Podcasts about ebitda

Gregory Kovsky discusses small business owner secrets and the evolving market for buying and selling private businesses. He explained how the "silver tsunami" of retiring baby boomer business owners is creating a surge in businesses for sale, while strong buyer demand from entrepreneurs, private equity firms, family offices, and acquisition-minded companies continues to support the market. We explore business succession planning, SBA financing, valuation methods, tax strategies, and the role of commercial real estate in business sales. Gregory also shared insights into how private equity is reshaping the marketplace, the importance of considering employees and legacy alongside sale price, and the realities of entrepreneurship.  We discuss...  How the retiring baby boomer generation is creating a wave of business sales known as the "silver tsunami." Why many family businesses are sold rather than passed to the next generation. How SBA financing makes business ownership accessible with relatively little upfront capital. The strong demand for private businesses from entrepreneurs, private equity firms, family offices, and strategic buyers. The realities of entrepreneurship and why owning a business requires far more time and commitment than many people expect. How staffing challenges and employee turnover are common reasons business owners decide to sell. How private equity is influencing the small business market and the importance of evaluating buyers beyond just the purchase price. How commercial real estate factors into many business transactions and retirement planning strategies. Several tax strategies business owners may use to reduce taxes when selling their companies. How business valuations are determined using EBITDA, growth potential, industry trends, and market multiples. Concerns about inflated private equity valuations and the challenges firms face exiting investments.   Today's Panelists: Kirk Chisholm | Innovative Wealth Marc Walton | Forex Mentor Pro   Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moneytreepodcast Follow LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/money-tree-investing-podcast Follow on Twitter/X: https://x.com/MTIPodcast For more information, visit the full show notes at https://moneytreepodcast.com/small-business-owners-secrets-gregory-kovsky-836 

You've been telling yourself the same story. That you need more money to start. That you need the perfect plan before you move. That fear is the reason you're stuck. Here's the truth: the only thing holding you back is the belief that something outside of you has to change before you can begin. Robert Herjavec went from arriving in America with nothing to building and selling companies worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He's one of the most recognizable faces on Shark Tank, and in this episode, he breaks down the exact mindset shifts that turned urgency into wealth, why most people quit before they compound, and the leadership mistake that quietly destroys great companies. From structuring earnouts with no money down to scaling a $400 million business without raising a dime, Robert reveals the frameworks that separate people who stay broke from people who build empires. In this episode, you'll learn: Why fear is what holds most people back and how the fear of hard work without guaranteed results is the real killer, not the work itself The poverty versus wealth mindset: why working to make a living keeps you stuck and how shifting to building wealth changes everything How Robert bought 13 businesses with no outside funding using earnouts, seller financing, and cash flow leverage, and why you don't need money in the bank to do deals The biggest mistake founders make when pitching: asking people to listen instead of making them want to hear, and why humility and subconscious alignment close deals before you even open your mouth How to value a company the right way: understanding industry multiples, EBITDA, and why people fail because they price based on what they need instead of what the business is worth Stop waiting for permission. Stop waiting for certainty. The life you want is on the other side of the decision you're avoiding. My new book, Own Or Be Owned, is all about building a business so good it doesn't need you. More profit, less pain. It's out September 18, grab your ticket to the launch event here: https://contrarianthinking.biz/oobo_bigdeal - cs ___________ (00:00:00) Introduction: Fear Is What Holds You Back, Not Lack of Money (00:03:07) The 10-Year Grind: Running Until Your Legs Fall Off (00:07:24) A Players vs B Players: How Long Do You Wallow in Misery? (00:10:33) The Fast No Is a Gift: Stop Being a Maybe-er (00:11:34) Your Bad Day Is Somebody's Dream: Perspective and Purity of Joy (00:13:03) Become an Expert in Something: The 20s Are Your Foundation (00:15:22) The Kylie Jenner Business Lesson: Don't Confuse Stuff with Vision (00:18:55) How Rare Is a Billion Dollars? The SpaceX Millionaire Story (00:21:25) You Can Get Rich Even If You Hate Rich People (00:25:29) Democracy Is a Car Wash: Small Business Is the Right Message for America (00:26:58) Urgency Gets You Out of Poverty, Patience Gets You to Wealth (00:30:00) Fail Quickly: Test at 20% with Paying Customers, Not at 100% with Beta Users (00:31:19) 10 Billion Dollars in Sales: Great Salespeople Sell Value, Not Product (00:33:06) The Leverage Switch: When Sharks Start Selling the Pitcher (00:36:05) The Three Numbers You Better Know: EBITDA, Multiples, and Industry Comps (00:38:35) Scale Is a Two-Edged Sword: When Your Skill Becomes Your Weakness (00:41:11) The Million, Ten Million, Hundred Million Business: What Changes at Each Level (00:43:32) The World-Class CFO Hire: When Robert Stopped Being the Bottleneck (00:46:05) Buying 13 Businesses with No Outside Funding: The Earnout Strategy (00:49:14) Money Is Not Holding You Back, Your Lack of Knowledge Is (00:49:59) The Baby Boomer Exit Crisis: Millions of Businesses with No Succession Plan (00:52:55) Third-Party Verification: People Believe What Others Say About You (00:54:03) I'm Really Proud I Built 400 Million with My Own Money (00:55:58) The Equity Operator vs the Business Operator: Why Projections Are Bullshit (00:58:18) When It's Self-Evident in Tech, It's Probably Too Late (01:02:25) The Accelerator Stuck: How Precarious Is Life? (01:06:03) We Are Not a Family, We Are a Team: The Benevolent Dictator (01:07:40) Poverty Mindset vs Wealth Mindset: It's Great to Dream, Better to Pay Your Bills ___________ MORE FROM BIGDEAL

