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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

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

October 6, 2023

Interest Rates Effect Strategy, But Multiples Remain Insulated

Interest rates have an impact on a variety of factors — not just in M&A, but in business in general. That's causing businesses to develop strategies to minimize the impact of those rising rates to...

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

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