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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