Subscribe to Smart Business Dealmakers
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
September 29, 2023
Optimism For Better M&A Times Is On The Horizon
Headlines of articles covering the M&A market over the past couple of months and years have painted a challenging picture, says UBS Market Executive, Philadelphia & DC Market Julie Fox. However, they...
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 22, 2023
Increasing investment in Central Ohio
On the heels of the Intel announcement that created much buzz in Central Ohio, Chris Michael a partner at Ice Miller LLP, led the kickoff panel at the Columbus Smart Business Dealmakers Conference...
By Adam Burroughs
September 22, 2023
How Not Listening To Advice Benefitted SkySpecs
SkySpecs CEO Danny Ellis has raised a few rounds of funding — six in total — and has learned several lessons from the experience. "A lot of mistakes in the early days," Ellis says. "We probably over...
By Adam Burroughs
September 8, 2023
Cleveland Deal Activity: Navigating M&A deal structures in a tightened debt market
As interest rates and borrowing costs move in parallel, buyers are faced with the challenge of navigating increasing costs of debt to finance acquisitions, especially in deals where the seller has...
By Andrew J. Chalhoub
September 8, 2023
Philadelphia's 2023 Smart Business Network Dealmaker Award Winners: Trailblazers in Business and Innovation
The 2023 Smart Business Network Philadelphia Dealmaker Awards have recognized exceptional individuals who are shaping the landscape of business and innovation in the City of Brotherly Love. These...
By Dan Pender
August 25, 2023
Deals Can Be Like A Marriage, But Also Like A Divorce
Christy Brown has had multiple entrepreneurial journeys. For each, there are three common factors that ultimately led to the sale of each. "One was typically I was looking for a strategic partner for...
By Adam Burroughs
August 25, 2023
People On A Deal P&L
As Detroit Manufacturing Systems sets out to make acquisitions, people are top of mind, says then CFO, now EVP of Sales, Purchasing and Strategy Scott Cieslak. "One of the first things we had to do...
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
July 14, 2023
Robert H. Schottenstein On How He Diligences Land, Company Acquisitions
M/I Homes, Inc. started in Columbus in 1976, and today is one of the largest home builders in the U.S. Chairman and CEO Robert H. Schottenstein's dad was one of the co-founders of a business that...
By Adam Burroughs
July 14, 2023
View Deal Risk Within The Larger Context
John “Ozzie” Nelson Jr., Chairman and CEO of NELSON Worldwide, has led the award-winning design, architecture, branding, and consulting services organization's hypergrowth from one-office to more than...
By Adam Burroughs
July 7, 2023
John Cerasuolo On Making The Leap To A New Industry Focus
John 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...
By Adam Burroughs
July 7, 2023
How Three Long-Time Competitors Merged
Massachusetts-based technology advisory firms ROI Communications, Blue Front Technology Group and allConnex joined forces in late 2022 under one banner as Amplix. The three agencies — long-time, mutually respectful competitors — agreed to a merger backed by Gemspring Capital ManagemenT. The deal has worked for all three, and now a fourth major player, NET7, has joined the team. ...
By Dan Pender
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 9, 2023
Superstar CEO Roundtable Kicks Off Cleveland Conference
Kicking off the 2023 Cleveland Smart Business Dealmakers Conference were several of the region’s top executives talking with moderator Jeff Bechtel, President - Cleveland Region, First National Bank,...
By Adam Burroughs
June 9, 2023
Ray Pineault On Expanding The Brand
From a property in Connecticut that quickly became one of the world’s largest casinos, Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment has grown exponentially through a combination of organic and inorganic...
By Adam Burroughs
June 2, 2023
AGCO's Eric Hansotia On The Ag Giant's M&A Strategy
AGCO Corporation is the largest pure-play farm machinery company in the world, competing against industry giants. Headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, this year they'll do about $14.5 billion in sales...
By Adam Burroughs
May 26, 2023
Recognizing The 2023 Dealmakers of the Year Award Winners
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been channeled to the 2023 Smart Business Dealmakers Dealmaker of the Year Awards honorees. But raising funds is not all this year's class of entrepreneurs have...
By Adam Burroughs
May 26, 2023
The Inaugural Cleveland Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class Sets The Stage
Welcome the inaugural class for the Cleveland Dealmakers Hall of Fame! This group of dealmakers has made an often-groundbreaking impact on their organizations, industries and the Northeast Ohio region...
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
May 19, 2023
Whether buying or selling, alignment is key
Investors have had a lot to process recently — COVID bumps in their portfolio companies, whether positive or negative; supply chain issues; inflation impacting working capital, to name a few. While...
By Adam Burroughs
May 19, 2023
Whether buying, selling or raising capital, timing is everything
When it comes to capital opportunities, timing, says Foro Capital Markets Managing Director, CFO and Chief Compliance Officer Mike Marr, can be everything. In December of ‘21, the company raised some...
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 14, 2023
Deal Pulse: Best of times, worst of times
The domestic M&A market is in a state of great disparity. Valuations from buyers receded to pre-pandemic levels while sellers continue to expect the lofty valuations seen in the latter portion of 2020...
By Al Melchiorre
April 14, 2023
The Deal Environment In Turbulent Times
Accel International Holdings' Tony Oh, Boston Celtics Co-Owner Rob Hale, and Citizens' David Dunstan and Jerry Sargent on what CEOs are saying about today’s climate for dealmaking and their experiences on the front lines....
