Subscribe to Smart Business Dealmakers
January 7, 2022
Plan ahead to find deal success
Tri Star Energy's Wayne Acklen, Baker Donelson's Tonya Mitchem Grindon, Quorum Health's Alfred Lumsdaine and PNC Bank's Michael Johnson offer tips on financing your business to supercharge growth and how planning ahead can prepare buyers and sellers for just about any contingency....
By Adam Burroughs
December 16, 2021
Citymark Capital founder Daniel Walsh on launching the company
Daniel Walsh talks about launching Citymark Capital, building funds, creating value and the special place Austin holds in the company’s plans....
By Adam Burroughs
December 2, 2021
How Chris Molaro launched NeuroFlow
NeuroFlow co-founder Chris Molaro on changing the way mental health care is delivered, his most recent M&A deal, and the company’s future. ...
By Adam Burroughs
November 5, 2021
Addressing the structural barriers facing minority owned businesses
Della Clark, CEO of The Enterprise Center, talks about ways to create better access to capital for minority entrepreneurs and her newest project, an SBIC fund aimed at mature minority owned companies....
By Adam Burroughs
July 9, 2021
The benefits of crowdfunding
Jonathan Cohen, founder, CEO and president, 20/20 GeneSystems, shares best practices for effective crowdfunding as well as how to prepare pitches for different investor audiences. ...
By Adam Burroughs
June 18, 2021
Jonathan Herrick pursues growth at Benchmark
Jonathan Herrick, a St. Louis entrepreneur who’s now CEO of Benchmark, talks about its most recent acquisition of Contacts+, as well as what’s in store for 2021....
By Adam Burroughs
May 28, 2021
Paths to public: Mina Sooch on reverse merger vs IPO
Mina Sooch explains how the reverse merger process she took taking Ocuphire Pharma Inc. public compares to her prior IPO experiences....
By Adam Burroughs
May 21, 2021
Louis Foreman on how IP strategy creates value
Enventys Partners CEO Louis Foreman CEO on where startups struggle, and how they find success....
By Adam Burroughs
January 22, 2021
Carolyn Cassin on the good news/bad news of venture funding for women
Carolyn Cassin, BELLE Michigan Impact Fund founder and general partner talks about the challenges women entrepreneurs face and how her fund is designed to help....
By Adam Burroughs
January 22, 2021
Raise capital, gain market validation with crowdfunding, says Louis Foreman
Louis Foreman, CEO, Enventys Partners talks about product innovation, raising capital, recent patent activity trends and the commonalities among his 15 clients who appeared on the TV show Shark Tank....
By Adam Burroughs
December 17, 2020
Greg Skoda: Raising Capital to Survive in Uncertain Times
Greg Skoda, speaking at the Smart Business Dealmakers Conference in September, offered his take on companies’ pandemic capital situation, and how business owners and executives have responded....
By Adam Burroughs
June 12, 2020
ChromoCare’s Hugh Cathey: It’s time for careful, creative thinking
It's a challenging business environment right now, which calls for care and out-of-the-box thinking. Hugh Cathey discusses what he’s seeing in today’s market through the lens of both business owner and investor....
By Jayne Gest
May 21, 2020
UBS’ Jerry Johnson sees deals and capital flowing, although with some renegotiation
UBS Managing Director and Market Head Jerry Johnson shares his view of the market and what's happening with capital flow in the M&A space....
By Adam Burroughs
April 17, 2020
Daniel J. Hayes talks tempering expectations in life sciences capital raises
Tips from CLA's Dan Hayes on how life sciences founders can navigate some of the critical business steps that help them take their science to market....
By Adam Burroughs
March 5, 2020
PeopleShare co-founder Ryan Clark on acquisitions, lessons learned
When PeopleShare, through organic growth, hit a comfortable revenue number, CEO Ryan Clark began to wonder how big the staffing firm could get. That’s when acquisition, and a private equity recapitalization, became real and viable options....
By Adam Burroughs
February 6, 2020
Richard Weaver on choosing the right recapitalization partner
AB Bernstein's Richard L.N. Weaver offers his perspective on what business owners should consider when pursuing recapitalization, including the importance of defining goals and choosing the right private equity partner....
