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September 22, 2023

How Not Listening To Advice Benefitted SkySpecs

By Adam Burroughs

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

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

July 21, 2023

Lessons Learned From Selling A Business ... Twice

Bruce Milen, Chairman of the Board of Jax Kar Wash, first sold his business back in 1998 during a period of consolidation and roll ups. He had and took the opportunity to buy it back three years later

June 23, 2023

Trust Your Gut And Get Good Advice

Kathleen Craig, founder and CEO Plinqit, has raised more than $10 million in venture funding for the SaaS fintech company, which licenses its software to banks and credit unions across the country.

May 26, 2023

Stifel Financial Corp.'s Greg Urban On The Mixed M&A Market and Its Culprits

Confidence in the macro environment is a significant driver of M&A activity in this uneven market, says Stifel Financial Corp Managing Director Greg Urban. "The availability of equity capital —

April 26, 2023

Hall of Fame Roundtable Weighs In On Today's Deal Challenges

Valenti Capital's Sam Valenti III, along with MSX International's Fred Minturn, BELLE Michigan Impact Fund's Carolyn Cassin, and BDO Consulting Group's Robert Berdanier share their view on the current M&A climate.

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

March 3, 2023

Overcome Buy-Side Arrogance, Or Risk Overpaying

Atlas Holdings Partner Ramzi Hermiz and Lorient Capital Vice President Doug Shinkle on de-risking a deal from the buy-side.

February 3, 2023

Functional Fluidics Looks To Expand Market For Unique Platform

Functional Fluidics CEO Patrick Hines spoke on the Smart Business Dealmakers Podcast about his company, its progress and fundraising.

January 6, 2023

Airspace Link Creates Drone Navigation Highway

In four short years, Detroit startup Airspace Link went from a couple founders and a few employees to recently raising $23 million in a Series B to aid its global expansion. It started with a $100,000 convertible note, a $3 million pre-seed, a $10 million Series A and now the global expansion raise. Michael Healander, co-founder, president and CEO, is a drone pilot enthusiast who envisions the positive impact drones could provide to economies and quality of life. His company is creating a roadmap in the sky for drones of all types and sizes.

December 9, 2022

Value Proposition Tops List In Battery Solutions' Deal Prep

Battery Solutions CFO Craig Fishel on preparing for his company's sale earlier this year to Retriev Technologies.

October 7, 2022

Funding options for health care companies

Lawrence, Evans & Co.'s Neil Johnson spoke on funding options for health care companies.

August 5, 2022

Life Remodeled CEO Chris Lambert On The Heart Of Fundraising

Life Remodeled CEO Chris Lambert on the organization's mission and accomplishments, as well as his approach to fundraising.

June 2, 2022

It’s All About Partnerships and Pitch Decks for Rambus

Mykolas Rambus is a serial entrepreneur who founded and sold two previous companies, including Wealth-X, where he served as CEO until its 2016 sale for more than $20 million. Most recently, Mykolas raised early-stage rounds of capital in 2021 to build out Hush, a company that offers cybersecurity services. Though the capital raise process went well, Mykolas talks about how better pitch materials would have made for a smoother raise.

April 8, 2022

M&A Human Capital Strategies

Aquila Equity Partners' Gary Lewis, along with Purple Squirrel Advisors' Carrie Schochet, Lockton Companies' Quinn Damon, Mission Veterinary Partners' Matthew Davis, Industrial Opportunity Partners' Philip Fioravante talk about lessons learned and best practices from growing portfolio companies in a labor-challenged environment.

March 11, 2022

Even for the best entrepreneurs, raising capital is always harder than it looks

Bloomscape Founder and CEO Justin Mast spoke with Dickinson Wright's Zan Nicolli about his venture and the process of raising capital from investors.

February 18, 2022

The material impact of ESG on M&A

Ancora's David Sowerby, MASCO's John Sznewajs and Cendrowski Corporate Advisors' Harry Cendrowski, talk about ESG, the M&A landscape, where corporations and private investors have made the biggest changes, and what to expect next.

