Subscribe to Smart Business Dealmakers
April 17, 2025
Announcing the Detroit Smart Business Dealmaker Award Winners and 2025 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class
We celebrated the accomplishments of the 2025 class of winners at the Detroit Smart Business Dealmakers Conference. See who we recognized! ...
By Dealmakers Staff
April 3, 2025
Announcing the Boston Smart Business Dealmaker Award Winners and 2025 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class
We celebrated the accomplishments of the 2025 class of winners at the Boston Smart Business Dealmakers Conference. See who we recognized! ...
By Dealmakers Staff
March 27, 2025
Announcing the St. Louis Smart Business Dealmaker Award Winners and 2025 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class
We celebrated the accomplishments of the 2025 class of winners at the St. Louis Smart Business Dealmakers Conference. See who we recognized! ...
By Dealmakers Staff
March 17, 2025
Announcing the Pittsburgh Smart Business Dealmaker Award Winners and 2025 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class
We celebrated the accomplishments of the 2025 class of winners at the Pittsburgh Smart Business Dealmakers Conference. See who we recognized!...
By Dealmakers Staff
November 14, 2024
Announcing the Charlotte 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 Charlotte. See who we recognized! ...
By Dealmakers Staff
November 7, 2024
Announcing the Houston 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 Houston. See who we recognized! ...
By Dealmakers Staff
October 31, 2024
Announcing the Minneapolis 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 Minneapolis. See who we recognized! ...
By Dealmakers Staff
October 24, 2024
Announcing the Denver 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 Denver. See who we recognized! ...
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
October 10, 2024
2024 Northeast Ohio Smart Business Dealmakers Rising Stars
The Smart Business Dealmakers Rising Stars program recognizes up-and-coming dealmaking professionals engaged in a wide range of M&A activities. ...
By SBN Staff
September 26, 2024
Announcing the D.C. Capital Region's 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 the D.C. Capital Region. See who we recognized!...
By Dealmakers Staff
September 19, 2024
Announcing Columbus' Smart Business Dealmaker Award Winners and 2024 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class
The Smart Business Dealmakers Dealmaker of the Year Awards recognize exceptional individuals who are shaping the landscape of business and innovation in Central Ohio. See who we recognized this year....
By Adam Burroughs
September 13, 2024
Announcing Philadelphia's Smart Business Dealmaker Award Winners and 2024 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class
See who we honored at the 2024 Philadelphia Smart Business Dealmakers Conference....
By SBN Staff
June 13, 2024
Announcing Cleveland's Smart Business Dealmaker Award Winners and 2024 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class
Read about the Dealmakers of the Year we honored this year and check out the accomplishments of our Hall of Famers....
By SBN Staff
June 6, 2024
Announcing New York's Smart Business Dealmaker Award Winners and 2024 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class
Celebrating the accomplishments of the 2024 New York Dealmaker Award Winners and Hall of Fame class....
By SBN Staff
May 17, 2024
Announcing Atlanta's Smart Business Network Dealmaker Award Winners and 2024 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class!
Read about the Dealmakers of the Year we honored this year and check out the accomplishments of our Hall of Famers....
By Adam Burroughs
May 3, 2024
Recognizing Milwaukee's Smart Business Network Dealmaker Award Winners and 2024 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class!
Five of Milwaukee's top dealmakers were honored this past week with the Smart Business Dealmakers Dealmaker of the Year Award while one other was inducted into the Milwaukee Dealmakers Hall of Fame....
By SBN Staff
April 25, 2024
Recognizing Baltimore's Smart Business Network Dealmaker Award Winners and 2024 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class!
Read about the Dealmakers of the Year we're honoring in Baltimore this year and check out the accomplishments of our Hall of Famers....
By SBN Staff
April 18, 2024
Recognizing Detroit's Smart Business Network Dealmaker Award Winners and 2024 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class!
We celebrated the accomplishments of the 2024 class of winners April 18 at the Detroit Smart Business Dealmakers Conference. Together, they provide a strong picture of the Detroit business community....
By SBN Staff
March 21, 2024
CCA Global Partners Howard Brodsky On The Outsized Impact Of Delivering The Unexpected
CCA Global Partners Howard Brodsky on the common traits of the some of the world's most successful entrepreneurs and the outsized impact delivering the unexpected can yield for a business....
By SBN Staff
March 14, 2024
Announcing Dallas' Smart Business Network Dealmaker Award Winners and 2024 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class!
Here are the Dallas Dealmaker of the Year Award honorees and Hall of Famers we're recognizing this year! ...
By SBN Staff
March 7, 2024
Announcing St. Louis' Smart Business Network Dealmaker Award Winners and 2024 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class!
We're celebrating the accomplishments of the 2024 class of winners March 14 at the St. Louis Smart Business Dealmakers Conference. Together, they provide a strong picture of the St. Louis business community....
By SBN Staff
February 29, 2024
Announcing Boston's Smart Business Network Dealmaker Award Winners and 2024 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class!
Here are the Boston Dealmaker of the Year Award honorees and Hall of Famers we're recognizing this year! ...
By Adam Burroughs
February 21, 2024
Announcing Pittsburgh's Smart Business Network Dealmaker Award Winners and 2024 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class!
Here are the Pittsburgh Dealmaker of the Year Award honorees and Hall of Famers we're recognizing this year!...
By SBN Staff
February 15, 2024
Announcing Nashville's Smart Business Network Dealmaker Award Winners and 2024 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class!
The Smart Business Dealmakers Dealmaker of the Year Awards and Hall of Fame recognize exceptional individuals who are shaping the landscape of business and innovation in Nashville....