By Adam Burroughs
January 22, 2020
Dave Enright breaks down the capital stack
Dave Enright has a lot of experience in the "wild, wild west" of buying — deals that are below $5 million EBIDTA. The senior vice president and commercial banker at S&T Bank digs into the financing behind buying companies in the lower middle market....
By Jayne Gest
January 21, 2020
Martin Renkis: Be a 10-year thinker when raising funds
Founder Martin Renkis talks about raising capital for Smartvue and how long-term thinking ultimately landed put him in the best position to succeed — culminating in a sale to Johnson Controls in 2018....
By Adsam Burroughs
January 17, 2020
Michael Mufson on determining value, finding investors in recapitalization
Recaps, a liquidity play, represent an estimated 75 percent of the private equity transactions taking place in the market today. Michael Mufson offers a closer look at recapitalization so owners can better understand the process....
By Adam Burroughs
January 9, 2020
Autobooks’ Steve Robert: Give Investors A Reason To Believe In Your Business
You can’t afford to be short-sighted, getting quick dollars and board members without thinking a few steps ahead, says Autobooks’ Steve Robert....
By Mark Scott
January 9, 2020
Capital-raising tips any business can learn from
Coolfire Solutions CEO Don Sharp talks about raising capital, nurturing investor relationships and what should be understood when faced with the decision of whether, or whether not, to take on outside capital....
By Adam Burroughs
December 12, 2019
Pre Brands’ Jason Pinter: Build An Investment Thesis That Works For You
Feedback is important as you’re building a business. But you’ve got to do what you think is best, says Pre Brands’ Jason Pinter....
By Mark Scott
December 3, 2019
How Maxine Clark Financed Build-A-Bear
Build-A-Bear Workshop founder Maxine Clark talks about how she raised the capital — both financial and intellectual — to grow the retail chain and eventually take it public....
By Adam Burroughs
October 31, 2019
U of M’s David Brophy: Michigan Needs To Retain More Talent, Secure More Investment Dollars
The Michigan Private Equity Conference is part of an effort to spur private equity investment and activity in the state....
By Mark Scott
October 31, 2019
Dr. Ellen Stang unlocks growth with a little PE help
Progeny Health, founded by Dr. Ellen Stang, has been profitable and debt-free since the beginning. But when her business hit a wall about eight years in, some friendly advice helped her unlock the company's growth....
By Adam Burroughs
October 24, 2019
Denise Devine’s tips and traps for capital-raising entrepreneurs
RTM Vital Signs' co-founder Denise Devine explores the stages of capital raising and what entrepreneurs should look for, and look out for, at each....
By Adam Burroughs
October 10, 2019
Fyllo’s Chad Bronstein: Pitch Investors With Confidence, Not Arrogance
Chad Bronstein shares tips on how he engaged investors and helped Fyllo raise $18 million in seed funding....
By Mark Scott
September 20, 2019
Hugh Cathey: Smart Fundraising Requires Monitoring Market
Serial entrepreneur Hugh Cathey, now on his ninth startup with genetic testing company ChromoCare, shares his best practices for raising capital....
By Jayne Gest
September 13, 2019
VillageMD’s Tim Barry: Investors Want To Give You Money
The co-founder and CEO of the healthcare management services company talks about his strategy when raising capital and the importance of establishing an ongoing dialogue with potential investors....
By Mark Scott
September 13, 2019
John McInerney On Finding The Right Deal Partners
M&A veteran John McInerney talks about his experience selling Keystone Printed Specialties and what it taught him about the value of good advisors....
By Adam Burroughs
September 12, 2019
Three keys to an effective recapitalization strategy
Greenwich Capital Group's Andrew Dickow shares what you need to consider when building an effective recapitalization strategy....
By Mark Scott
August 30, 2019
MBF Therapeutics’ Tom Tillett On Raising Capital And Keeping Control
The animal health biotech company's founder and CEO talks about raising capital to fuel your organization’s growth and how to plan to pay back your investors. Here are some of the lessons he shared....