January 14, 2022

Preparedness leads to best outcome when selling a family business

JAWOOD Founder Lynn Mustazza, along with PNC Bank's Jacob Taylor, PNC Wealth Management's Daniel Hoops and UHY Corporate Finance's Dan Sporka talk about plotting the future of a family business.

November 17, 2021

Doing double diligence during COVID

TGI Direct's Monica Weaver, Dickinson Wright’s Bill Rosin, Emagine Entertainment’s Paul Glantz and Huntington National Bank’s Eric Dietz talk about transacting during the pandemic, as well as adjustments buyers should make when acquiring a company during disruptions.

October 20, 2021

A look at the cyberthreat environment

Che Bhatia, along with Aon’s William Shortt and Kathy Weaver, and KeyBank’s Gregg Bach and Christopher Naso, explore cybersecurity and its impact on M&A.

September 17, 2021

Anatomy of distressed investments

James Loughlin, Mike Teplitsky, Robert Berdanier, Robert Diehl Jr., and Vlad Slapak dive into investing in distressed companies, as well as how to analyze your company’s people, operations, and finances to understand if you need to restructure.

August 13, 2021

How to secure a premium value for your company

Tom Zucker, Mark Jones and Art Anton discuss the factors that most often lead to securing a premium valuation.

July 16, 2021

David Sowerby on business owners’ post-exit popularity

David Sowerby, managing director and portfolio manager at Ancora, has some words of wisdom for eager, soon-to-be investors.

June 25, 2021

Brian Rassel: People make the deal

Brian Rassel, a partner at Huron, on his approach to analyzing the people aspect of a deal.

May 28, 2021

Paths to public: Mina Sooch on reverse merger vs IPO

Mina Sooch explains how the reverse merger process she took taking Ocuphire Pharma Inc. public compares to her prior IPO experiences.

March 5, 2021

David Brophy says organize the venture world!

David Brophy, Professor of Finance, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, talks about the venture capital ecosystem and what its continued growth means for Michigan, the Detroit region, and the scale-up community that’s looking for growth capital.

January 22, 2021

Carolyn Cassin on the good news/bad news of venture funding for women

Carolyn Cassin, BELLE Michigan Impact Fund founder and general partner talks about the challenges women entrepreneurs face and how her fund is designed to help.

December 22, 2020

The Softer Side of the Selling: Communications and Internal Prep

Jerrad Beauchamp, Andy Billman, Chris Meso and Tom Zucker explore the softer side of sell-side communications and internal deal prep.

November 24, 2020

Kathleen McCann sees a tale of two economies

Is it the best of times? Or is it the worst of times? The answer, according to Kathleen McCann, executive chairman of United Road Services and executive partner at Nonantum Capital Partners, is both.

October 16, 2020

Why Deals Fail

Deals can fail in the early stages. But if you can recognize the red flags and get out early from a bad deal, you won’t waste your time and money.

June 12, 2020

Early-Stage Entrepreneurs Need To Focus On Creativity, Mitigating Risk To Close Deals

The landscape for showcasing early-stage companies to potential buyers and investors has changed dramatically in the face of COVID-19, says David Weaver, chief investment officer at City Side Ventures.

May 15, 2020

PMCF’s Joe Wagner: Dealmaking Community Continues To React, Respond To COVID-19

Dealmaking has been slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but activity hasn’t stopped, says Joe Wagner, managing director and partner at Plante Moran Corporate Finance.

April 23, 2020

Ancora’s David Sowerby Sees Opportunity For Buyers Coming Out Of COVID-19

Ancora's David Sowerby expects acquisitive companies to find targets at more attractive valuations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

March 20, 2020

Greenwich Capital Group’s Andrew Dickow Shares How Coronavirus Is Impacting His Approach To Dealmaking

Dealmaking won't be the path to economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, but it can certainly play a role in it, says Andrew Dickow.