By Adam Burroughs
April 14, 2023
How to get a FAIR deal
MATH Venture Partners' Mert Iseri and Mark Achler, along with UBS's James Jack and Ryan Wood, on the valuable personal lessons they've learned over several successful exits....
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 31, 2023
The Importance Of Knowledgeable CFOs In Deals
TalentLaunch's Matt Lyon and Resilience Capital Partners' Bassem Mansour on post-acquisition integration and how the CFO role plays a part in making sure the deal pays off....
By Adam Burroughs
March 31, 2023
Sylvester Hester On Partnership And Job Creation When Launching LM Manufacturing
LM Manufacturing President and CEO Sylvester Hester on launching the business, how the opportunity came about and the importance of being a job creator in Detroit...
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
Cleveland Deal Pulse: The Role of the Rollover
MelCap Partners David Shibley looks at trends and deals in the Northeast Ohio M&A market over the month of February....
By David Shibley
March 10, 2023
Pittsburgh Deal Pulse: The Role of the Rollover
MelCap Partners David Shibley looks at trends and deals in the Greater Pittsburgh M&A market over the month of February....
By David Shibley
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
March 3, 2023
How Ascent Solution Managed A Change In Business Model And Ownership
Ascent Solutions' Chairman and CEO JD Harris on the firm's ownership transition as well as the switch that was made in its business model....
By Adam Burroughs
March 3, 2023
The Three-Phase Set Up of Society Brands' Success
Society Brands CEO Michael Sirpilla on financing business growth....
By Adam Burroughs
February 24, 2023
Borrowing Against IP
Mark Fox, managing partner at Ghost Tree Partners, and Joseph Rossi, AVP, Aon Intellectual Property Solutions at Aon, on methods for lending against a company's IP....
By Adam Burroughs
February 24, 2023
VendEngine Revs Up Revenue Prior to Sale
Silas Deane on his company, VendEngine, Inc.,which created a way to improve the process of gifting money to inmates and later sold the company for $83 million....
By Dan Pender
February 24, 2023
Is The Sky Falling In 2023?
3 Rivers Capital's Rob Carskadden, Continuim Equity Partners' George Pilafas, Metz Lewis Brodman Must O'Keefe's John Lewis and SDI Companies' Scott Kiger offer their predictions on what changes occurring in 2023 will be the most impactful....
By Adam Burroughs
February 24, 2023
Lifting Lucy Creates Opportunities for BIWOC
Tranice Watts created Lifting Lucy when she was in her early twenties, working in an industry not known for much diversity. Watts, the first Black woman to co-own and operate a craft brewery in the state of Maryland, was on a subcommittee of the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC). She noticed an area where people could do proposals for diversity, equity and inclusion. Lifting Lucy has since grown into a network of businesses, organizations, and philanthropists serious about disrupting the barriers of entry and major hindrances toward the progress for Black, Indigenous, and other Women of Color (BIWOC) in the brewing industry....
By Dan Pender
February 17, 2023
Digital Health Frenzy Propelled SteadyMD
Guy Friedman is a Co-Founder and serves as Chief Executive Officer and President at 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. ...
By Dan Pender
February 3, 2023
ChromoCare's Hugh Cathey On Lessons That Shaped His Career
In a more personal interview, Hugh Cathey, CEO of ChromoCare, a genetics testing firm, spoke on Smart Business SmartTalk about his successes and missteps, who and what helped shape his career, what motivates him and more. ...
By Adam Burroughs
January 20, 2023
The Dos and Don’ts in Today’s M&A Landscape
Chuck Morton, Partner, Venable LLP, has been recognized for decades as one of best middle-market deal lawyers in the United States. During his time as an M&A attorney, he’s seen business leaders make some excellent choices and some not-so-brilliant decisions. He sat down for a discussion on the Smart Business Dealmakers Podcast to elaborate. ...
By Dan Pender
January 20, 2023
Jared Paquette Examines His Firm With The Eyes Of An Investor
After 20 years working in private equity, Jared Paquette recently struck out on his own, launching Conanicut Capital, a PE firm focused on the lower middle-market. "I went to a great lower-middle-market firm for about 10 years. And what I found in going to the lower middle market is you get much closer to the founders and the owners of businesses," he says. "Some of the best deals that I've been a part of are ones in which you're really working as the first institutional pool of capital." ...
By Adam Burroughs
January 6, 2023
Rocco DiLillo On His M&A Legacy
Rocco DiLillo on the many businesses he's built, bought and sold, and offers advice to entrepreneurs looking to experience similar successes. ...
By Adam Burroughs
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
November 23, 2022
Former Medtronic CEO Bill George On How Ego Can Crush A Deal
Harvard Business School Senior Fellow and former chairman and CEO of Medtronic Bill George on the M&A lessons he's learned over his career. ...
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 11, 2022
WJ Connell's John Stephenson On What He's Leaving Behind
WJ Connell's John Stephenson on what he learned from his first job, how mentorship has impacted his career, his regrets and his motivations....
By Adam Burroughs
October 28, 2022
Despite Two Retirements, Ralph Della Ratta Is Still Going
Kirtland Capital Partners' Ralph Della Ratta on what he's learned from his four decades in M&A, his keys to success and how that experience will be brought to bear in his newest role....
By Adam Burroughs