We're still surprised people did this but... 50+ founders worth $10M to $4B reveal their personal finances. Here it is: https://joinhampton.com/mw-wrWhy do we do this? Because if you're an aspirational person or someone who runs a business and is making money, it's incredibly challenging to figure out what to do. Information is impossible to find — and that's what we put together: the net worth reveal and why we do this podcast, Moneywise.He got his first $5M check and expected to feel superhuman. The next day was one of the most disappointing of his life.Jesse Pujji walked away from a Goldman Sachs job where he made $500K at 25 — with a boss making $3M and a group head making $20M — to bootstrap an ad agency on $33K per partner and a stack of Amex cards. Ampush cracked the Facebook arbitrage before almost anyone: $100K in monthly revenue in June 2010 became $2M a month with $600K in EBITDA fourteen months later. He scaled it to half a billion in annual ad spend and 250 employees without raising a dollar, turned down $25M at 27, sold 20% to Red Ventures in 2015, and sold the whole thing to New Mountain Capital in 2022 for somewhere between $40M and $60M on a 35% stake. He never got the nine-figure number he made up in his head, and he says chasing it was the mistake.This episode gets into the exact allocation of a post-exit portfolio, why Jesse refuses to let his advisors put illiquid startup equity on his balance sheet, what $500K a year of "normal" spending actually buys, and why he asked his financial advisor how people possibly spend more than that. He's honest about the gap between the money he expected to change him and the money that didn't. And we spend real time on the part most founders avoid: three kids who never saw him grind, a Greenlight allowance split into thirds, a $63 JCPenney paycheck at 16 that taught him more than any of it, and the question of whether to leave them anything at all.Also, this podcast is made by Hampton, which is a community for founders doing on average $20 million a year in revenue. We saw a lot of these money conversations happening privately behind closed doors and we thought, "What the heck, let's make it public." If you are a founder, apply here: http://joinhampton.com/mwTimestamps:00:00 — Jesse's origin story: immigrant household in St. Louis, a snow shoveling business in middle school, and $33K each plus Amex cards to start Ampush02:00 — The Facebook arbitrage that changed everything: $100K/month in June 2010 to $2M in revenue and $600K in EBITDA fourteen months later02:49 — "Sandbox entrepreneurship" — Facebook cold-calls them: "Who the hell are you guys? You're one of our top 100 advertisers"04:24 — Why he left Goldman at 25 making $500K: "I would rather make half of my future expected earnings and do something I feel excited about"06:18 — The $25M offer two years in, why they said no, and the $3M dividend they took instead — $1M each, which bought his SF house07:30 — The made-up number that wrecked them: hoping for $150M, getting $60–75M offers, and turning down $190M in Marin stock09:24 — The Red Ventures deal and $5M after tax: "I thought I would get wings or superhuman strength... nothing changed"11:16 — 2022: selling to New Mountain and walking away without going with the deal13:12 — The exit number, on the record: a $40–60M range on a stake "a little bit more than a third"16:04 — The Zone of Genius framework, and why being a CEO sat in his zone of excellence — good at it, drained by it17:52 — Gateway X by the numbers19:06 — Whether the scarcity ever goes away: "nine days out of ten" became "one day out of ten," and the coach question he couldn't answer20:16 — The Deer Valley condo, and finally understanding why people buy vacation homes21:08 — Full portfolio breakdown and why he tells his advisors to mark his startup equity at zero23:24 — Annual spend 26:52 — The schedule that makes it work: Tuesdays and Thursdays he misses bedtime, Monday/Wednesday/Friday he doesn't, and he deletes Slack on vacation28:16 — The thing that keeps him up: "They've gotten all the fruits of the grind without actually observing the grind"29:23 — Greenlight, allowance equal to their age, and splitting it into thirds — spend, save, give30:19 — Running a Starbucks P&L with his 9-year-old daughter in the store32:30 — The four-bucket framework: spend it, give it to the government, give it to charity, or give it to your kids34:44 — A Schnucks family board member on generational wealth: "Money doesn't ruin kids. Lack of values does."35:36 — What Jesse wants said at his funeralSponsors: Daily Body Coach - achieve your dream body with https://moneywise.dailybodycoach.comSubscribe to Moneywise: https://www.youtube.com/@themoneywisepodcastFollow Daniel on X: https://x.com/danielcberkListen on Spotify / Apple Podcasts: [search "Moneywise Hampton"]

