Smart Business Dealmakers: The Middle-Market M&A Podcast
265 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 6 ratingsSmart Business Dealmakers interviews the entrepreneurs doing deals, the PE, VC and family office players investing in them, and the M&A advisers making them happen. Topics include raising capital, buying and selling companies and managing a liquidity event.
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Episodes
Robert Anderson Jr., Chairman & CEO of Cyber Defense Labs
March 28, 2024 13:00 - 32 minutes - 30.3 MBRobert Anderson Jr. served more than 20 years in the FBI, overseeing criminal and cyber investigations worldwide, including the Edward Snowden investigation. After the FBI, he served as managing director for a global organization helping companies respond to and recover from thousands of data breaches, as well as evaluate M&A target companies for cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The now Chairman and CEO of Cyber Defense Labs sat down with Smart Business Chief Content Officer Dustin Klein at th...
Howard Brodsky, Founder & Chairman of CCA Global Partners
March 22, 2024 14:03 - 20 minutes - 28.9 MBThe 2024 Boston Smart Business Dealmakers Conference featured a one-on-one conversation with Howard Brodsky, founder of CCA Global Partners, a groundbreaking $14 billion company. In this excerpt, he talks with Smart Business Chief Content Officer Dustin Klein about the common traits of the some of the world's most successful entrepreneurs, as well as the outsized impact delivering the unexpected can yield for a business.
Todd Boyman, Co-founder & CEO of Hungry Planet
February 09, 2024 14:01 - 13 minutes - 13.5 MBSerial entrepreneur Todd Boyman has been a consumer of plant-based foods for more than three decades. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that his business passion and food passion would eventually combine in a new venture. Hungry Planet is a maker of plant-based meats with fewer calories and less fat than conventional meat and other plant-based options. In March of 2023, Todd spoke at the St. Louis Smart Business Dealmakers Conference about his experiences launching Hungry Planet, its growth plan...
Jack Chang, Founder & Managing Director of DGP Capital
February 02, 2024 11:26 - 33 minutes - 31 MBOver 18 years and more than $15 billion in transactions, DGP Capital's Jack Chang has been advising businesses public and private on how to get the most out of their business when it's time to sell. He brought that experience to bear when he joined us to talk about what sellers can do to make their business attractive to buyers, when they should start the process and who they can turn to for help as they work to maximize their deal.
Rob Hale, co-founder of Granite Telecommunications; co-owner of Boston Celtics
January 25, 2024 19:51 - 10 minutes - 10.9 MBRob Hale thinks he's an unlikely person to listen to when it comes to dealmaking. After all, he became a billionaire and lost it all by the age of 35. But Rob rebounded from the failure of Network Plus to co-found Granite Telecommunications, which made him a billionaire again and eventually co-owner of the Boston Celtics. That failure and rebound yielded three essential business lessons that Rob shared with attendees at the 2023 Boston Smart Business Dealmakers Conference.
Nic Barlage, CEO of Cleveland Cavaliers & Rock Entertainment Group
January 19, 2024 16:29 - 32 minutes - 30.9 MBHuman capital and corporate culture play a key role in most M&A transactions. In this episode, we talk to a different sort of business leader about asset management, team building and creating a winning culture — in a very literal sense. Nic Barlage is CEO of Rock Entertainment Group and its many holdings, including the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. He oversees more than 500 full-time team members throughout the business operations of the Cavaliers. Nic sat down with Smart Business Chief Co...
Vic Gatto, Founder & Managing Partner of Jumpstart Capital
January 12, 2024 10:53 - 27 minutes - 26 MBJumpstart Capital founder and Managing Partner Vic Gatto has been investing in early-stage health care businesses for nearly a decade. His organization — Jumpstart Foundry, Jumpstart Health Investors and Jumpstart Capital — works to bring innovation to what could be considered a timid but also complex industry. He talks about the formation and evolution of the venture capital firm, the opportunities he's seeing in these early-stage ventures as well as their challenges.
