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April 17, 2025
Tackling ESOP Myths
David Solomon, a member at Levenfeld Pearlstein, sets the record straight on what an ESOP is, and what it isn’t....
By Adam Burroughs
January 31, 2025
The Challenges, And Benefits, Of Selling To An ESOP
Doug Bawel of Jasper Holdings on selling to an ESOP and how the change has affected his business and his employees’ lives....
By Adam Burroughs
December 19, 2024
Standing Out From The Pool Of Gray
Gore Range Capital's Ethan Rigel spoke on the Smart Business Dealmakers Podcast about the firm’s launch and its early fund experiences, highlighting what’s changed in company types and terms, as well as what being a helpful investor really means....
By Adam Burroughs
December 19, 2024
3 Ways a Fractional CFO Provides Unbiased Leadership
SeatonHill's Jack McGovern on how fractional CFO bring an outside perspective to companies pursuing M&A that center around three imperative areas....
By Jack McGovern
November 14, 2024
Sports, Business And The M&A Arena
Andrew Berlin of Shield.AI, Berlin Packaging, Chicago Cubs and South Bend Cubs; along with Rob Sine of Blueprint Sports, on how strategic opportunities in asset diversification and the current economic climate are reshaping the landscape for athletes, institutions and franchises. ...
By Dealmakers Staff
October 17, 2024
Announcing the Chicago Smart Business Dealmaker Award Winners and 2024 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class
The Smart Business Dealmakers Dealmaker of the Year Awards recognize exceptional individuals in Chicago. See who we recognized! ...
By SBN Staff
September 19, 2024
Facing Financial Ups And Downs
Chartwell Financial Advisory’s Will Bloom on how financial conditions have affected M&A....
By Adam Burroughs
September 19, 2024
5 Tactics for Successful Post-Close Add-On Integration
SeatonHill's Paul Jurewicz offers tips on realizing the full value of an acquisition....
By Paul Jurewicz
August 22, 2024
The Interest Rate Squeeze Impacts Buyers
Wind Point Partners’ Peter Leemputte on the challenges buyers face in a higher interest rate environment....
By Adam Burroughs
July 25, 2024
Internal Transparency, Communication, Central To M&A Strategy
rEvolution's Tony Lorenz on how internal transparency and communication are central to their M&A strategy....
By Adam Burroughs
June 20, 2024
How Financial Realities Are Affecting M&A Math
Keystone Capital's Bill Sommerschield on how financial realities are affecting M&A math....
By Adam Burroughs
June 3, 2024
Interim CFOs: Building Bridges Across the PE and PortCo Divide
SeatonHill's Gayle Anderson on using interim CFOs to bridge the divide between PE and PortCo during the transitional phase to provide expertise and leadership....
By Gayle Anderson
May 16, 2024
Essential Leadership Traits For Uncertain Times
Brightstar Capital Partners Tom Meredith on how today's market conditions impact business leaders....
By Adam Burroughs
April 18, 2024
Higher Multiples Require Greater Buyer Scrutiny
MERK Capital Corp.'s Thomas Parro on how today's economic conditions are affecting buyers' approach to deals...
By Adam Burroughs
March 7, 2024
Policies That Bring Big-Picture Metrics Down To The Factory Floor
Innovations in Nutrition and Wellness Former CEO Jared Leishman on programs designed to engage employees in achieving company goals....
By Adam Burroughs
February 9, 2024
Capital Costs And The Impact On Dealmaking
Monarch Collective's Suk Shah on capital options today and the effect on M&A...
By Adam Burroughs
January 18, 2024
Hafeezah Muhammad On People and Analytics In Deals
Hafeezah Muhammad's company Backpack Healthcare recently acquired two companies. At the 2023 Chicago Smart Business Dealmakers Conference, she talked about how the business has supercharged its...