By Adam Burroughs
August 30, 2019
Debt Advisor Tom Lesch On Financing Riskier Deals
Livingstone Partners' Tom Lesch talks about his approach helping companies get the capital they need, as well as a recent trend that has seen borrowers become less willing to take risks....
By Mark Scott
August 28, 2019
How Krystal Biotech went from founding to IPO in 18 months
CEO Krish Krishnan is an experienced biotech executive. But even he didn’t expect to go from self-funding Krystal Biotech to IPO in 18 months....
By Jayne Gest
August 22, 2019
How To Optimize Capital To Support Growth
Veteran deal adviser Joseph Valentic walks through the process of determining your capital needs and how to find the best source to fund your growth....
By Mark Scott
June 28, 2019
Raising Capital: Three Things Every Investor Wants To Know
When you’re an investor being asked to provide millions of dollars in capital to a growing business, you want a lot of details about how that money will be used.“I would bet 90 percent of the...
By Mark Scott
June 27, 2019
Be Sure You Can Manage Your Capital Before You Take It
Competition is strong among financial institutions engaged in M&A activity, which creates risk for companies looking to make a deal, says says Richard C. Hampson, state president and head of commercial banking at Citizens Bank, Michigan....
By Mark Scott
June 18, 2019
Keys to developing a strong capital structure
Candlewood Partners founder Glenn Pollack discusses restructuring transactions, building strong capital structures and the risk of selling to private equity....
By Mark Scott
June 5, 2019
Quantum Health’s Kara Trott on raising capital without losing control
How the CEO of the health care company brought on three rounds of investors, while keeping control of the business she founded....
By Jayne Gest
May 28, 2019
How to set up the right capital structure for each acquisition
Andrew Wiechkoske has never had the unfortunate experience of having a deal fall apart at or near the finish line, even though he’s worked at PNC since 2008 and completed more than $1 billion...
By Jayne Gest
May 23, 2019
Phil Alexander: Give Potential Investors A Reason To Believe
The founder of ConceptDrop and Nexus A.I. talks about the role personality can play in making better connections with potential investors....
By Mark Scott
May 15, 2019
How to plan a successful recapitalization strategy
Recapitalization — the process of changing a company’s capital structure through the issuance of new debt or equity securities — is a popular way to fund acquisitions, growth strategies, partner...
By Mark Scott
April 30, 2019
In Raising Capital, Who Invests Is As Important As How Big The Check Is
The serial entrepreneur and CEO of SPR Therapeutics talks about her process for raising capital, as well as the role non-dilutive capital has played in her fundraising formula....
By Mark Scott
April 16, 2019
Capital-raising tips from a CEO who bagged $9 million in 90 days
XaTek CEO John Zak shares his approach to raising capital and the advantage of doing it all at once....
By Mark Scott
March 28, 2019
BrewDog USA’s crowdfunding model raises awareness along with money
Former CEO Tanisha Robinson explains how crowdfunding payed a key role in the beer maker's whirlwind growth in the U.S....
By Jayne Gest
March 15, 2019
There is no ‘exit’ for restaurant investors
Investing in a restaurant sounds glamorous, doesn’t it? And that’s become truer as TV depicts chefs as rock stars. Veteran restauranteur Craig Barnum, who raised capital for his first restaurants more than 20 years ago, paints a different picture — one where there are no clear assets or exit timelines....
By Jayne Gest
February 27, 2019
Dan Manges: Root Insurance's journey to unicorn status
Dan Manges shares Root's high-speed capital raising journey and meteoric rise to unicorn status....
By Jayne Gest
October 25, 2018
A look into the wild world of raising capital
Three dealmakers with different experiences raising capital came together in a panel discussion at ASPIRE 2018 to discuss the ins and outs of funding....
By Jayne Gest
July 13, 2018
XaTek raises $9M in under 90 days
John Zak talks about his work, his team and his ambitious strategy to take this project across the finish line....
By Mark Scott
June 28, 2018
Mezu: New venture, old friends
How Yuval Brisker leveraged his success and relationships at TOA Technologies to raise $10 million and get Mezu up and running....
By Adam Burroughs