Carrie Thome, Managing Director of NVNG
January 05, 2024 14:31 - 17 minutes - 16.8 MBCarrie Thome left the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, where, as the Chief Investment Officer, she oversaw a $3 billion investment portfolio, to co-found NVNG Investment Advisors, an investment platform and network made up of a family of funds. The organization closed its Fund 1 in late 2021. Carrie talks about the organization, leaving WARF to launch it, her experience as a fund raiser and the progress NVNG has made since its start in 2019.
Will Acuff, Co-founder of Corner To Corner
December 06, 2023 21:00 - 23 minutes - 22.1 MBCompelled by the invitation of Jesus to "love our neighbors as we love ourselves," Corner to Corner was founded by Will and Tiffany Acuff in 2011. The young couple wanted to create a relationship-centered nonprofit that focused on seeing neighbors in their low-income Nashville neighborhood flourish on their own terms. In partnership with the community, the first program was aimed at equipping those recently out of prison with the necessary skills to gain meaningful employment. Since those ea...
Patrick Patterson, CEO of Level Agency
December 01, 2023 14:31 - 23 minutes - 22.5 MBPatrick Patterson went from the third person at what ultimately became Level Agency to its co-owner, sitting in the CEO seat for the first time. And shortly after taking over the business, he brought in PE partners — also a first — to help accelerate the company's growth with M&A-minded advisers who can help the agency accomplish its ambitions goals. Patrick talks about the management buyout, how he connected with his PE backers and what it took to close the deal, what life is like with a PE...
Aaron Gerber, Co-founder and former CEO, Reimagine Care
November 16, 2023 20:14 - 28 minutes - 27.1 MBWhile service providers such as hotels and restaurants were severely debilitated by the pandemic shutdown, others thrived. One such example is Reimagine Care, a Nashville-based in-home cancer care enabler. It’s taken cancer care from the clinic to patients' living rooms. Aaron Gerber, co-founder and former CEO of Reimagine Care, says the scope of what can be done for patients has greatly changed with tremendous advancements over the last two and half decades. What had not changed was how tha...
Ven Raju, President & CEO of Innovation Works
November 03, 2023 14:37 - 17 minutes - 16.5 MBAfter years of investing in early-stage companies in the SaaS, robotics, internet of things, health & fin tech spaces, Ven Raju has taken his talents from New York to Pittsburgh where he now heads Innovation Works as its president and CEO, while also holding the position of managing director of Riverfront Ventures. The two organizations have a symbiotic relationship — Innovation Works invests at the earliest stages of a venture while Riverfront provides follow-on capital to those companies t...
Stephen Glicken, Co-founder & CEO of Project Admission
September 08, 2023 15:47 - 20 minutes - 19.3 MBStephen Glicken is working to disrupt ticket sales as we know it with his company, Project Admission. It's a unique model that managed to survive the collapse of live events during COVID and continue to draw investor interest, gain market traction and land significant partnerships. Stephen talks about the business, its growth, fundraising, investors and what he hopes to be saying in the next five years about the company he launched.
Ashley Reid, Founder & CEO of Wellist
September 01, 2023 14:40 - 13 minutes - 13.5 MBWellist is a consumer navigation company that started by helping to connect patients to services largely outside their care plan — connecting with an acupuncturist, a place to get a wig or someone to clean the house. The company has since opened up its offerings to employees, and in the process has been able to leverage the data it collects to help employers provide better support to their employees and reduce costs. Founder and CEO Ashley Reid talks about growing into the company's now nati...
Shaun Stimpson, Founder of North Iron Holdings
August 18, 2023 10:36 - 18 minutes - 18 MBShaun Stimpson left a nearly 20-year career in wealth management to launch North Iron Holdings. The purpose of North Iron was to be a vehicle to acquire an industrial distribution company. After an 18-month search, he bought Mitten Fluidpower Corp., which he now runs as CEO. Shaun talks about the move, the acquisition, life as an operator, building a board and his plans for growth.
Barry Sandweiss, General Partner of Cultivation Capital
August 02, 2023 17:49 - 26 minutes - 25.6 MBBarry Sandweiss has co-founded 7 startups, including Lenders One, a company that became the largest mortgage-banking cooperative in the U.S., which he eventually sold. Now he's with Cultivation Capital, a VC firm in St. Louis, sitting on the other side of the investment table. Barry talks about his experience as an entrepreneur, how it's informed his approach to investing, the urge to use his experience to help others and how his entrepreneurial spirit led him to co-found yet another busines...