By Adam Burroughs
January 5, 2024
Navigating The Journey From Diligence To Exit In Private Equity
Chief Outsiders' Slade Kobran shares some key considerations from PE operating partners that ought to be taken from diligence to exit, and the go-to-market strategies they’ve used to foster success....
By Slade Kobran
October 13, 2023
Midwest Values Bouy Businesses When Fundamentals Are The Focus
The Chicago Smart Business Dealmakers Conference kicked off with insights and strategies for navigating the post-exit landscape, as well as the speakers' perspective on what's been a tricky M&A...
By Adam Burroughs
September 29, 2023
Chicago M&A Honorees Named
The Smart Business Dealmakers Dealmaker of the Year awards recognize exceptional individuals who are shaping the landscape of business and innovation in Greater Chicago. The 2023 class of winners —...
By Dan Pender
August 25, 2023
Take The Stigma Out Of The Exit Talk
CEOs are often hesitant to talk about exits because there's a stigma attached to it, says MATH Venture Partners Managing Director Mark Achler. "There's a concern that if you start to talk about an...
By Adam Burroughs
July 21, 2023
Luke Haverhals' Company Is Working To Solve The World's Biggest Problem
Luke Haverhals, founder and CEO of Natural Fiber Welding, says he's an accidental entrepreneur. As the former chemistry professor at the United States Naval Academy tells it, he was fortunate to be in...
By Adam Burroughs
June 16, 2023
Life After Selling
Jai Shekhawat founded Fieldglass, a cloud-based VMS platform, in 1999, grew it to be the largest vendor management software firm in the world, then sold it in 2014 for $1 billion. He's raised capital,...
By Adam Burroughs
May 19, 2023
Biju Kulathakal On Launching Halo, Fundraising
Halo Investing is a platform for structured notes or, as the company's Co-Founder and CEO Biju Kulathakal puts it, defined outcome investing. "It's a financial product that's a $3 trillion market...
By Adam Burroughs
April 21, 2023
How Redback's Famous IPO Almost Wasn't
Dennis Barsema on his experience with Redback, the issue that almost prevented him from taking the company public, and how his path eventually led him to teaching future entrepreneurs....
By Adam Burroughs
April 6, 2023
Suzanne Yoon On Launching Kinzie Capital Partners
Kinzie Capital Partners Founder and Managing Partner Suzanne Yoon on launching the firm....
By Adam Burroughs
March 24, 2023
FHN Facilitates Service for Underbanked Consumers
Jennifer Tescher on her company’s investments strategies and goals for assisting their partners during harsh economic times. ...
By Dan Pender
March 10, 2023
No "Risky Bets" When Investing In CEOs
The Edgewater Funds Senior Partner David Tolmie on what he looks for in an executive, investment red flags, preparing for exits and negotiating deal terms. ...
By Adam Burroughs
February 24, 2023
Hirewell's Matt Massucci Is Ready For The Next Challenge
Hirewell CEO Matt Massucci on the company's post-capital-raise growth, acquisitions, and how these changes are affecting the company....
By Adam Burroughs
February 10, 2023
Halo Investing Brings Structured Notes to the Masses
Halo’s vision and execution has propelled it to one of the top FinTechs in the U.S. That success also allowed it to easily raise capital to further its long-term goal of making structured notes accessible for just one dollar. Jason Barsema, co-founder and president, joined the Deamlamers Podcast to talk about how they built the company to where it is today and what we can expect in the future. ...
By Dan Pender
January 27, 2023
The Shift In Diligence From Risk to Reward
West Monroe Senior Partner Keith Campbell is a co-author of the report, The Future of Diligence in Private Equity, which highlights survey findings from 100 U.S. PE companies to explore the shifts in diligence approach that move away from identifying risk to identifying opportunity. That shift is happening in part because of unique market factors. Campbell says 80 percent or more of diligence used to be on site pre-COVID. ...