By SBN Staff
February 9, 2024
Raising Capital And Competing With Unicorns
Hungry Planet CEO Todd Boyman talks about launching Hungry Planet and why it raised modest capital compared to its unicorn competitors....
By Michael Marzec
January 26, 2024
Failure Is OK — And Other Lessons From Rob Hale
Rob Hale became a billionaire and lost it all by the age of 35. But he rebounded from that failure to co-found Granite Telecommunications, which made him a billionaire again and made it possible for him to become a co-owner of the NBA's Boston Celtics. He shares 3 lessons he learned along the way....
By Michael Marzec
January 19, 2024
Cavs CEO Nic Barlage On Creating A Winning Culture
Nic Barlage, CEO of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Rock Entertainment Group, discusses talent acquisition and development, building a winning culture, and the importance of leadership on the Smart Business Dealmakers Podcast....
By Michael Marzec
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 18, 2024
How Acquisitions Help Babson Farms Diversify Revenue
Taylor Kirkpatrick is generation four of Babson Farms, a family enterprise that started originally with dairy equipment manufacturing — the largest in the world, he says — until they sold the business...
By Adam Burroughs
January 18, 2024
Capital Considerations To Maximize Flexibility
When capital was really plentiful, CFO Ron Oertell says for his company, Purchasing Power, the focus was on making sure they had many options. "We established separate SPVs, we established staggered...
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 12, 2024
Why Health Care Startups Fail
Jumpstart 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...
By Adam Burroughs
January 12, 2024
Financial Issues To Consider When Doing International Acquisitions
Gentherm closed two deals in July of 2022. One was a German multinational that added to the company's automotive space. The other was a domestic acquisition in China for its medical business. The deal...
By Adam Burroughs
January 5, 2024
Exploring Capital Options In A Challenging Market
Working within the commercial real estate space, Spencer Pisczak, president and founding Member of Premier Development Partners, says the current climate is in many ways a challenge. "The big problem...
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
January 5, 2024
AgroFresh Solutions' Clinton Lewis, Jr. On Taking The Public Company Private
AgroFresh Solutions Inc. was spunoff into a stand-alone public company, listed on NASDAQ, after Dow Chemical acquired Rohm and Haas, of which it had originally been a part. Clinton A. Lewis, Jr....
By Adam Burroughs
December 7, 2023
Building a Bridge of Opportunity from Corner to Corner
Compelled by Jesus’ invitation 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...
By Dan Pender
November 17, 2023
For SCLogic, Time Is Ticking For An Exit
Mike Saldi, founder and CEO of SCLogic, feels he's running out of time. And that in part why his company began running a process. "At 60 years old, I've got to figure out what's next," Saldi said at...
By Adam Burroughs
November 3, 2023
Ven Raju On Investor Opportunities In Pittsburgh
After years of investing in early-stage companies in the SaaS, robotics, Internet of Things, health and fin tech spaces, Ven Raju has taken his talents from New York to Pittsburgh where he now heads...
By Adam Burroughs
November 3, 2023
Putting Your Superpower To Work Post Exit
It's always a good time to start thinking about life after the sale of a business, says North Coast Ventures Managing Director Todd Federman. That, he says, can help business owners avoid being one of...
By Adam Burroughs
November 3, 2023
Greater Diligence Means Greater Deal Prep
In the market today, there's been a change in availability of debt and the cost of that debt, says Mereo Capital Partners Managing Partner John O'Hare. There's also an issue of meeting seller...
By Adam Burroughs
October 27, 2023
Deeper Diligence Puts More Onus On Sellers
Macroeconomic factors are driving due diligence that is much deeper, taking longer and is more important to deal making, says Mark Kessler, a partner at Palmares Capital Partners. Looking across the...
By Adam Burroughs
October 27, 2023
Announcing Minneapolis' Smart Business Network Dealmaker Award Winners and 2023 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class!
The Smart Business Dealmakers Dealmaker of the Year Awards recognize exceptional individuals who are shaping the landscape of business and innovation in Minneapolis. In addition, The Minneapolis...
By Dan Pender
October 27, 2023
The Search For Clean Deals
No deal is perfect, but Dan Weingartz, CEO of W&P Management, says that it's just gotten to where there needs to be cleanliness across everything — the financials, the strategy, the leadership and...
By Adam Burroughs
October 20, 2023
Cleveland Deal Activity: Rise In Bankruptcies Drive Distressed M&A Activity
Throughout 2023, the U.S. M&A landscape has been significantly shaped by a notable rise in distressed M&A transactions. According to bankruptcy filings from the U.S. Courts, the number of Chapter 11...
By Mike Kostandaras
October 20, 2023
Charlotte M&A Honorees Announced!
The Smart Business Dealmakers Dealmaker of the Year Awards recognize exceptional individuals who are shaping the landscape of business and innovation in Charlotte. The 2023 class of winners — who will...
By Dan Pender
October 20, 2023
Buying What's Not In The Numbers
Randy Overton says in health care M&A in recent years, he's seen all kinds of books. "All of the sudden, everybody is the most valuable company in the world," says Overton, CFO of FastPace Health....
By Adam Burroughs
October 20, 2023
Steve Ball On Growing Zesty Paws Ahead Of Its $610M Sale
Steve Ball, the former CEO and board member of Zesty Paws, helped lead the pet supplements company to extraordinary growth that eventually led to its sale to Health & Happiness (H&H) Group...
By Adam Burroughs
October 13, 2023
In This Market, Creative Dealmakers Thrive
Slow M&A deal flow in 2022 has trickled into 2023 as more people are standing on the sidelines concerned about rising interest rates and the perpetual threat of a recession. Though deal flow as picked...
By Adam Burroughs