John Cerasuolo, CEO of Leap Partners
July 06, 2023 20:01 - 21 minutes - 21 MBJohn Cerasuolo leads incredibly acquisitive companies. At ADS Security, he led the business through 45 acquisitions in a direct-to-owner model that relied on relationships and an internal team to buy-up companies. Now, with Leap Partners, he's hoping to do the same in the plumbing and HVAC sectors. Already the company he's launched is off to a fast start with 5 acquisitions already complete and a pipeline that could help him realize 20 more this year. John talks about starting the business a...
Joe DeStefano, CEO of Amplix
July 06, 2023 19:52 - 13 minutes - 13 MBMassachusetts-based technology advisory firms ROI Communications, Blue Front Technology Group and allConnex joined forces in late 2022 to form Amplix. CEO Joe DeStefano says the three long-time, mutually respectful competitors had a familiarity with each other that made the merger a smooth process. When it took less than two hours to put together a proforma balance sheet, they knew they had a great organization.
Sanjiv Singh, CEO of Near Earth Autonomy
June 29, 2023 19:10 - 23 minutes - 21.5 MBIn 1985, Sanjiv Singh worked on the first autonomous ground vehicles to operate outdoors. By 2010, he led a team that demonstrated the first autonomous full-scale helicopter flight. Now he's with Near Earth Autonomy, pushing the envelope in autonomy for aerial vehicles both manned and unmanned. He talks about the evolution of the technology, the company's fundraising and the obstacles that must be conquered in order to reach broader commercial adoption of autonomous flight technology.
Harold Green, Founder of Chamberlain Contractors
June 29, 2023 15:50 - 20 minutes - 18.8 MBHarold Green launched Chamberlain Contractors, an asphalt paving company, in 1975 and sold it to Pavement Partners, a portfolio company of Shoreline Equity Partners, in January 2022. While he always had the end in mind, he brought on a partner who didn't share the same goals. Green talks about selling the business, how he resolved the issue with his partner, and his more recent venture that he's hoping to more aggressively grow as he transitions out of Chamberlain.
Jai Shekhawat, Founder of Fieldglass
June 16, 2023 17:56 - 24 minutes - 22.8 MBJai Shekhawat is the founder and former CEO of Fieldglass, a cloud-based vendor management software platform that grew to encompass users in 150 countries and more than $60 billion in annual spend, making it the largest such firm in the world. He sold a majority stake in the company to Madison Dearborn Partners, which helped expand the business before selling it to SAP for $1 billion in 2014. Jai talks about the experience from soup to nuts — fundraising, growth, selling and life after.
Megan Bailey, former CEO of Personal Genome Diagnostics
June 02, 2023 16:22 - 33 minutes - 31.5 MBIn 2022, Labcorp paid a reported $450 million to acquire Personal Genome Diagnostics, known as PGDx, a genomic testing company. Megan Bailey, who was CEO of PGDx, stops by the pod to offer a peek inside the deal — what it was like building the deal team, getting buy-in, how they chose Labcorp and why they pursued a sale after successfully raising a $103 million Series C earlier that same year.
Marc Bernstein, Founder & CEO of Balto
June 02, 2023 15:47 - 24 minutes - 23.5 MBMarc Bernstein is scaling fast and having fun at Balto, a SaaS platform designed to provide real-time guidance to contact center agents. That’s even after the founder and CEO added multiple investors to the mix and recently raised $37.5 million in capital. Marc talks about launching the company, how he's maintaining the culture as he's added layers to his management team, and how the typical characterization of investors-as-bosses is all wrong.
Biju Kulathakal, Co-founder & CEO of Halo Investing
May 18, 2023 16:02 - 19 minutes - 18.8 MBBiju Kulathakal is the co-founder and CEO of Halo Investing, the first independent multi-issuer technology platform for Structured Notes, connecting investment advisors and their clients to the world’s largest banks. He talks about launching the company, pitching to investors and growing the business from an idea to more than 200 employees working in five countries.
