Divestopedia Exit Strategy Insights

In eight years as a certified EOS Implementer, Mike Paton has conducted more than 1,000 full-day EOS sessions with leadership teams of more than 100 entrepreneurial companies. Now a best-selling author of Get A Grip: An Entrepreneurial Fable (with...

Rob Slee is the Founder of Midas Nation, a community dedicated to helping business owners dramatically increase the value of their firms. Rob is also the President of Robertson & Foley, one of the top private investment banking firms in the United States that provide sophisticated finance solutions to middle market companies located throughout the world. Rob has authored … Continue reading Rob Slee – Author of Time Really Is Money →

Noah Rosenfarb is a Certified Public Accountant, Accredited in Business Valuation, and a Personal Financial Specialist. He is a Personal CFO and Holistic Wealth Coach at Freedom Business Advisors, which provides middle market business owners guidance on how to successfully transition out of the management and or ownership of their company. Mr. Rosenfarb is the author … Continue reading Noah Rosenfarb – Author – Exit: Healthy, Wealthy and Wise →

Dr. Basil Peters is an M&A advisor, exit coach and angel investor. Dr. Peters is the CEO of Strategic Exits Corp, a firm specializing in optimum exits for technology companies. Dr. Peters managed three top performing funds, a hedge fund, a venture capital fund and an angel fund. He has been a technology company CEO in Vancouver and Silicon Valley. Basil … Continue reading Basil Peters – Author of Early Exits →

John Bly is the Co-Managing Member of LBA Haynes Strand, PLLC, located in the Charlotte area. John's entrepreneurial guidance as Co-Managing Member has propelled the firm to rapid growth. He utilizes M&A to drive development—in nine years LB&A has grown from $0 to more than $4 million, through a series of eight acquisitions and two … Continue reading John Bly – Cracking The Code: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Growing Your Business Through Mergers And Acquisitions For Pennies On The Dollar →

Bo Burlingham is an editor-at-large of Inc. magazine and the author of five books,the most recent being Finish Big: How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Top. A previous book, Small Giants: Companies That Choose To Be Great Instead of Big, was one of five finalists for the 2006 Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of … Continue reading Bo Burlingham – Author of Finish Big: How Great Entrepreneurs Exit Their Companies on Top →

  BizEquity is the first and leading cloud based online business valuation system and engine for small businesses and their advisors. There are 30 million Small Businesses in the United States alone and 75% of those don't know what they are worth, and 50% are underinsured. Now for a fraction of the cost and time … Continue reading Michael Carter – CEO of BizEquity →

Christopher Mercer is the founder and chief executive officer of Mercer Capital. He has prepared, overseen, or contributed to more than a thousand valuations for purposes related to M&A, litigation, and tax, among others. Chris is also the author of his most recent book, Unlocking Private Company Wealth: Proven Strategies and Tools for Managing Wealth … Continue reading Chris Mercer, author of Unlocking Private Company Wealth →

Peter is CEO of Axial, responsible for driving the company's vision to be the trusted platform where private companies connect with capital. Prior to Axial, Peter worked in private equity at SFW Capital Partners and was part of the founding team at Gerson Lehrman Group, where he helped build the company's dominant global technology platform … Continue reading Peter Lehrman, CEO of Axial →

James Darnell, a partner at KLH Capital, is responsible for identifying, structuring and executing transactions; due diligence; financial analysis; and portfolio management. He is a member of the KLH Investment Committee and is responsible for all SBIC compliance. He serves on the board of directors for all KLH portfolio companies and is directly responsible for … Continue reading James Darnell, Partner at KLH Capital →

Kevin is the author of Sell Your Business For An Outrageous Price. This book synthesizes Kevin's experience in selling mid-size companies ($10MM – $250MM in value) for twice the multiple of the industry average. Kevin Short is also the Managing Partner and CEO of Clayton Capital Partners, a St. Louis-based investment banking firm specializing in merger and … Continue reading Kevin M. Short, Author of Sell Your Business For An Outrageous Price →