By Adam Burroughs
January 13, 2023
With SmartWitness, Business Liability Tool Turns Into $200M Return For Nick Merchef
Nick Mirchef and his son-in-law, Chris Pflanz, went through the trails and tribulations of early-stage capital raises with their company SmartWitness and found a big payday at the end of it all. Today, they’re offering others advice using their experience as a guide. ...
By Dan Pender
December 16, 2022
Entrepreneur Focus: Jennifer Tescher
Financial Health Network President and CEO Jennifer Tescher on her company, its mission and the challenges it faces....
By Adam Burroughs
December 1, 2022
Athletico's Mark Kaufman On Leveraging Employee Expertise
Athletico Physical Therapy Founder Mark Kaufman on the peaks and valleys of entrepreneurship....
By Adam Burroughs
November 18, 2022
Entrepreneur Focus: Kathryn Finney
Genius Guild Founder, CEO and Managing Partner Kathryn Finney shares her entrepreneurial journey and the impact she's been able to have through it....
By Adam Burroughs
November 4, 2022
Expert Social Influencers Change the Marketing Landscape
Working directly with brands and retailers, The Desire Company matches them with the right experts to trial, test and review products, producing video reviews for use at the point of sale and across digital marketing channels. These partnerships are proving to drive an increase in conversions, time on site and an increase in marketing effectiveness, resulting in a six times revenue increase for the company in the past 12 months. As a result, brands are taking notice and want in on this new approach. ...
By Dan Pender
October 21, 2022
Begin With The End In Mind
MATH Venture Partners' Mert Hilmi Iseri and Mark Achler, along with UBS's James Jack and Michael R. Gatewood, share valuable personal lessons learned over several successful M&A exits. ...
By Adam Burroughs
October 7, 2022
Shifting Perspective When Bringing On PE
Serial entrepreneur Stephen Marshall on how founders and CEOs need to prepare their company, and themselves, for major events in a business's lifecycle. ...
By Adam Burroughs
September 23, 2022
Tailor your M&A approach
IDEAL CEO and Director Steve Henn on getting an organization prepared for acquisitions....
By Adam Burroughs
September 9, 2022
Preparing for sell-side diligence
CMC Materials' Daniel Woodland on issues that arise when selling a business. ...
By Adam Burroughs
August 26, 2022
A look at M&A in today's food & beverage sector
Prairie Capital Advisors' Terry Bressler and Dan DeLap on how the deal market in the food and beverage sector is playing out this year, their expectations for the near-term, and factors that both buyers and sellers should consider ahead of a transaction....
By Adam Burroughs
August 11, 2022
When there's more than money to a deal
Orbus Past Chairman & Owner Simon Perutz on his former company's acquisition...
By Adam Burroughs
July 29, 2022
When selling, get answers before the deal closes
Ten35's Sherman Wright on preparing to sell a business and the liquidity event that follows....
By Adam Burroughs
July 22, 2022
Price Taker vs. Price Maker and the effect on value
BMO Harris Bank's John Chalus and Tecum Capital's Matt Harnett on the economic factors that are affecting deals and how buyers and sellers can adjust. ...
By Adam Burroughs
July 6, 2022
Preparing yourself to prepare for a sale
Prospect Partners' Louis Kenter on steps a business owner should take to prepare to sell their company....
By Adam Burroughs
July 6, 2022
Identifying the right capital partners
Tiesta Tea Company's Dan Klein on what he looks for in investors beyond capital as well as the company's plans for growth. ...
By Adam Burroughs
June 29, 2022
Risk management in M&A
Aclaimant Co-Founder and Board Member Michael Schultz on dealing with risk in M&A transactions, and how his company is applying its recent $15 million raise....
By Adam Burroughs
June 22, 2022
The complexity of pre-sale estate and wealth planning
DP+'s Mark Petrosky, Cendrowski Corporate Advisors' John Alfonsi and Pitcairn's Andy Busser on how a seller's approach to the pre-planning and execution — including taking the impact of taxes into consideration — may be the difference between a deal's success and failure. ...
By Adam Burroughs