James Peisker, Co-founder & COO of Porter Road
May 12, 2023 20:33 - 31 minutes - 30.3 MBJames Peisker launched Porter Road with what could be considered an ambitious goal: to change the world. What started as a single butcher shop in Nashville selling meat direct from the farm has spread out across multiple states and, through its thriving online business, is now selling across the nation. James shares how the business got started, why banks hesitated to fund it and how the introduction of not just capital but ideas from VC and PE has led to the company's remarkable growth.
Sean Kennedy, Managing Member of TRG
April 26, 2023 16:44 - 18 minutes - 18.5 MBSean Kennedy launched TRG in 2002 and has since grown it from a three-person team to more than 300. In addition to its impressive organic growth, the company has expanded through acquisitions, bringing on companies from the U.S., Canada and the UK as it works to become an international player in the managed solutions space. Kennedy talks about the company's growth, the differences between its domestic and international acquisitions, as well as the process of integrating teams that come from ...
Gavin Slader, Head of Investment Banking at JMP Group
April 26, 2023 16:29 - 18 minutes - 18.2 MBWhat's going on in M&A today? Is it a buyers' or a sellers' market? What are the macro factors having the most impact on dealmaking and who's taking most of the hit? Gavin Slader, head of the investment bank for JMP, a Citizens company, offers his state of M&A — an overview of the conditions dealmakers are facing and predictions for how the 2023 deal year finishes up.
Dennis Barsema, serial tech CEO; trustee of Northern Illinois University
April 21, 2023 16:36 - 32 minutes - 30.5 MBDennis Barsema has had a storied career leading numerous telecommunications, software and optical networking companies. He's engaged in myriad capital raises, mergers and several acquisitions. As the CEO of Redback Networks, he led the company through one of the most successful IPOs in Wall Street history and completed a multi-billion-dollar acquisition. Dennis talks about his experience with Redback, the issue that almost prevented him from taking the company public, and how his path eventu...
Jonathan Dane, founder of Defiant Capital Group
April 21, 2023 11:15 - 20 minutes - 19.1 MBJonathan Dane, founder of Defiant Capital Group, discusses the launch of his asset management firm in 2020 and how the turbulence of that year helped shape the business. He also shares his perspective on how the investor mindset has changed over the years since, and offers tips on post-business investment life.
Yaacov Martin, Co-Founder & CEO or Jifiti
April 12, 2023 21:00 - 26 minutes - 25.2 MBJifiti, a buy-now-pay-later white-label point-of-sale financing system for eCommerce, evolved from a gift registry business idea into a thriving company. Under the direction of co-founder & CEO Yaacov Martin, the company has leveraged financial backing with major retailers and retail holding companies to find a sweet spot in a growing industry. Yaacov shares the story of the company's founding, it's pivot of sorts into by now pay later, and how the company has grown since.
Juan Garzón, Managing Director of Innovate Charlotte
April 11, 2023 10:00 - 19 minutes - 18.9 MBFor many years, Juan Garzón's work has given him a broad view of the Charlotte startup community. He leads Innovate Charlotte and PitchBreakfast, founded and ran StartCharlotte, which became Charlotte Inno, and The Garzón Company works with entrepreneurs on marketing. Juan talks about his perspective on the Charlotte startup scene, its strengths, its gaps and the progress it's made and still needs to make.
Suzanne Yoon, Founder & Managing Partner of Kinzie Capital Partners
April 06, 2023 16:20 - 21 minutes - 20.7 MBWhen Suzanne Yoon launched the private equity firm Kinzie Capital Partners back in 2017, it was one of the scariest things she's ever done. Gaining traction meant overcoming significant obstacles in a highly competitive environment, but it's helped her better understand the entrepreneurial founders she now represents in the lower middle market. Suzanne talks about why she set out on her own, how she gained traction in the market, and why she's active with organizations that work to get and s...
Hugh Slater, Former CEO of EGC Enterprises
April 06, 2023 01:32 - 22 minutes - 21.3 MBHugh Slater struck out on his own after years in operational roles and leading divisions to assemble investors in a search fund and acquire EGC Enterprises in Chardon, Ohio. Pulled by the entrepreneurial spirit, he grew the business organically, made an acquisition and eventually sold it to CDI Energy this year. Hugh talks about the process soup to nuts and what he plans to do next.
