Subscribe to Smart Business Dealmakers
December 5, 2024
Value Creation In The Lower Middle Market
By Adam Burroughs
424 Capital’s Kyle Stanbro on the firm’s value creation process
November 7, 2024
Redefining Value In M&A
Tiugo Technologies’ Mark Hatton on how the concept of value in M&A has changed in recent years.
September 12, 2024
The Stress Of A Deal
Former Plastics Distributors and Fabricators Owner Mark Abare on what it feels like to sell a closely held business.
August 1, 2024
Learning How To Have A Successful Sale
Coretelligent's Kevin Routhier on the steps he took to prepare his business for multiple processes.
July 2, 2024
Creating Value Before A Sale
Bradford Soap International former CEO Stuart Benton on how the shift he implemented in the company created value in preparation for a sale.
June 5, 2024
An Unexpected Sale
Samtan Engineering Corp.'s Jon Petromelis on how he worked through the unanticipated sale of the business.
May 9, 2024
Sellers Have Opportunities, If They Prepare
Bank of America's Brendan Hanley on what sellers can expect in today's M&A market.
April 10, 2024
Start With The End In Mind
Volato's Phil Michaels on the importance of starting with the end in mind.
April 4, 2024
How to Maximize PE Value Creation by Better Assessing Growth Potential in Due Diligence
Chief Outsiders Managing Partner, Private Equity, Slade Kobran outlines and approach to value creation that starts in due diligence.
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.
March 7, 2024
AI Trends for the Progressive CEO: Navigating the Transformative Landscape
Chief Outsiders' Ed Valdez and Angus Robertson rank the eight most important factors in the AI scene to pay attention to right now.
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!
February 2, 2024
Why CEOs at Midsize Firms Must Embrace Tech to Compete
Committing to gradual modernization now is infinitely better than a panicked scramble for reinvention when the markets force your hand.
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.
January 5, 2024
Navigating The Journey From Diligence To Exit In Private Equity
Chief Outsiders' Slade Kobran shares some key considerations from PE operating partners that ought to be taken from diligence to exit, and the go-to-market strategies they’ve used to foster success.
September 1, 2023
Wellist Founder Ashley Reid On The Importance Of Perspective
Wellist Founder and CEO Ashley Reid discusses growing into the company's national presence, what outside board seats have taught her about running her own business and the evolution of the company's fundraising.
August 18, 2023
Shaun Stimpson On Buying A Business And Becoming An Operator
Shaun Stimpson left a nearly 20-year career in wealth management to launch North Iron Holdings. The purpose of North Iron was to be a vehicle to acquire an industrial distribution company. After an
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.
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
April 26, 2023
The 180° Turn of M&A Conditions
Gavin Slader, head of the investment bank for JMP, a Citizens company, offers his state of M&A — an overview of the conditions dealmakers are facing and predictions for how the 2023 deal year finishes up.
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.
March 16, 2023
FOLX Health Looks to Expand
CEO Liana Douillet Guzmán on raising capital in frothy times versus during a return-to-normal environment.
March 3, 2023
The Consequences Of A Shifting Market
Co-Founder and CEO of Sensorium Therapeutics Dick Simon on the company's mission and its search for the right investors.
February 3, 2023
Optimism For A Return To Normal Pervades In M&A For 2023
Dave Dunstan spoke on the Smart Business Dealmakers Podcast about the survey results and the expectation among buyers and sellers for the 2023 deal year.
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."
January 6, 2023
Trust But Verify Is An Important M&A Lesson To Learn
Eliassen Group CEO David MacKeen on what he's learned as a buyer and how he's applied that the company's acquisition process moving forward.
December 9, 2022
Chris Whelan On Selling Health Express Urgent Care
Health Express Urgent Care Owner Chris Whelan on selling his business to South Shore Health System.
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.
October 28, 2022
Economic Conditions Drive Buyer Creativity
Ouroboros Group General Partner Samantha Ory on buyer-seller alignment, her firm’s growth from independent sponsor into its first fund, and how the current economic conditions are affecting the M&A landscape.
October 14, 2022
Adjusting to a disrupted market
Heritage Holding's Alex de Pfyffer and IMB Partners' Tarrus Richardson on about buyers' and sellers' reaction to the changing M&A market.
September 30, 2022
Reprice? Or walk away?
Gray, Gray & Gray LLP's Derrick Rebello and McCarthy Capital's Bob Emmert, on the sell-side issues that give them pause in diligence.