Most founders think their business determines its valuation. The 1 hidden valuation driver costing founders millions is often the founder themselves. By the time a buyer expresses interest, much of your valuation has already been established. Systems, leadership, and operational independence aren't built during due diligence—they're revealed by it. Waiting until an offer arrives often means negotiating from a position that took years to create, but only weeks to evaluate. The bigger risk isn't always EBITDA or revenue growth. Buyers are also assessing whether the business can thrive without the founder, whether transition expectations are aligned, and whether hidden dependencies will create pressure on valuation after the deal begins. Those conversations can quietly reshape enterprise value long before the purchase agreement is signed. Cece Lung from Rich & Sassy Wealth Strategies shares why founders often become the biggest hidden valuation driver in their own business—and why waiting until buyer interest appears can quietly cost millions before negotiations even begin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A practice sale that should have been the easiest transition imaginable ended before negotiations even began—and the lessons could save you from making the same costly mistake.   In this episode, I shares the story of an anonymized internal succession plan that unraveled despite all the ingredients for success: a trusted associate, established patient relationships, and a seller committed to staying through the transition. So what went wrong?   Using this real-world case study, I'll share the psychology of selling a practice, why valuations are opinions—not verdicts—and how misunderstanding business value can derail even the most promising transition.   Along the way, I'll also tackle one of the most misunderstood metrics in business valuation—EBITDA—and explain why practice owners should be cautious about relying on it when estimating what their practice is worth.   Have a podcast-related question? Contact our team here!   Resources: Berkshire YouTube clip: Every time you hear EBITDA, substitute it with "bull***" earnings Book a Triage call with Adam Download the Practice Owner's Financial Toolkit 20/20 Money Ultimate Financial Success Masterclass OD Mastermind Interest Form Check out Adam's book: How to Buy an Optometry Practice   ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!   Check out Adam's other podcast! The Optometry Success Podcast  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/4tttng6 Subscribe on Spotify: https://bit.ly/4tuf0YM 