Ali Ahmadi, Co-founder & CEO of TCARE
April 05, 2023 19:15 - 19 minutes - 18.3 MBAli Ahmadi cofounded TCARE, a business that helps organizations battle caregiver burnout for those caring for loved ones. The team has grown from two to more than 170 and, after its recent $17 million Series A from a group of 12 investors, is looking to add 100 more as it expands in the market. Ahmadi talks about the evolution of the company, what he's learned about fundraising, and how he's adapting to managing a rapidly growing business.
Sylvester Hester, Founder of LM Manufacturing
March 31, 2023 17:50 - 25 minutes - 24.1 MBSylvester Hester, a 30-year veteran of the automotive industry, has recently launched LM Manufacturing, a company that provides manufacturing, assembly, sequencing, supply chain and logistics management primarily in the automotive vertical. It's a joint venture with Magna International, a $40 billion mobility technology company that has thrown its support behind LM, which expects to generate some 400 jobs as it lays down roots in Detroit. Hester talks about the process of launching the busin...
Jennifer Tescher, Founder & CEO of Financial Health Network
March 24, 2023 19:01 - 16 minutes - 15.9 MBFinancial Health Network opens the financial services industry to underserved consumers across economic, geographic and cultural spectrums. Founder, President and CEO Jennifer Tescher talks about FHN’s Financial Solutions Lab Accelerator, its cultivated network and its investment in 50-plus finhealth solutions.
CEO Faris Ghawi and CMO Matt Buder Shapiro of Vytalize Health
March 24, 2023 18:00 - 11 minutes - 12.2 MBVytalize Health has been raising funds successively and successfully for the past few years, drawing in $5.5 in 2020, $17 million in 2021, $50 million April 2022, and now a $100m Series B in February. Company CEO and co-founder Faris Ghawi and Chief Marketing Officer Matt Buder Shapiro stop by to talk about the big raise, how they'll apply it, the growth its perpetuating and what comes next.
Tony Montanaro, Partner with Louis Plung & Co.
March 24, 2023 17:22 - 12 minutes - 12.5 MBSetting the appropriate working capital target is a significant part of any deal, and it's often something sellers just don't understand. Tony Montanaro, partner in the forensic, litigation & valuation department at Louis Plung & Company, talks about the intricacies of working capital in an M&A deal.
John Estafanous, Founder & CEO of RallyBright
March 24, 2023 16:26 - 21 minutes - 20.8 MBJohn Estafanous is leading RallyBright, the second company he's founded. He's recently raised investor capital — his first experience with the process — as he looks to accelerate growth for the company, which offers a software platform designed to improve team performance. John stops by the pod to talk about how founding the first company has informed building the second, what he learned selling that first business, his experience raising capital, and the importance of connecting with the ri...
Liana Douillet Guzmán, CEO of FOLX Health
March 16, 2023 20:22 - 19 minutes - 19.1 MBLiana Douillet Guzmán joined, FOLX Health as CEO in February 2022 and was tasked with growing the business to all 50 states. FOLX Health, operator of a digital health company intended to serve the LGBTQ+ community, has raised nearly $60 million since its founding through seed, Series A and Series B rounds, putting the company’s pre-money valuation at $95 million. Guzmán discussing the growth of FOLX and how raising capital has changed dramatically in the past two years.
Eric Satz, Co-Founder and CEO of Alto
March 16, 2023 20:05 - 12 minutes - 12.6 MBEric Satz is the co-founder, president and CEO of Alto, developer of an alternative asset investment platform intended to connect everyday investors to alternative investment opportunities. Satz and his team raised $39.94 million of Series B venture funding in 2022, putting the company's pre-money valuation at $250 million. He talks about the capital-raising process and what the future holds for Alto.