John is an author, public speaker and consultant working exclusively in the area of business succession. His professional training is as a tax lawyer. He had an LL.M in international tax. John's book ‘Hire Your Buyer: a Philosophy of Value Creation' offers a solution to a substantial crisis facing business owners between the ages of … Continue reading John Mill – Author, Hire Your Buyer →

Ian R. Campbell authored 50 Hurdles: Business Transition Simplified, a book that focuses on family business transition differently than does most business transition (more commonly called succession) literature. Concurrently will introduce www.BusinessTranstionCounsel.com to the internet, a website offers information relevant to family business owners and owners of non-family private companies, and The Business Transition Counsel … Continue reading Ian R. Campbell – Author, 50 Hurdles – Business Transition Simplified →

Christopher Snider, CEPA is CEO and President of the Exit Planning Institute, the premier international membership organization serving the educational and resource needs of the exit planning profession. Formed in 2005 to bring together M&A advisors, CPAs, financial advisors, attorneys, management consultants, business brokers, and other business advisors, the Exit Planning Institutes members, including some … Continue reading Chris Snider – Exit Planning Institute →

Roy Williams is the acknowledged Dean of post-transition research and planning. He is a pioneer in assisting high net worth families to meet the challenges of transferring wealth from one generation to the next. Roy is the author or co-author of four books and numerous articles on topics relating to wealth transfer.

David Friedman is a speaker and teacher to CEOs on how to intentionally build high performing cultures in their businesses. David has also authored the book, Fundamentally Difference, which is a collection of principles that he say can be applied in every organization across America and can also serve as a guidebook for life. 

Tom is an entrepreneur and financier with direct experience in several industries, including automotive, b2b internet, consumer marketing, personal care, industrial cleaning, industrial controls, and medical devices.

Chris' practice focuses on protecting the families of privately held business owners, their partners, employees, customers and vendors from the ravaging fallout caused by the premature death or disability of one of the owners. A buy-sell agreement funded with insurance is widely recognized as the best way to do this.

Michael Carter is the CEO and President of BizEquity, the first patented and leading online business valuation service. BizEquity was created to help democratize financial knowledge to the Small and Midsize Business marketplace. 

Jock Purtle is the owner of digitalexits.com a full service website brokerage. They help online business owners find a buyer when they want to exit their company. He personally exited his online business in 2013 and is on track to facilitate over 20 deals in 2014 ranging from $100,000 to $5,000,000.  

Davis Vaitkunas is a Director at Bond Capital and has completed over 130 financial transactions with growth entrepreneurs in Western Canada and the Western USA. Each of these transactions has centered on banking, investment banking, mezzanine debt and private equity. Bond Capital provides direct investments ranging from $2 million to $20 million structured as debt … Continue reading Davis Vaitkunas – Mezzanine Finance Expert →

Patrick Ross is an Affiliate Partner with Lindsay Goldberg and former CEO of a number of private and publicly traded industrial service and manufacturing companies in North America. With an emphasis on operating excellence and value creation, Patrick is currently looking for opportunities to deploy Lindsay Goldberg's value proposition in Canada and the western USA.

Michael is the founder of the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors (AM&AA), a Chicago based international professional trade association serving more than 800 independent investors, accountants, attorneys, and other highly qualified corporate advisory and transaction professionals in more than 22 nations.

Over the last decade, Ace Chapman has bought and sold 11 companies using funds raised from high net-worth individuals and institutions. Ace leverages his experience in private equity, capital raising, and entrepreneurship to help investors generate above-average returns through the acquisition and sale of small businesses.

After four startups as CEO and CFO, two turnarounds, and making the Inc 500, Chuck Richards formed CoreValue Software. Chuck has worked with owners of over 50 companies to build value and deliver their strategic objectives, and has helped hundreds of CEOs of private companies as an advisor. Over the past 30 years, Chuck has … Continue reading Chuck Richards – CEO at CoreValue Software →

Michael Platner serves as Chair of Lewis Brisbois' Corporate Practice Group. Michael also has founded or been an early stage investor in several businesses, particularly in software, internet infrastructure and cloud computing. Empathizing with the role of the client, he believes that a transactional lawyer adds the most value by fully understanding the business strategy … Continue reading Michael Platner – M&A Lawyer →

John Warrillow is the founder of The Sellability Score. Throughout his career, John has started and exited four companies and is a sought-after speaker and angel investor. He also contributes regularly to Inc.com and The Globe and Mail. John is also the author of Built To Sell: Turn Your Business Into One You Can Sell.