Is Cerebras Systems the next great AI chip stock or a red-hot IPO priced for perfection? In this episode of 7investing Live, Simon Erickson and executive producer Heather Horton welcome back Nick Rossolillo, co-founder of Chip Stock Investor, to break down three of the market's biggest stories.First up: Cerebras Systems (NASDAQ:CBRS), the wafer-scale chip maker that just IPO'd at a $40+ billion market cap. With 44GB of SRAM embedded directly on the chip, Cerebras was purpose-built to solve AI's "memory wall" problem for inference workloads. Now it's reportedly landed a ~$10 billion order from OpenAI and a deal with Amazon Web Services that could top $20 billion. Simon and Nick dig into whether these massive orders are real, how Cerebras stacks up against NVIDIA's GPUs and hyperscaler custom silicon, the TSMC capacity bottleneck that could throttle its growth, and how to value a company trading near 20x sales without profits.Then the conversation turns to Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB), which has pulled back from $150 to around $70 per share. Simon shares the latest iteration of his discounted cash flow valuation, and the duo debates the proposed Iridium acquisition — a deal that could pull Rocket Lab to EBITDA-positive on a pro forma basis — plus what the long-awaited Neutron rocket launch means for the company's future.Finally: Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX). After another quarter of decelerating revenue guidance, is the streaming giant now a value stock rather than a growth stock? Nick explains why the advertising business hasn't reaccelerated growth the way he expected, and what he'd need to see before buying the dip.Plus: Nick's take on the recent chip stock sell-off across NVIDIA, AMD, Broadcom, SanDisk, and Kioxia and why "stocks go up, stocks go down" might be the healthiest way to think about it.Subscribe for more deep dives on AI infrastructure, semiconductors, and innovative growth stocks!Start your FREE 7-day trial of 7investing: https://www.7investing.com/subscribeFollow Nick and Casey Rossolillo at Chip Stock Investor: https://chipstockinvestor.comRocket Lab Deep Dive videos mentionedPart 1 https://youtu.be/AMDd0-JKUH0 (Deep Dive)Part 2: https://youtu.be/Z76xTGFNwBA (Valuation)Companies MentionedPublicly Traded:Cerebras Systems (NASDAQ:CBRS)Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB)Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX)NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD)Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO)Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU)Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM)Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)Iridium Communications (NASDAQ:IRDM)SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK)Kioxia Holdings (TSE:285A)Globalstar (NASDAQ:GSAT)SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX)Private / Pre-IPO:OpenAIAnthropicVideos Mentioned:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z76xTGFNwBA&t=3shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMDd0-JKUH0&t=987sHere's the shifted chapter list, with all timestamps moved back 55 seconds:0:00 Welcome to 7investing Live0:54 Cerebras Systems: IPO recap & the Wafer-Scale Engine2:31 Is NVIDIA even the right comparison for Cerebras?5:38 The memory wall: why bigger AI models need new chips8:52 Latency vs. throughput — and the new AI alliances10:46 Are the $10B OpenAI & $20B Amazon orders real?14:02 Cerebras risks: how do you value a hot IPO?17:27 The TSMC capacity bottleneck20:01 Heather's take on Cerebras20:41 Rocket Lab: the sell-off & Iridium acquisition24:34 Simon's DCF valuation & price target for RKLB29:05 Why Neutron changes everything30:12 Q&A: Does Peter Beck carry an "Elon premium"?31:36 Netflix: buying opportunity or cheap for a reason?36:57 Q&A: Is Netflix a growth stock or a value stock?39:03 Chip stocks selling off: normal volatility or a warning?42:57 Wrap-up & final thoughts#7investing #Simonerickson #Cerebras #CBRS #NVIDIA #AIinvesting #semiconductors #chipstocks #RocketLab #RKLB #Netflix #NFLX #AIinference #stocks #investing #stockmarket #TSMC #AIdatacenters

How much cash is hiding in your business? See if you qualify for a Free Financial Health Check Financial Intelligence Toolkit Two businesses, same revenue, same profit. One sells for three times EBITDA. The other sells for eight times. On a $2 million EBITDA business that gap is $10 million.In this episode Steve breaks down exactly what creates that difference and why sophisticated buyers are not just looking at the size of your earnings but the quality and the risk underneath them.Whether you ever plan to sell or not, understanding this will change how you run your business right now._______________________________________Disclaimer:The views expressed here are those of the individual Coltivar Group, LLC (“Coltivar”) personnel quoted and are not the views of Coltivar or its affiliates. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, Coltivar has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation.This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendations. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. Please see https://www.coltivar.com/privacy-policy-and-terms-of-use for additional important information.LinkedIn | YouTube coltivar.com

