Are You Really Ready to Sell? Lessons Learned Before, During and After the Deal
Presented By: Jensen McComas / Wells Fargo Advisors
Selling a business involves far more than the transaction itself—and true readiness can begin years before a deal and extend beyond closing. Through lessons learned and audience participation, this panel will explore what owners often underestimate, from preparing themselves and the business for a sale to navigating diligence, negotiations and life after the deal—and the questions every owner should be asking two to three years before a potential exit.
Moderator:
Co-Founder
Jensen McComas
Recognized as one of the region's leading technology attorneys and ranked by Chambers for his corporate expertise, he represents clients ranging from entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies on commercial transactional matters. His practice focuses on helping businesses improve their core functions through legal counsel in areas including financing, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital investments, and general corporate matters.
Bill has established himself as an expert in managing and developing commercial technology strategies, providing representation on complex business transactions such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, electronic commerce, outsourcing, and intellectual property management. His unique value stems from his executive business and technology management background, having worked for one of North America's largest book manufacturers and a major global ocean carrier before becoming an attorney, where he developed software and managed major vendor contracts.
A cum laude graduate of the University of Baltimore School of Law with a B.A. in Computer Science from Brown University, Bill has received numerous professional recognitions including being named Lawyer of the Year for Information Technology Law in Baltimore multiple times (2019-2022) and for Copyright Law in 2024. He is a frequent business and technology law columnist for publications including the Legal Times, National Law Journal, Baltimore Business Journal, and The Daily Record.
Panelists:
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Willow Creek Partners
Matt is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Willow Creek Partners. Prior to founding Willow Creek Partners, Matt was Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of a private equity firm in the Washington, DC area managing investments in private real estate, private credit, and private companies for independent investment firms and their clients.
Matt set the strategic direction and oversaw all investment operations including the sourcing and origination of deals, raising capital, and managing the firm's investment funds. Under his leadership, the firm engaged in close to a billion dollars of real estate transactions and invested in several dozen early-stage technology companies.
Matt previously sat on the Board of Directors of Venga – a customer analytics and marketing software for restaurants which was acquired by Open Table, and on the Board of Directors of Social Tables, which was acquired by Cvent.
He began his career with Morgan Stanley, continuing on to BB&T and Wells Fargo (formerly Wachovia). Matt earned his MBA from Meredith College and a BS in Economics from Virginia Tech.
Certified Exit Planning Advisor (r) & Managing Director-Investments
Wells Fargo Advisors
Pete runs a Certified Exit Planning Advisory team for Wells Fargo Advisors. He helps business owners and corporate executives navigate the complexities of monetizing their business in a tax efficient way that meets both theirs and their employees' goals. Throughout this process, where appropriate, he works in conjunction with an individual’s attorney, investment banker, CPA, and other advisors. He is a regular panelist at M&A events, speaking to the strategies used as executives and business owners create liquidity for themselves and employees. He is also responsible for all of his teams ongoing structures and disciplines.
Co-founder & Former President/COO
SecuriGence
Tai Truong joined SecuriGence in July 2011 as Vice President and Director of Technology. He is responsible for steering technical engineering, product and service development, and cloud efforts, as well as supporting business development and strategic direction. Prior to SecuriGence, he led a dynamic engineering team for a Department of Defense R&D program that filled a critical technology gap in the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters of operation. This R&D program was successfully transitioned to the U.S Army as a Program of Record. Tai actively supports clients in the areas of Cyber Security and Systems Engineering. He has 11 years of technology engineering and security experience, supporting organizations such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, General Dynamic C4S, and the General Services Administration. Tai earned a Bachelor’s Degree with honors in Network Engineering from Strayer University.