Jay Turo has led Growthink's emergence as one of the nation's largest strategic advisory and investment banking firms focused on the entrepreneurial marketplace. In his 14 years at Growthink, Jay has advised dozens of emerging, middle market, and corporate clients regarding their growth and capital formation strategies. His corporate clients have included Deutsche Bank, McKesson, … Continue reading Jay Turo, Co-founder and CEO of Growthink →

Dan Abbate has started, bought, sold, and/or merged many businesses since the mid 90's when he began his entrepreneurial career. Dan is currently the CEO of Robotaton which evaluates companies and/or departments of companies to see if they can improve the business through the implementation of new technology.

Cory Janssen, co-founded Investopedia.com in 1999 and helped to grow it into one of the web's largest financial sites devoted to investor education. In April of 2007 the company was sold to Forbes Media. In 2011, Cory co-founded Janalta Interactive, an online publisher of educational websites in a number of industries. His current portfolio of … Continue reading Cory Janssen – Co-founder of Investopedia and Divestopedia →

Scott is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Exit Planning Institute. He is a passionate Cleveland entrepreneur who started his first business at the age of 17. After successfully selling his first business in 2010, Scott partnered with his father Chris, and together they founded Snider Premier Growth, Inc., a private investment … Continue reading Scott Snider – Exit Planning Institute →

Tom Deans Ph.D. is the author of Every Family's Business: 12 Common Sense Questions to Protect Your Wealth and Willing Wisdom: 7 Questions to Ask Before Your Die. With more than 250,000 copies in circulation, Every Family's Business is the best-selling family business book of all-time. His new book, Willing Wisdom has already received critical … Continue reading Tom Deans Ph.D. – Author of two international best-seller books, Every Family's Business and Willing Wisdom →

David Finkelstein has been a serial entrepreneur since 1994. He is currently the owner of Contextuads, LLC, an internet advertising business expanding into big data. David has successfully built and sold two internet businesses

Matt is a native of Hawthorne, New Jersey -a few miles outside of NYC. After graduating Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Matt earned and accepted a commission in the United States Navy. Matt specialized in nuclear submarine operations and nuclear power generation during his … Continue reading Matt DiGeronimo – Mergers & Acquisitions Specialist →

Josh Patrick has owned and operated a variety of businesses dealing with food, including food vending, coffee service, catering, and wholesaling, and several others dealing with food. For the past 15 years he has owned and operated a wealth management business, Stage 2 Planning Partners, that focuses on the strategic issues faced by the owners … Continue reading Josh Patrick – Creating Value For Entrepreneurs →

Terry Freeman is a long time energy services, construction and maintenance executive, investor and board director. He was with Flint Energy Services Ltd. as CFO and Board Director for 20 years, helping oversee its growth from $20 million in revenue to $2 billion and its eventual sale to URS. During a five year stint as … Continue reading Terry Freeman – Business Builder →

In this session you will learn about: 3 things any owner can start doing right now to prepare for an exit Ccommon mistakes owners make when discussing an exit strategy with their executives – Don't miss this session The best way to discuss exit strategy with internal and external stakeholders About the Guest Bruce is a … Continue reading Bruce Rosetto – Financing Expert →

In this episode you will learn about: What are buy and sell agreements When you you have two or more partners in a business, why is a buy/sell agreement so important The role life insurance plays when funding a buy/sell agreement How else do your business owner clients use life insurance as part of their … Continue reading Carl Lutz – Expert on Buy/Sell Agreements →

