Meet Our Expert Team

Joe Moon is a business broker, serial entrepreneur, investor, and co-owner of First Choice Business Brokers, where he helps practice owners navigate one of the most significant transactions of their lives.

A Microbiology major at the University of Georgia, Joe graduated and went straight into a laboratory setting, working with live pathogens including Rabies and BVD and contributing to the development of animal vaccines. He then pivoted and launched a technology company specializing in HIPAA compliance, Meaningful Use, and EMR/EHR migrations — working with nearly every major medical records system and supporting hospitals, radiology groups, pulmonology groups, and dental offices throughout the Southeast.

Joe and Mike built Velocity Technology Partners to run without them — spending less than three hours a week in that business. That discipline and systems-thinking is exactly the lens Joe brings to every practice owner he works with.

Today, Joe leads a team managing every phase of the process: valuations, confidential marketing, buyer vetting, negotiations, SBA and conventional financing, and guidance through closing. Practices range from solo-provider offices to multi-provider groups valued between $500,000 and $15 million.

Joe is also co-owner of Athens Capital Partners, Armond's Plastics (ProPick dental care products), and PulsePro CPR Training. He served as Chairman of the Board for Extra Special People (ESP) and as a board member of the United Way of Northeast Georgia.

Mike Denham brings three decades of corporate financial analysis, strategic planning, and business development across multiple industries. He has personally started, grown, acquired, and sold businesses — making him uniquely qualified to guide practice owners through the same process.

Mike holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Georgia and an MBA from Piedmont University. He is a licensed real estate broker and a member of the IBBA (International Business Brokers Association) and GABB (Georgia Association of Business Brokers) with past board service.

In healthcare practice sales, Mike specializes in financial modeling, deal structuring, due diligence management, and transaction coordination. His ability to normalize complex healthcare financials, model provider dependency risk, and structure deals that work for both sides has been central to the team's success. When the numbers need to tell the right story — clearly and credibly — Mike builds that case.

David Moon is a former Senior Director of Franchise Operations at Zaxby's, where he started as a restaurant inspector in 2002 and worked his way up through the organization over more than two decades. He led company-wide training programs, spearheaded operational turnarounds for underperforming locations, and developed systems that scaled across hundreds of franchise units.

David is a University of Georgia graduate who brings a practitioner's eye to every deal — he understands how systems, staffing, and operational consistency drive business value, and knows exactly what buyers will scrutinize in due diligence. His specialty is multi-unit operations, franchise resales, food service, and businesses that depend on operational excellence to generate consistent profitability.

Working alongside Joe Moon and Mike Denham, David helps business owners position their operations for the strongest possible outcome, from initial valuation through closing.

Richard Harrison is a Georgia Institute of Technology graduate with an MS in Economics and Finance. He spent over six years leading revenue management, corporate development, and financial strategy at Gain, a healthcare technology company — giving him deep, firsthand insight into the operational and financial dynamics of healthcare businesses.

Richard currently runs a digital marketing agency and serves as an advisor to multiple technology companies. He is an expert in financial modeling, valuation analysis, and strategic planning, and brings institutional-level financial analysis to middle-market transactions.

His focus areas include healthcare businesses, SaaS companies, technology services, and businesses with complex financial structures that require sophisticated analysis to properly position for sale.

Dr. David Townsend is a Board Certified Internal Medicine physician and co-founder of Classic Direct Primary Care in Watkinsville, GA. A native of Augusta, he graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Georgia with a double-major in biology and psychology, then earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia in 2005 — graduating at the top of his class with a 4.0 average.

David completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and was selected as Assistant Chief of Medicine upon graduation. He remained on the Internal Medicine faculty at Wake Forest until 2013, when he returned to Athens, GA to be closer to family.

In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Townsend serves as an Associate Professor of Medicine with the AU/UGA Medical Partnership, where he teaches clinical skills to medical students. His perspective on how healthcare practices operate from the inside — clinically, operationally, and culturally — brings invaluable insight to our team and the practice owners we serve.

Jason Smith is the Chief Operating Officer of Piedmont Athens Regional, one of Northeast Georgia's leading healthcare systems. He has served in that role since February 2018, bringing operational leadership to one of the region's most prominent hospitals.

Prior to joining Piedmont Athens Regional, Jason served as Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at Piedmont Newnan Hospital — a nearly four-year tenure that built his reputation as a results-driven leader at the intersection of clinical operations and organizational strategy. He holds a graduate degree from the Medical College of Georgia.

Jason's deep knowledge of how hospitals and healthcare systems evaluate, acquire, and transition practices makes him a uniquely valuable resource for practice owners considering their exit options. His counsel helps us see every transaction through the lens of institutional buyers — so we can position our clients' practices for the strongest possible outcome.

Steven Weidler is a seasoned C-suite executive with over 20 years of experience driving profitability, operational efficiency, growth, and expansion for multi-site healthcare practices. He has held diverse roles across the C-suite — CEO, COO, and CFO — giving him broad exposure and a unique lens on the business operations, processes, systems, and financial activities of the complex healthcare environment.

Steven has a proven track record of turning around struggling healthcare operations, leading the opening of new clinic locations, managing acquisition markets, implementing and streamlining professional processes to increase efficiency, and overseeing comprehensive IT system implementations. He has also established physician fellowship programs across multiple organizations and has been instrumental in hiring physicians, dentists, PAs, NPs, and physical therapists.

He holds a Master of Science in Finance from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business and an MBA from Piedmont University. Steven currently serves as Chief Financial Officer at Trinity School of Medicine. He resides in the Metro Atlanta area.

Areas of Expertise: Healthcare Management & Delivery • Operational Excellence • Financial & Turnaround Management • Mergers & Acquisitions • Venture Capital Financing • P&L Management • Business Processes & Strategy • Revenue Growth • Financial Forecasting • Internal Controls • Strategic Planning & Execution • Healthcare Compliance