore the entrepreneurial itch\u2014so they decided to take the leap, founding remote team management company BELAY and beer company NoFo Brew Co., alongside their ventures in international sports and business advisory Miles AG.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more France wearing green for the Statue of Liberty: inside the unusual interpretation of \u2018national pride\u2019 that makes World Cup jerseys<\/a><\/p>\n

And despite not having the same Hollywood salaries as Reynolds and McElhenney to back their clubs, they\u2019ve found themselves head-to-head against the record-breaking team. But the Miles duo have an edge on the actors\u2014they serve their NoFo beer on tap in the stadiums.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe point is, we\u2019re building a brand,\u201d Bryan told Fortune<\/em> last year. \u201cThe brand is pulsating. We\u2019re feeling it in the European market. People love wearing our jerseys there; they like identifying with the brand. And they actually like our beer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cashing out on their 401(k)s to build a $126 million company<\/h2>\n

To get their first of now many ventures off the ground, Bryan and Shannon Miles took a major gamble. They cashed out the $160,000 in their 401(k)s and founded staffing software company BELAY.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not necessarily a risk-taker by nature\u2014especially with money. But I thought, \u2018Well, if it doesn\u2019t work, we\u2019re young enough. We can always go back [to our jobs], but at least we tried,\u2019\u201d Shannon says. \u201cAt that point, I\u2019d rather choose risk than regret.\u201d<\/p>\n

The anxiety-inducing start of their business now feels very far away; 14 months after BELAY was founded, the company broke even\u2014kicking off 40 consecutive quarters of market growth. The business\u2019s strength lies in its virtual assistant services and tech-enabled bookkeeping. After years of success, private equity started to take notice, and the couple felt it was time to sell. They transitioned a new CEO to take over BELAY in 2020 and sold a majority stake of the company for $126 million the following year, keeping 18% for themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe started feeling, \u2018This business is way beyond us. There\u2019s potential beyond us. Somebody else with more resources, different networks, different ideas could come in and store it well,\u2019\u201d Bryan says. \u201cWe\u2019re like, \u2018This doesn\u2019t define who we are. We\u2019re going to be fine. There\u2019s life after exit, and we\u2019re going to find other things to do.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

That payday was life-changing coin that led to a new adventure for the entrepreneurial power couple: helping run soccer teams and pouring pints of their Georgia beer for the club\u2019s fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Iran attacks Bahrain and Kuwait in response to U.S. airstrikes and threatens a \u2018complete halt\u2019 in peace talks as fighting over Hormuz continues<\/a><\/p>\n

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Living the Ted Lasso<\/em> dream: selling beer and leading U.K. soccer teams<\/h2>\n

The entrepreneurial couple wanted more lively bars in their area of Georgia to bring people together, and at the time, distilleries were all the rage. By the end of 2019, they dived into their next passion project with their first brick-and-mortar brewery, NoFo Brew Co.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBy the time we started our distillery, we were already enjoying wealth. We\u2019re \u2018first generation\u2019 in terms of wealth,\u201d Bryan said. They no longer had to do the heavy work as chief executive. \u201cWe knew at that point we were never going to run the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The couple appointed a CEO for the brewery, expanding to three total NoFo locations across Georgia: Cumming, Cleveland, and Gainesville. But Bryan and Shannon Miles found another unlock with their beer business: connecting with sports fans, eager to throw back pints during a tense stadium match. At the height of Ted Lasso<\/em> running up Apple TV subscribers, U.K. soccer was at the forefront of the cultural zeitgeist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe looked at England and also Ireland, and we realized this was a rabid fan base that would follow this team off of a cliff,\u201d Bryan said. \u201cSo we\u2019re like, \u2018Well, what if NoFo was on our shirt? What if we put beer in the stadium?\u2019 It\u2019s the Trojan horse that got us into this market.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Georgia-based duo were part of an investment group brought together by Trivela Group that bought U.K. team Walsall F.C. in 2022\u2014right around the time Reynolds made headlines with Wrexham. Then came their purchase of Irish club Drogheda United F.C. back in 2023, also investing in Denmark team Silkeborg IF in December 2024, and starting African club Trivela FC Togo last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Selling their beers at their clubs\u2019 stadiums and emblazoning \u201cNoFo Brew Co\u201d on the players\u2019 jerseys, Bryan and Shannon Miles are living a \u201cfootball\u201d fantasy. It\u2019s a far cry from typing away at their desk jobs just 15 years ago, and it\u2019s proof that having an entrepreneurial knack and forecasting trends lead to huge wins.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhat we were able to do is accelerate and go into markets where just most Americans don\u2019t have an in,\u201d Bryan said.<\/p>\n

Read more One in three Gen Zers is letting AI do their homebuying homework, but they still trust realtors with the closing process<\/a><\/p>\n

A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on May 4, 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bryan and Shannon Miles are an entrepreneurial power couple sweeping tech and beer and sports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[358],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entrepreneurs"],"yoast_head":"\nThis entrepreneurial couple cashed out their 401(k)s and sold a $126 million company\u2014now they run a U.K. soccer team - Cross Country Moving Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=2441\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This entrepreneurial couple cashed out their 401(k)s and sold a $126 million company\u2014now they run a U.K. soccer team - 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