Andrew Bennett, Chief Business Officer of Provide
March 16, 2023 19:47 - 16 minutes - 15.6 MBProvide, an integrated suite of financial products for healthcare practitioners, was acquired by Fifth Third in 2021. Launched in 2013, the company made its way through pivots and financing rounds to ultimately become an independent business line of the bank in a deal that could accelerate the growth of an already growing company. Provide Chief Business Officer Andrew Bennett stops by to talk about the acquisition and what it means for the future.
David Tolmie, Senior Partner of Edgewater Funds
March 10, 2023 15:48 - 23 minutes - 22.5 MBDave Tolmie is a senior partner at The Edgewater Funds, a private equity firm he co-founded in 2001 and has helped grow to more than $3 billion in committed capital. The former CEO of Yesmail, Inc., a company he led through a successful IPO and subsequent sale for $720 million, and previous Senior Vice President of Operations for Bally Total Fitness, a company he joined after building and selling a regional health club to Bally for $90 million, talks about what he looks for in the entreprene...
Dick Simon, CEO of Sensorium Therapeutics
March 03, 2023 16:38 - 19 minutes - 18.4 MBDick Simon, a serial entrepreneur and leader in advancing psychedelic-assisted therapies, is the co-founder and CEO of Sensorium Therapeutics. The company identifies new, promising drug leads for therapeutics inspired by psychoactive plants and fungi to address mental health issues such as anxiety. Dick talks about the business, how it's grown, and its recent fundraising, which brought a $30 million Series A into the business in 2022.
JD Harris, CEO of Ascent Solutions
March 03, 2023 15:58 - 23 minutes - 22.1 MBAfter JD Harris joined Ascent Solutions in 2014, he bought out the previous owners and turned the company from a hosting company — which was 95 percent of its business — into one that provides cybersecurity advisory, consulting, education and managed services. In 2021, he sold a minority investment in the company to RunTide Capital to accelerate the already exponential growth the company experienced since he first got involved. JD talks about that first big pivot, the company's growth and th...
Matt Massucci, Founder & CEO of Hirewell
February 24, 2023 17:19 - 11 minutes - 11.3 MBHirewell, a recruiting company founded by Matt Massucci in 2001, recently raised $21 million from Pry-tek Holdings, a copany with global reach. Already, Matt has teamed with Pry-Tek on an investment in the London-based executive search firm TritonExec, a company that's expected to compliment the capabilities that Hirewell brings to the organization. Matt talks about the deal, the diligence and what it all means for his and the company's future.
Tranice Watts, Co-founder of Lifting Lucy
February 24, 2023 17:04 - 25 minutes - 24.7 MBTranice Watts co-founded Lifting Lucy when she was in her early twenties, working in an industry not known for much diversity. The idea came to Watts — the first Black woman to co-own and operate a craft brewery in the state of Maryland — when she was on a subcommittee of the Craft Brewers Conference. Lifting Lucy has since grown into a national organization that supports under-represented communities within the brewing industry by helping finance opportunities for exposure and inclusion.
Silas Deane, Founder of VendEngine
February 24, 2023 16:46 - 22 minutes - 21.2 MBSilas Deane founded VendEngine, a financial tech software solution for inmates and their families, when he realized there were serious issues with correctional facilities in regard to money transfers. He discusses the founding of the company, how COVID-19 played a critical role in the firm's path, and how he ended up selling the business to Tyler Technologies.
Jon Eesley, Partner with Windsor Advisory Group
February 17, 2023 18:28 - 28 minutes - 26.9 MBSelling a closely held business is a unique and taxing challenge. When an owner's eyes are focused too intensely on how much they'll get and how to keep it away from the IRS, there's a lot they can miss. Jon Eesley, who has been a part of many M&A transactions both as an accountant and as a financial adviser, talks about the personal toll a process can take, how to emotionally prepare for an event, and where to get objective advice.
Guy Friedman, Co-founder & CEO of SteadyMD
February 17, 2023 18:14 - 16 minutes - 16.4 MBGuy Friedman is Co-Founder, President and CEO of SteadyMD, a B2B telehealth infrastructure provider that enables telehealth patient experiences in all 50 states. He spoke on the Dealmakers Podcast about how he built SteadyMD as a direct-to-consumer offering, but quickly realized it’s value to other businesses.