Our guest for this week’s episode of M&A Masters is Gus Marshall, Head of Transaction Liability at CFC Underwriting, Ltd. CFC is a specialist insurance provider, pioneer in emerging risk, and market leader in cyber and transactional liability. Today we are talking with Gus about CFC's exciting new product launch, Transaction Liability Private Enterprise (TLPE). Gus says, “Reps and warranties insurance is currently Wall Street and we want to make it Main Street with TLPE.” He’ll break this ne...
Aug 04, 2021•34 min•Ep. 80
On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we speak with Jordan Tate, Managing Partner at Montage Partners. Montage Partners, based in Arizona, is a people-first private equity firm. For 17 years they have invested in established companies across North America, helping them reach transformative growth. Jordan tells us about his path to Montage Partners, the interesting meaning behind their company name, and how it reflects both who they are and the companies they seek to invest in, as well as: K...
Jul 28, 2021•34 min•Ep. 79
Our guest for this week’s episode of M&A Masters is Scott Hendon of BDO. Scott has been with BDO for 20 years and currently serves as the National & Global Practice Leader for Private Equity. A true icon in M&A, he brings a unique perspective as he knows both the investment side and the service side. Today we sit down with him to talk about the recently released Spring 2021 BDO Private Capital Pulse Survey Report. The survey polled 100 private equity and 100 venture capital middle-ma...
Jul 14, 2021•37 min•Ep. 78
Our guest for this week’s episode of M&A Masters is Tom Wells, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of 10 Point Capital in Atlanta. 10 Point Capital partners with visionary founders and operating executives to build dominant franchise brands. A foodie who loves hospitality, Tom found a way to combine those by investing in such companies as Walk-On’s and Slim Chickens. We chat with Tom about the inspiration behind 10 Point Capital, and the meaning behind their brand name, as well as: The one key t...
Jul 07, 2021•42 min•Ep. 77
On this week’s episode of the M&A Masters Podcast, we are joined by Brien Davis, Founder of Altacrest Capital. Altacrest is a private investment firm focused on consumer brands with enthusiast customer bases and centered mainly on e-commerce. Giving clients the experience of an institutional sized team at the boutique level, Altacrest Capital’s focus on e-commerce has been even more fine-tuned in the virtual world of COVID. We chat with Brien about his journey from big companies to lower mid...
Jun 30, 2021•31 min•Ep. 76
On this week’s episode of the M&A Masters podcast, we sit down with Domenic Rinaldi, President and Managing Partner of Sun Acquisitions. Sun Acquisitions is an M&A advising firm specializing in both buy-side and sell-side advisory services. Domenic also hosts his own podcast, M&A Unplugged, ranked among the top M&A podcasts of 2021. From a young age, Domenic had an itch to own his own business. In discussing why he chose the details of Sun Acquisitions, Domenic says, “Quite frank...
Jun 23, 2021•25 min•Ep. 75
On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we are joined by Ryan Milligan, Partner of ParkerGale. Guided by their principle – “products that matter, cultures that last” – ParkerGale is a small private equity firm that focuses on profitable, lower middle market technology companies and the convergence of private equity and software. “Let’s just be transparent, and let’s just give everyone the answers to the test,” Ryan says of the empathy he has learned in the market - take the competitive advant...
Jun 16, 2021•43 min•Ep. 74
On this week’s episode of the M&A Masters Podcast, we sit down with Todd Dauphinais, Founding Principal and Managing Partner of Clavis Capital Partners in Dallas. Clavis Capital Partners realized that there was a better model and approach to private equity, and set out to create an investment firm focused on operations, the longer term, and on deploying capital in the most flexible and effective manner possible - the independent sponsor model. We chat with Todd about what inspired him to bui...
Jun 02, 2021•34 min•Ep. 73
On this week’s episode of the M&A Masters Podcast, we are joined by Brooke Ansel, Vice President of Prudential Private Capital. She runs a Prudential team focused in the southern United States, but her career path to the investment company was unconventional – it started with the Neiman Marcus buying team. Brooke tells us about how Prudential is more than just a bank – it has a commitment to the lower middle market that might surprise some listeners. Prudential Private Capital focuses more o...
May 26, 2021•22 min•Ep. 72
Our guest for this week’s episode of M&A Masters is Jon Finger. Jon is a Partner at McGuireWoods LLC in Dallas, and his practice focuses on private equity and corporate transactions. He and his partners were the first in the area of independent sponsors to create a private equity practice dedicated to independent sponsors. Jon and his partners also created “Deal-by-Deal”, a podcast that focuses on the independent sponsor community of the M&A market. Jon says, of this independent sponsor ...
