Smart Business Dealmakers: The Middle-Market M&A Podcast

Intellectual property is a valuable asset, especially in a venture's earliest stages. But what BlueTree Allied Angels' Executive Director Sreekar Gadde tends to see is early-stage companies viewing IP as an investment tool, rather than a strategic tool, which means they are grabbing patents without much consideration for why. In this conversation, Shree talks about a better way to treat IP.

National Fitness Partners has been a family business since forever. Back in its earlier days, Stephen Kindler helped out by scrubbing hot tubs and cleaning locker rooms. Today, he's the president and CEO, helping guide the now-PE-backed company from the 10 locations it had back in 2016 to the nearly 100 it has today. We talked with Stephen about the progression of the family business, choosing and...

As the business world grapples with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in nearly every area, there's clearly a sea change at work in the M&A world. Rosecrete Wealth Management Founder & CEO Reggie Ford shares his views on dealmaking, race and the mental health challenges many minority entrepreneurs, investors and employees face from their life experiences and why open dialogue can lead to...

Doug Holladay's resume reads like its cobbled together from the careers of several successful people. Master's degree from Oxford. White House aide. Special Ambassador. Goldman Sachs exec. Nonprofit founder. Along the way he witnessed first-hand how lonely it can be at the top. In this episode, Doug shares insights from his book,  "Rethinking Success: 8 Essential Practices for Finding Meaning and...

The venture capital market is active and deals are getting done. So what can investors and early-to-mid-stage companies expect for investment opportunities in this new normal? Capital Midwest General Partner Daniel Einhorn discusses what he's seen during COVID and his expectations for 2021.

Entrepreneurs and business executives are seeing deal flow increase as the M&A market settles into a new reality. But with that comes new legal challenges for businesses involved in dealmaking. Paul Klug, a shareholder with law firm Polsinelli, explains what he's seeing from clients and why 2021 could be a strong year for M&A.

If there's one common mistake business owners make when planning their future, it is failing to prepare for the sale of their company — typically the largest financial asset in their portfolio. John Kvamme, senior vice president of wealth management at Associated Bank, says you can't start early enough. He shares successful steps entrepreneurs can take to get started and strategies to enhance and...

The venture capital ecosystem continues to grow as more money is funneled into early-stage company investments. What does that mean for the scale-up community that's looking for growth capital? David Brophy, professor of finance and director of the Office for the Study of Private Equity Finance at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, discusses the evolution of venture capital...

Getting a deal done means digging deep into the details of a company's financials, including taxes. For companies with exposure across multiple tax districts and asset classes, that can be a challenge. Tom Bakaitus, Partner-in-Charge of the Western Pennsylvania operations of Herbein + Company, explores how buyers and sellers can minimize their financial risks, what factors are driving deals, and b...

Greg Cathcart, CEO & Founder of Excellis Heath, sold his business in late 2020 to the Denmark-based NNIT Group. But the groundwork for a deal began when the company was founded in 2008. Greg talks about the NNIT deal and the steps the company took from the start to be ready for a transaction.  

Sara Clevenger, a principal at the middle-market M&A advisory firm Blue River, talks about 2020 — how her clients reacted and adjusted, the impact on deal flow, how the tumultuous year ended — but also about the outlook for 2021 and what pandemic-related deal adjustments we might expect to see carry from the last year to now.

Dan Roselli, founder of CFV Ventures and co-founder of RevTechLabs Healthtech, Queen City Insurtech, Queen City FinTech and RevTech Labs, discusses whether early-stage investment fundamentals have been altered by COVID, the eagerness (or timidity) of capital, and the sectors with early-stage businesses that are attracting the most investor interest.

As CEO of Paladin Capital, Bill Prevost wants to do business acquisition and ownership transfer via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan model. But the distress that hit smaller companies in the trucking industry — fallout from the pandemic — shrunk his deal pipeline because he's looking for companies of a certain fitness. In this conversation, Prevost talks about how that affected his firm, ESOPs and...

Crowdfunding was once seen as a way for entrepreneurs to raise cash and bootstrap their ideas. But Louis Foreman, CEO of Enventys Partners, sees it as a way to get market validation. We talked with Foreman about product innovation, raising capital, recent patent activity trends and the commonalties among his 15 clients who appeared on the TV show Shark Tank.

Though deals began to fail, were delayed or had their terms changed when the pandemic hit the U.S., the terrible effects many projected it would have on M&A didn't necessarily materialize. There will, however, be other consequences. George Riley Thomas II, a member at the law firm Metz Lewis Brodman Must O'Keefe, offers his take on 2020, and what dealmakers can expect in 2021.

The legal structure surrounding M&A continues to evolve as we climb out of the COVID crisis and begin to focus on 2021 and beyond. That means changes in contract language, structure and even deal terms. Michael Wilson, a partner at Locke Lord, discusses what to expect — and how to prepare.

Preserving wealth is a long-term initiative, and managing it through uncertainty is critical. Jim Benedict, senior vice president and senior wealth strategist at PNC Wealth Management, discusses how to stay the course in choppy waters, and the importance of remaining calm.

Carlton D. Dean III is seeing a lot of business owners looking for an exit in the wake of the pandemic. The president of Demarrt Building Services is also seeing deals that he might have foregone before look much better now. That's led him to adjust his approach to the acquisitions.  

After Brookstone Capital Management founder Dean Zayed sold a majority share of his registered investment advisory firm to AmeriLife, he rekindled a conversation with the founder of another RIA, FormulaFolios. The result: the creation of a $6.5 billion business. We talked with Dean about both the AmeriLife and the FormulaFolios transactions, and how one deal informed the other.  

David Woodburn, a shareholder at Roetzel & Andress, is seeing a lot of potential for M&A right now. Low interest rates and uncertainty over estate and income taxes have created an opportunity for owners to leverage their estate and gift tax dollars. But it's also an environment that's great for buyers looking to invest in a new business or expand their own.

As business leaders start to look ahead to 2021, balance sheet management and liquidity are top-of-mind issues. But when it comes to banking and finance, it will be relationships that could make or break deals in this new business reality. Brad Jones, Charlotte Regional President of First National Bank, discusses why strong relationships are the No. 1 factor moving forward — and why everything com...

When you're looking to sell your company, maximizing value before the sale can ensure you have a successful liquidity event. Charles Robins, founder and CEO of Fairmount Partners discusses the keys to pre-deal preparation — and the secrets of his P5M process to drive value.

In a market affected like it is by the COVID-19 pandemic, volatility is the norm for investors rather than nuance. With all the shifts and uncertainty, Equity Trust Company CEO George Sullivan says the fundamental question on investors' minds right now is when will conditions be better? For Sullivan, that's the wrong question. Instead, it should be where are the opportunities?

If you lead a family-owned business, identifying when to exit and when to transition is never easy. Carolyn Meade, an attorney with Moore & Van Allen, takes a look at some post-COVID options for family-owned businesses, and how those who ultimately decide to sell can maximize value in a deal.

Stewart Kohl has seen a lot of dealmaking — some 650 investments at The Riverside Company, the $10 billion PE firm where he is co-CEO. In this wide-ranging conversation, he offers insight into the mood at his portfolio companies, Riverside's M.O. as it navigates through the choppy M&A market, his sense of what buyers and sellers are thinking at the moment, and how the pandemic and its market fallo...