About James E. Hughes, Jr., Esq. Mr. Hughes, a resident of Aspen, Colorado, is the author of Family Wealth: Keeping It in the Family, and of Family – The Compact Among Generations, both published by Bloomberg Press and is the co-author with Susan Messenzio and Keith Whitaker of a new book, The Cycle of the Gift: Family Wealth … Continue reading James E. Hughes, Jr., Esq. – Family Wealth Expert →

In this session you will learn about: Functions for each member on every world class transition team 3 things any owner can do right now to prepare for an exit The most common exit options Best way to discuss exit strategy with internal and external stakeholders Most common mistakes owners make when discussing an exit strategy … Continue reading Warland Griffith – Wealth Management Advisor →

In this session you will learn about: What are some of the things private equity firms have in common The post attraclive reasons tohave a private equity firm as a partner? What's the process of doing a deal like – how long does it take, what's involved? Tom  shares a story about an owner that had … Continue reading Tom D'Ovidio – Partner With Shoreview Industries →

In this session you will learn about: The most common exit strategy problems 3 things any owner can do right now to prepare for an exit 3 pre-sale tax and est^ate plaAning opportunities Best way to discuss exit strategy with internal and external stakeholders Most common mistakes owners make when discussing an exit strategy with their … Continue reading Stuart Sorkin – Author of Expensive Mistakes When Buying & Selling Companies: Episode 010 →

In this session you will learn about: What it was like to sell two companies Lessons learned in the process including being apart of the negotiation The culture clash of selling his company to a Fortune 500 company Mike's biggest mistake which he said was really dumb/li> Why he said you should always have multiple … Continue reading Mike Michalowicz – Author And Entrepreneur →

In this session you will learn about: Ways people can prepare emotionally and financially from earning money Strategies  the wealthy use to minimize their taxes What should clients look for in their “money person”? The differences between brokerage firms, RIA firms, family offices and the other people out there advising clients about investments How you … Continue reading Lisa Gray – Wealth Optimization Expert →

In this session you will learn about: Three things owners can do to start the exit planning (succession planning) process; The best pre-sale-tax and estate planning opportunities; How can people prepare emotionally and financially to go from wealth accumulation to wealth utilization; Tax strategies that the wealthy are using right now; and The most important … Continue reading John A. Warnick, Esq. – Trust Expert →

In this session you will learn about: How owners can make sure their legacy is long-lasting and positive; The most important thing a family can do to maintain harmony; What you should know about ethical wills and how they influence families and help maintain family harmony after the death of a matriarch or patriarch; How defining … Continue reading Richard C. Wilson – Family Office Expert →

In this session you will learn about: How owners can make sure their legacy is long-lasting and positive The most important thing a family can do to maintain harmony What you should know about ethical wills and how they influence families and help maintain family harmony after the death of a matriarch or patriarch How defining … Continue reading Judith Kolva, Ph.D. – Personal Historian: Exit Strategy →

In this session you will learn about: 3 things most families can do to maintain family harmony When should you talk about your exit plans with your family – Matt gives us some valuable tips How to deal with perceptions that “money is negative” How to go about starting family meetings How owners can make sure … Continue reading Matt Wesley, JD, MDiv. – Family Succession Expert →

In this session you will learn about: What should someone do to figure out how much they need to be financially secure Actual strategies the wealthy are using to minimize their taxes What you should look for in your money person The differences between brokerage firms, RIA firms, family offices out there advising clients about … Continue reading Kaushal Majmudar, JD, CFA – Investment Expert →

In this session you will learn about: 3 things any owner can do right now to start preparing for an exit 3 common pre-sale tax and estate planning opportunities The most common mistake owners make when discussing an exit strategy with their executives What should someone do to figure out how much money they need … Continue reading Joseph Bazanno, CPA, CVA, CBEC – Valuation and Exit Planning Expert: Exit Strategy Podcast 002 →

In this session you will learn about: 3 things any owner can start doing right now to prepare for an exit 3 pre-sale tax and estate planning opportunities Peter goes into the most common mistakes owners make when discussing an exit strategy with their executives – Don't miss this session The best way to discuss exit … Continue reading Peter Christman, CEPA – The Original Exit Planning Coach: Exit Strategy Podcast 001 →