May 19, 2021•35 min•Ep. 71
Our guest for this week’s episode of M&A Masters is Scott MacLaren, Partner of The Sterling Group in Houston. The Sterling Group is a private equity firm, one of the oldest in the country, and currently has $4 billion of assets under management. Scott did not start off in private equity – he studied at the United States Military Academy at West Point, started business school after serving in the Army, and then finally found his private equity calling after working as a consultant. He started...
May 05, 2021•29 min•Ep. 70
Our special guest on this week’s episode of the M&A Masters Podcast is Grant Jackson. Grant is the Managing General Partner of Council Capital, a middle market private equity firm based in Nashville, Tennessee. Their mission is to be the best healthcare private equity firm, with their focus on investing in the right side of healthcare change. We chat about the underlying goal of improving the healthcare system, as well as: Providing access to vulnerable populations, including those with disa...
Apr 21, 2021•26 min•Ep. 69
Our special guest on this week’s episode of M&A Masters is Dena Jalbert. Dena is the Founder and CEO of Align Business Advisory Services, a team of former business owners, operators, and executives in offices throughout the US who bring Wall Street resources to the lower middle market. She was also recently named on Mergers and Acquisitions Magazine's list of the Top 25 Most Influential Women in Mid Market M&A. Dena says, “When we sit down with clients, we start creating the investment t...
Apr 07, 2021•43 min•Ep. 68
Our special guest on this week’s episode of M&A Masters is James Darnell. James is the Managing Partner of KLH Capital, a private equity firm based in Tampa, Florida, that focuses on serving family and founder-owned, lower middle-market companies throughout the US. KLH Capital was recently recognized as Private Equity Firm of the Year by M&A Source. “We're always thinking, ‘How do we add value? How do we help teams be more successful? How do we help them grow? And, what do we have to do ...
Mar 31, 2021•29 min•Ep. 67
On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we speak with Emily Holdman. Emily is the Managing Director of Permanent Equity, a lower middle market private equity firm based in Columbia, Missouri, that focuses on investments for the very long term. Emily is also named as one of Axial’s thought leaders for the lower middle market. We chat about growing organically with lead generation, as well as: Entering finance from marketing and what her experience brings to acquisitions Finding differentiation...
Mar 24, 2021•41 min•Ep. 66
Our special guest on this week’s episode of M&A Masters is John Warrillow, the Founder and President of The Value Builder System™. He is also the host of Built To Sell Radio, and the author of the bestselling books, Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You , The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry , and The Art of Selling Your Business: Winning Strategies & Secret Hacks for Exiting on Top . We chat about what dangers to be aware of d...
Mar 17, 2021•32 min•Ep. 65
On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we speak with Dan Phelps, Founder and Managing Director of Salt Creek Capital, based in Silicon Valley. Salt Creek Capital is a lower middle-market private equity firm that partners with talented executives to acquire profitable small businesses across the United States. Dan earned his MBA at the University of Chicago and spent time in both venture and smaller private equity investing experiences before founding Salt Creek Capital over 11 years ago. “We...
Mar 10, 2021•33 min•Ep. 64
On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we speak with Ed Bryant, President and CEO of Sampford Advisors. Sampford Advisors is the most active investment banking firm in Canada, focusing on the lower middle market tech sector, specifically software M&A. Sampford now has offices here in Austin, Texas, and was recently named by Axial as a member of the Top 20 Thought Leaders in the lower middle market for 2020. We chat about the trends toward software investing, as well as: The mindset behin...
Mar 03, 2021•30 min•Ep. 63
Our special guest on this week’s episode of M&A Masters is Brett Hickey, the Founder & CEO of Star Mountain Capital, LLC, a specialized U.S. lower middle-market investment firm. Star Mountain employs a data-driven approach to provide value-added debt and equity capital to established small and medium-sized private companies, leveraging its scale-driven resources and longstanding relationships. Brett graduated from McGill University with a finance and accounting degree and has over 20 yea...
Feb 24, 2021•51 min•Ep. 62
On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we speak with Peter Lehrman. Peter serves lower middle market owners, acquirers, and advisors as CEO of Axial, the largest trusted online platform used for safely buying, selling, and financing private companies. Over the last 10 years, Axial has established a single well-known platform that business owners and deal professionals alike trust to discover and connect with new transaction partners. Peter says, “The whole idea behind Axial was to develop a ...
