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April 18, 2024
Sellers, Be Prepared To Bury Your Business
Forever Bride's Ashley Hawks on how sellers can set themselves up mentally for the sale of their business...
By Adam Burroughs
April 18, 2024
To Generate Value, Run The Business Like You'll Be There For 100 Years
Schumann Steier's Arthur Steier on generating value for a business...
By Adam Burroughs
April 10, 2024
Why You Should View A Deal As A Long-Term Relationship
A&R Ironworks John Chesnutt on seeing deals with a long-term view. ...
By Adam Burroughs
April 4, 2024
The Rising Importance Of People In Driving Business Value In A Deal
SolomonEdwardsGroup's Laura Kellers Queen on the rising importance of people in driving business value in a deal....
By Adam Burroughs
April 4, 2024
How to Maximize PE Value Creation by Better Assessing Growth Potential in Due Diligence
Chief Outsiders Managing Partner, Private Equity, Slade Kobran outlines and approach to value creation that starts in due diligence....
By Slade Kobran
March 21, 2024
Lessons Learned From A Sale Process
Champions Hydro-Lawn's Shea Walker on lessons learned after going through a sale process...
By Adam Burroughs
March 21, 2024
When Selling A Business, Get Help But Get Going
Red Hawk Past Owner Gillet Boyce on the advice he'd give to owners selling a business for the first time. ...
By Adam Burroughs
February 29, 2024
Inside The Thought Process Of Sell Or Don't Sell
Osage Venture Partners' Emily Foote on how she came to the decision she made with Practice, a company she co-founded....
By Adam Burroughs
February 21, 2024
Sellers, Keep It Simple When Talking With Buyers
Circuit Check's Chris Scorse on the importance of clear communication between sellers and potential buyers....
By Adam Burroughs
February 15, 2024
Doing Right By Your Team In A Deal
Juvare's Robert Watson on the importance of focusing on the team during a transaction....
By Adam Burroughs
February 15, 2024
The Unexpected Sale Of A Family Business
Former Birko Corporation Owner Kelly Green on the shift to selling her family business....
By Adam Burroughs
February 1, 2024
Knowledge Is Power For Sellers
Keith Lipman on the prep work that went into the sale of his company, Prosperoware...
By Adam Burroughs
February 1, 2024
Know Your Buyer's Intentions When Selling
SupplySide Group's Ansir Junaid on the importance of understanding the different buyer types and what they mean for your business post-sale....
By Adam Burroughs
January 25, 2024
Are You Really Ready To Sell?
Big Dot of Happiness Founder and Former CEO Sherri Yukel on how she prepared herself and her business for a sale....
By Adam Burroughs
January 18, 2024
Sally Hughes On Letting Go
Sally Hughes founded Caster Connection in 1987 when she started selling chair casters out of the trunk of her car. Over 36 years, she built the business up to include some 3,000 different products,...
By Adam Burroughs
January 5, 2024
Even With Experience, Selling A Family Business Can Be A Challenge
Recently, Jeff Gershman, Chairman of the Board, of Gershman Mortgage & Gershman Investment Corp., sold Gershman Commercial Real Estate, a brokerage and property management company. Through his law...
By Adam Burroughs
December 15, 2023
A Tale Of Two Exits
Allie Danziger, SVP and GM at AscentUP and Ascent Funding, on how lessons from her first sale informed how she approached the second....
By Adam Burroughs
December 1, 2023
Level Agency's Patrick Patterson Raises The Growth Bar
Level Agency's Patrick Patterson on 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 partner and the agency's plans for the future....
By Adam Burroughs
November 21, 2023
Buyer Honesty Can Mean Greater Seller Buy-In
Tendit Group CEO Alejandra Harvey Oliver on how the seller mindset can affect the deal process. ...
By Adam Burroughs
November 17, 2023
See Your Business Through Buyers' Eyes
The advice to business owners looking to exit is often to get the right advisers and plan well ahead of going to market. But for many, that's not always the reality. "We deal with the business owners...
By Adam Burroughs
November 17, 2023
How Buyer Type Affects Deal Prep
When running businesses for private equity groups, Kevin Matkin, CEO of Maysteel Industries LLC says what's often important when preparing for a sale depends on the buyer type. For a financial buyer,...
By Adam Burroughs
October 13, 2023
When Selling, Ask Many Questions
As he was looking into selling Insight Publications, Publisher Brian Rasmussen had a lot to think about. Given his age, energy level, and a sense that, given the nature of his business, he wasn't...
By Adam Burroughs
October 6, 2023
The Million-Dollar Question When Considering A Sale
Knowing when to sell a business is challenging, says Richard Hamlin, executive vice president of The Reserve Group, a family office and management company. While much depends on the owner's personal...
By Adam Burroughs
September 29, 2023
The 15-Year Process Of Selling CollabraSpace
CollabraSpace Co-Founder Ray Schwemmer says he would get cold calls all the time from people looking to buy his software company. "We basically just ignored them," he said at the Baltimore Smart...
By Adam Burroughs
September 29, 2023
Transparency Is Needed When Selling A Family Business
Multigenerational family businesses, says Richard J. Wolkowitz, CEO and Family Advisor at Xylogenesis | Family Office Advisory, are tough. The family working in the business may have a different...