September 15, 2022
Value Creation In The M&A Lifecycle
Congruity 360's Mark Shirman, ARK Behavioral Health’s Peter McLoughlin and Twelve Points Wealth Management’s David Clayman on value creation in the M&A lifecycle.
September 2, 2022
Build value through the team
Gray, Gray & Gray's Bryan Pearce on strategic business planning and building value in your organization.
August 19, 2022
Jonathan Kasen, Gordon Scott on buying Hilliards Chocolates
As investors, Gordon Scott and Jonathan Kasen were comfortable analyzing businesses. But to prepare to acquire a company, they went to textbooks.
August 5, 2022
Lessons learned selling the same company twice
What John Blyzinskyj learned from selling Elemica twice.
July 29, 2022
Seeing a deal as more than money
Ouroboros Group's Samantha Ory, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP Boston's Brian Moore, Dr. Dental's Alex Faigel, Mirus Capital Advisors' Brendan Kiernan and Cambridge Savings Bank's Stephen Leonard on financing business in the lower middle market.
July 14, 2022
Making Deals with Unprepared Participants
Charlie Saponaro, CEO, Medical Record Associates, is a long-standing veteran of the Boston M&A world, with more than 30 deals to his credit. In several of those transactions, Saponaro had to make it happen even though the sellers were not quite as sophisticated in the common practices of the M&A world.
July 6, 2022
BioDot's quick (and unexpected) second deal
BioDot's Tony Lemmo on the company's two significant deals in the last two years, including a leveraged buyout through Artemis Capital Partners back in 2020.
June 29, 2022
Navigating Deal Complexities
Mad River Associates' Andy Horne, Eliassen Group's David MacKeen, WJ Connell's John Stephenson and CMBG3 Law's John Gardella on how to effectively prepare yourself and your company to get deals done.
June 22, 2022
Build a good business and investors will find you
HYCU's Simon Taylor, Mintz's Kurt Steinkrauss, Health Express Urgent Care's Chris Whelan and First Republic Investment Management's Julie Rousseau on what you need to know about the personal and corporate side of readying your company for whatever tomorrow brings.
June 16, 2022
How Paperless Parts Overcame Early Stumbles To Find Success
Paperless Parts recently raised $30 million of Series B venture funding led by OpenView Venture Capital. Jason Ray, co-founder and CEO of Paperless says he had some entrepreneurial stumbles along his path to building Paperless into what it's become today.
June 10, 2022
Franklin Foster on Essex Bay Capital's Launch
Essex Bay Capital Co-founder Franklin Foster talks about launching Essex Bay Capital and the investments the company has made so far.
June 2, 2022
Seller Considerations Beyond Price
Capital Partners' Olly Forrer, HUB International's Marc Mingolelli, Goulston & Storrs' John Cushing, Stellex Capital Management's Irina Krasik and Copley Equity's Sean Sullivan on what truly differentiates winning buy-side transactions beyond the price.
May 26, 2022
How the middle-market M&A scene might play out for 2022
Based on analyst reports and Citizens Annual Middle Market M&A Outlook, 2022 is expected to be another high-paced deal year, says David Dunstan managing director in Citizens M&A Advisory Group.
May 19, 2022
Fundraising isn't an event. It's a process.
Kytopen CEO and co-founder Paulo Garcia talks about his company, it's progress and how he balances fundraising with advancing the business.
May 11, 2022
Determining the future of a family business
Robison Energy's Daniel Singer, along with Arent Fox's David Barbash, Hubbard-Hall's Molly Kellogg, R. Klein Consulting's Ruben Klein, and BankProv's Brent Mathews on determining the future of a family business.
May 6, 2022
Tips on buying distressed assets
General Management Group's Emmett McNulty on what to keep in mind when buying distressed companies.
April 28, 2022
How NOBULL builds a community of fans and attracts growth capital
NOBULL Co-Founder and CEO Marcus Wilson on the myriad lessons learned on his — and the company’s — whirlwind journey, including what investors bring to the table beyond funding and why building an engaged community of loyal customers has been the real key to success.
March 23, 2022
What entrepreneurs can learn from investor feedback patterns
WeSpire Founder and CEO Susan Hunt Stevens talks about her company and experience raising capital.
February 18, 2022
Prepare as if a sale could happen at any time
Environmental Partners' Paul Gabriel, Goodwin Procter LLP's Josh Zachariah, McCarthy Capital's Bob Emmert, and Gray, Gray & Gray's Derrick Rebello and James DeLeo on getting your business ready to sell, knowing the key areas that impact valuation, and putting your personal exit strategy into motion.