March 19, 2020

Chip McClure: Dealmaking Can Open The Door To New, Innovative Business Opportunities

Discipline is a crucial component to being an effective dealmaker, says Michigan Capital Advisors’ Chip McClure.

March 4, 2020

Chemical Bank’s Jim Robinson: Family Offices On The Rise As Entrepreneurs Look To Deal

The dealmaking environment in Detroit is alive and well, says Chemical Bank’s Jim Robinson. Family offices are one trend driving increased M&A activity.

February 20, 2020

An Inside Look At Terrence Oprea’s Sale Of MCCI To His Executive Team

The moment you start to think that maybe it’s time to retire in terms of private ownership, it’s usually too late, says Terrence Oprea.

February 6, 2020

CitySide Ventures’ David Weaver: When Your Plan Doesn’t Work, Be Ready To Pivot To Something New

Longtime dealmaker put more than three decades of diversified management experience to use to help early-stage companies connect with the resources they need to grow their businesses.

January 23, 2020

Jeremy Falendysz: Be Ready To Answer The Tough Questions When You Sell Your Business

The decision to sell your business is an important, but very small step in the actual transaction timeline, says UHY's Jeremy Falendysz.

January 16, 2020

Andrew J. Goldberg: Why A ‘Pre-Mortem’ Is A Useful Tool In Dealmaking

When you think about everything that can go wrong in a deal, it gives you a better chance at doing it right, says Andrew J. Goldberg.

January 9, 2020

Autobooks’ Steve Robert: Give Investors A Reason To Believe In Your Business

You can’t afford to be short-sighted, getting quick dollars and board members without thinking a few steps ahead, says Autobooks’ Steve Robert.

January 2, 2020

2020 Forecast: What To Expect For The Year In Dealmaking In Detroit

We spoke with Greenwich Capital Group's Andrew Dickow, Michigan Capital Advisors’ Gerry Giudici and Renaissance Venture Capital Fund’s Christopher L. Rizik to get their thoughts on what to expect from a dealmaking perspective in 2020.

December 23, 2019

Detroit 2019 Dealmaking Year In Review

With 2019 just about over, we’re taking a look back at some of what we learned this year.

December 19, 2019

Ovid’s Matt Geiger: Focus On Finding Ways To Get The Deal Done

Matt Geiger has experience as both an entrepreneur and an investor. When he’s an entrepreneur, he’s learned the value of letting the investor be the smartest one in the room.

December 12, 2019

Rob Dube: Being Mindful Is Key To Being An Effective Dealmaker

It seemed like a good deal, but things changed quickly for Rob Dube when he sold imageOne. Fortunately, he got it back and learned a valuable lesson about mindfulness.

December 4, 2019

How A Mix Of Persistence, Patience And Discipline Got Kelvin Squires A Great Deal

Kelvin Squires really wanted to buy Center Line Electric, but he was willing to walk away from the deal if he didn't get what he needed.

November 25, 2019

Peninsula Capital’s Ty Clutterbuck: How To Find Your Way To A Great Deal Opportunity

Achieving synergy in business doesn’t have to be about making cuts. Through dealmaking, it can be a path to growth opportunities, says Ty Clutterbuck.

November 21, 2019

Henniges Autmotive’s Larry Williams: Keys To Working Effectively With Private Equity Ownership

Larry Williams has used simple, honest dialogue to build strong ties with each PE firm that has owned Henniges Automotive.

November 13, 2019

Huron Capital’s Brian Demkowicz Shares His Secrets To Good Dealmaking

Brian Demkowicz has a process for everything, enabling Huron Capital to continually make the right call on dealmaking opportunities.

November 5, 2019

O2’s Jay Hansen: M&A Works Best When Both Sides Are Ready To Deal

Dealmaking works better when there is M&A expertise on both sides of the table, says the private equity firm's managing partner.