Feb 17, 2021•51 min•Ep. 61
On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we’re joined by return guest, Codie Sanchez. Codie is the managing director of Entourage Effect Capital Partners and one of the most sought out speakers in the cannabis business. She also co-leads Unconventional Acquisitions, an educational resource making the buying of businesses accessible to anyone willing to put in the work. Codie says, “If you have the mindset to be an entrepreneur and to get to go and grind and build your own thing, you have the a...
Feb 10, 2021•39 min•Ep. 60
On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we speak with Jessica Ginsberg, Director of Business Development for LFM Capital. Leaders for Manufacturing Capital, or LFM, is a Nashville-based private equity firm founded by operators and engineers, investing in manufacturing companies in the US and Canada. Jessica manages business development and investment sourcing activities, and brings over 13 years of experience in the private equity, investment, and commercial banking sectors in a variety of ro...
Jan 27, 2021•26 min•Ep. 59
On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we speak with Sean Edmondson and Adam Deutsch. Sean is Vice President at Tecum Capital, a middle market multi-strategy private equity investment platform, and Adam Deutsch is the Director, Co-founder, and CFO of NewHold Investment Corporation, a holding company and private investment firm. Sean says, “Let's buy companies that truly fit the mold of what we're trying to build, and not try to force a financial engineering situation.” We chat about upholdin...
Jan 13, 2021•43 min•Ep. 58
On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we’re joined by special guest, Sean Alford, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at J2 Global, an internet information and services company that includes IGN, Mashable, Humble Bundle, and more across digital media and cloud services segments. Sean says, “It's pretty systematized when you handle the volume of transactions that we handle, you figure out what works and what doesn't work. And through the course of the 180 plus transactions that we...
Dec 30, 2020•30 min•Ep. 57
On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we speak with Suzanne Yoon, Founder and Managing Partner of Kinzie Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Chicago. Chicago Mergers and Acquisitions Magazine named Suzanne 2020’s most influential woman in mid-market M&A, and she’s also been recognized by The Wall Street Journal as a top female dealmaker, shaping private equities both present and future. Just recently, Kinzie Capital Partners was honored by the Private Equity Women Investor ...
Dec 16, 2020•38 min•Ep. 56
On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we’re joined by special guest, Peter Lyall, Group Director of Strategy at Fifth Ring, a marketing communications, or marcomm, company with locations in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. They promote the ultra-simple message of helping B2B companies sell more stuff and build better brands. Peter’s goal during this episode is to shed some light on the role of marcomms during M&A transactions and to explain why this is often a blind spot during the acqui...
Dec 02, 2020•46 min•Ep. 55
On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we’re joined by special guest Heather Hubbard, Managing Partner of Valesco Industries, a lower-middle market firm based in Dallas, Texas. This past May, Heather was named D CEO’s Private Equity Investment Professional of the Year, and in a market like Texas, that’s no small achievement. “I think, coming in, we represent what we're oftentimes looking at in portfolio companies and potential prospects. There's a very diverse group of people working at the ...
Nov 18, 2020•24 min•Ep. 54
On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we speak with Adam Cook, managing partner and Chief Investment Officer of Culper Capital Partners. Based in Norwood, New Jersey, Culper Capital Partners invests debt and equity in middle-market companies that seek true partnership solutions that go well beyond the capital deployed. Culper Capital Partners is also a newly minted private equity firm, which is indicative of the growing body of private equity out there. “At Culper, we're investing in middle...
Nov 04, 2020•29 min•Ep. 53
What motivates Mark Addison, CEO of X Rocket.io? He’s seen too many entrepreneurs, especially first-timers leave money on the table when they exit. His firm helps optimize key valuation drivers during M&A negotiations to maximize the money owners and founders take home. In one case, he and his team were able to reengineer a $30 million offer… into a $100 million offer. We talk about the three things they did to make it happen and the audits they perform on clients, as well as… The key metric...
Oct 21, 2020•31 min•Ep. 52
Mark Gartner is head of investment development at private equity firm ClearLight Partners LLC, which is dedicated to the lower middle market. Over his years in the industry, he’s seen a sea change in how PE firms go after potential targets, from “smiling and dialing” to using CRMs and data to guide their strategy. He talks about other elements of his approach to potential acquisitions, including how he always has a value proposition in mind when making contact. Part of that strategy derives from...
Oct 07, 2020•28 min•Ep. 51