By Adam Burroughs
September 22, 2023
Selling Sgt. Clean
Two years ago, Brian Krusz, co-founder and director of growth and development at Sgt. Clean Car Wash, brought on a financial partner, Prairie Capital, who he says has helped the decade-old,...
By Adam Burroughs
September 15, 2023
4 Tips For Preparing To Sell Your Business
Northern Lakes Capital partner Joel Grebenick share what sellers should consider when thinking about an exit....
By Adam Burroughs
September 14, 2023
For A Successful Sale, Know What You Want
With early-stage tech companies, it's important to figure out what the entrepreneur wants because often the entrepreneur is near burnout, says Sig Mosley, managing partner of Mosley Ventures....
By Adam Burroughsd
September 14, 2023
Candid Reasons Not To Pass Your Business To The Next Generation
How — and why — Thomas J. Young sold Arrowhead Systems, a business he had no intention of selling....
By Adam Burroughs
August 25, 2023
From Sell To Sell And Buy
General Die Casters has been in business since 1957 making high-pressure aluminum die castings of parts for everything from automobiles to chainsaws. About a year ago, CEO Brian Lennon says the...
By Adam Burroughs
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
August 4, 2023
Deal Close Is Not The End Of The Marathon
Rendia, founded by an eye doctor and his three children to help doctors and patients understand each other better, was sold to a strategic buyer, PatientPoint, this past October. To personally prepare...
By Adam Burroughs
July 21, 2023
Lessons Learned From Selling A Business ... Twice
Bruce Milen, Chairman of the Board of Jax Kar Wash, first sold his business back in 1998 during a period of consolidation and roll ups. He had and took the opportunity to buy it back three years later...
By Adam Burroughs
June 29, 2023
Prepare At The Beginning For The Best End
Harold Green launched Chamberlain Contractors, an asphalt paving company, back in 1975, and sold it to Pavement Partners, a portfolio company of Shoreline Equity Partners, in January 2022. While he...
By Adam Burroughs
June 23, 2023
Exiting Is A Juggling Act For Owners
After a stint practicing law, Ron Cundy decided, during the depths of the Great Recession, to start a company. He and a partner launched recteq, a business that made grills, but couldn't get a product...
By Adam Burroughs
June 16, 2023
Authenticity, Transparency Key In Deal Negotiations
When preparing to sell a business, Womble Bond Dickinson LLP Partner Scott Anderson says it's best not to hide anything because the buyer, through diligence, is going to find it. "So, you might as...
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
June 9, 2023
Selling To Make The Business Better
Having sold his business, the once-high-growth startup focused on high-acuity homecare programs, Contessa Health, Co-Founder Travis Messina says when they ran their process, they used an investment...
By Adam Burroughs
June 9, 2023
To Enhance Value, Start Early
When it comes to building the right team around a family business to help create value, not every company has the right people in their family tree to do that. That, says Messerli Kramer Attorney and...
By Adam Burroughs
May 19, 2023
Sellers Should Be Clear About What They Want In A Deal
Gridiron Capital Managing Director Joe Saldutti says, as a private equity investor, what attracts him to businesses and helps him prioritize investing in one company versus another is when it's a...
By Adam Burroughs
May 12, 2023
Best Practices in Preparing for a Sale
As business owners begin preparing their company for sale, something to consider is how much time it would take to fix a problem if one is found. "The way we thought about it is, what are the things...
By Adam Burroughs
May 5, 2023
Facing Economic Headwinds, Deal Math Changes
Several area dealmakers chimed in on how they see the current market; how buyers, sellers and entrepreneurs are faring; and their expectations for how the remainder of the deal year plays out. Check out what they have to say....
By Adam Burroughs
April 6, 2023
Hugh Slater on Buying, Building And Selling EGC Enterprises
Slater Capital Managing Partner Hugh Slater on buying, building and growing EGC Enterprises....
By Adam Burroughs
March 24, 2023
Working Capital’s Vital Role in M&A
Tony Montanaro, partner in the forensic, litigation & valuation department at Louis Plung & Company, on working capital’s role in an M&A transaction. ...
By Dan Pender
March 24, 2023
How Buyers Leverage Weaknesses In A Deal
Guardian Capital Partners Managing Partner Peter Haabestad on the ways buyers pick apart deals and how business owners can maximize the opportunity of a sale....
By Adam Burroughs
March 17, 2023
Selling means more than just money
Marcum LLP Senior Partner Greg Skoda on why money might not be the most important part of a deal. ...
By Adam Burroughs
March 17, 2023
How preparing to sell your company is like a bike ride with friends
Justine E. Tobin, founder and managing partner of Tobin & Company Investment Banking Group, on how starting with the end in mind can maximize a sale opportunity and speed up the process....
By Adam Burroughs
March 17, 2023
Andrew Bennett on Provide's Sale To Fifth Third Bank
Provide Chief Business Officer Andrew Bennett spoke on the Smart Business Dealmakers Podcast about Provide's sale to Fifth Third....
By Adam Burroughs
March 10, 2023
Data, Transparency Play Large Roles In A Deal
Highwood USA CEO and Founder John Quarmley talks through the company's recent sale process....
By Adam Burroughs