Plumbing business valuations are vulnerable to manipulation by sellers, buyers, and brokers. Discover the tactics used to distort EBITDA, inflate assets, and hide red flags, plus proactive steps to protect your business and maximize your true worth. Learn more at https://coregrowthgroup.com/can-plumbing-company-valuation-be-manipulated Core Growth Group City: Marble Falls Address: 2205 Warehouse Circle Website: https://coregrowthgroup.com/

Everyone talks about scaling. Far fewer people actually do it. In this conversation with Doug Levy, we unpack what real operational scale looks like. Not adding people because revenue is growing, but building a business where productivity outpaces payroll. We also get into why founders become the bottleneck, why poor hiring quietly destroys EBITDA long before anyone notices, and why disciplined systems create freedom instead of bureaucracy. In this episode Here's what I'd take away from this conversation. Stop delegating tasks and start delegating problems. Build systems that allow good people to operate without your constant intervention. Scale revenue through operational discipline before adding headcount. Hire with discipline because poor hiring quietly destroys profit long before it shows up in the numbers. Reward the behaviours you actually want repeated across the business. Episode highlights 01:30 The biggest operational lie founders tell themselves. 03:18 Why delegating problems beats delegating tasks. 07:45 What real scaling actually looks like and why hiring more people isn't the answer. 10:48 The leadership challenge of turning generalists into specialists. 15:10 Why poor hiring quietly destroys EBITDA years before leaders notice. 20:20 The hardest leadership lesson is usually found in the mirror. 24:08 The leadership principle every organisation eventually reflects. Links and resources Doug Levy Doug Services Doug's workshops and webinars  If you enjoyed this episode, I'd really appreciate it if you followed the show, left a rating and shared it with another founder, MD or senior commercial leader who is trying to build a business that scales without unnecessary complexity. Thanks for listening, and I'll see you in the next episode

Not every acquisition is worth making.In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson shares the story of one of the biggest acquisitions he chose to walk away from, even though it had the potential to double the size of his business. What looked like an incredible opportunity on paper quickly unraveled as the due diligence process exposed problems with customer concentration, company culture, cash flow, and the financials.John explains the acquisition framework he uses to evaluate plumbing, HVAC, and electrical businesses, why revenue and EBITDA rarely tell the whole story, and the common mistakes first-time buyers make when they become emotionally attached to a deal.Sometimes the best acquisition is the one you don't make.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━In this episode, John covers:→ The acquisition that looked perfect—but wasn't→ The biggest red flags uncovered during due diligence→ Why customer mix and company culture matter as much as financials→ How to avoid becoming emotionally invested in a deal→ What every first-time acquisition entrepreneur should know→ Lessons learned from the deals John decided not to buy━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Watch this episode early on the John Wilson YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/@JohnWilsonOAOSend Us Mail!More Ways To Connect with O&OJohn's Podcast YouTube ChannelOwned and Operated Newsletter Bonus Videos From JohnLeave a ReviewJohn Wilson, CEO of Wilson CompaniesJack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC

Last week Christian called Vista's rumored bid for Criteo "cheap" and left it at a throwaway line: three to four times.. what? A few people texted him afterward and said he could have done better; he agreed.So this week, solo from an undisclosed location while Ayelet celebrates her 30th in LA, Christian goes deep. A full side-by-side of Criteo and LiveRamp, a walkthrough of why the multiple gap between them makes almost no sense on the financials, and a concrete bull case: pay $58 a share, a 200%+ premium, then run an M&A play to build the agentic commerce OS for brands and retail.The thesis isn't buy it cheap. It's buy it decisively.What we cover: Who actually leaked the Vista story (and why Criteo's repeated phantom-deal leaks are a comms problem), the Criteo vs. LiveRamp side-by-side on revenue growth, revenue mix, EBITDA, and free cash flow, why LiveRamp's 107% net retention is at real risk once Publicis owns it, why Criteo's transactional model might be the safer bet in an agentic era where subscription pricing is under fire, the AI option value nobody's pricing in, and three specific M&A targets that would fix Criteo's biggest gap: no Amazon, no Walmart.Plus two deals worth flagging: Podean's fifth acquisition (Social Commerce Club) and Brunner buying AdSkate.⏱️ TIMESTAMPS0:26 — Solo episode, life changes, and happy 30th to Ayelet 0:50 — Why we're revisiting Criteo/Vista: "you really could have done better" 1:30 — The backstory: Bloomberg, Reuters, and a 50% premium at ~$3.7B implied 2:00 — Who leaked it? Why back channels point at Criteo, not Vista 2:30 — Criteo's leak engine: Microsoft, Walmart, Skai — deals that never materialized 3:00 — The headline thesis: pay 2.5x revenue ex-TAC, then run an M&A play 4:00 — Side-by-side setup: Criteo vs. LiveRamp 4:30 — Revenue growth: LiveRamp at 9%, Criteo at 1% (and why that's misleading) 5:15 — Growth quality: the Roundel and Uber Eats churn, and 16% underlying retail media growth 5:45 — Why LiveRamp's 107% net retention is at risk under Publicis ownership 6:30 — Revenue type: true SaaS vs. transactional media economics 7:00 — Why subscription models are under fire in the agentic era 7:45 — EBITDA: Criteo at $407M vs. LiveRamp at $185M, at a quarter of the multiple 8:30 — Free cash flow: both are cash compounders with clean balance sheets 9:15 — Strategic buyers pay up, financial buyers don't — but Vista usually pays 10-20x 9:45 — The AI option value nobody's pricing: OpenAI's ChatGPT ads pilot, 2x AI-referred conversions 10:30 — The real asset: 4,100 brands, 225 retail media networks, $1B in quarterly activated spend 11:15 — The bull case: $58/share, $2.9B equity value, a 203% premium 12:00 — Why no board can responsibly ignore an offer like this 12:30 — M&A target #1: Skai — solves Amazon and Walmart, and they already know each other 13:30 — M&A target #2: Pacvue (Advent) — Amazon, Walmart, Instacart muscle (and the Helium 10 problem) 14:15 — Why The Trade Desk's April integrations create urgency 14:45 — M&A target #3: digital shelf analytics — and the Profitero/Publicis precedent 16:00 — The Christian math, summarized 17:00 — Deal hit: Podean acquires Social Commerce Club (deal #5) 17:45 — Deal hit: Brunner acquires AdScape — creative intelligence as an AI play 18:30 — Why more deals are moving to our Substack, and what's coming next

Solstice Advanced Materials is acquiring Element Solutions (NYSE: ESI) in a $4.5 billion deal that would create a combined semiconductor and electronics materials supplier generating close to $8 billion in annual revenue, and the market didn't love it. Here's what the numbers actually say.We break down the acquisition terms, including why ESI shareholders are receiving $10 in cash plus 0.5 shares of Solstice stock for every share owned, and the projected 26% adjusted EBITDA margin after cost synergies. We dig into both companies' individual balance sheets, free cash flow trends, and revenue mix, including advanced packaging materials, refrigerants, data center cooling, and nuclear services, to explain why the market reacted negatively despite the strategic logic.We also compare this consolidation trend to peer Entegris (ENTG) and the broader semiconductor supply chain materials space heading into 2026. If you're tracking semiconductor cycle recovery, foundry demand, or fabless supply chain exposure, this merger matters more than the initial stock reaction suggests.Semi Insider members get access to CSI's research platform, tools, and deeper research as it happens. Join at chipstockinvestor.com. Get 15% off your membership at fiscal.ai/csi.This content is for general information and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute individual investment advice. Forecasts may not develop as predicted, and there is no guarantee any strategy discussed will be successful. All investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. CSI does not own shares of Solstice or Element Solutions.

How do you increase the value of your company? In this episode, we break down the three critical drivers that determine business value: profitability, risk, and founder independence. We explore how EBITDA serves as a key measure of profitability and financial performance, how the valuation multiple reflects the level of risk and confidence buyers place on a business, and how these two factors combine to determine enterprise value. We also dive into the Founder Freedom Factor: the impact founder dependency has on a company's scalability, growth potential, and overall value. A business that relies heavily on the founder carries more risk, while a business built on strong systems, capable leadership, and operational independence becomes more valuable. In this episode, you'll learn how to: Improve EBITDA and increase profitability Understand how valuation multiples impact company value Reduce business risk and increase enterprise value Identify how founder dependency affects valuation Build greater business independence Create a company designed for long-term growth, freedom, and value creation Whether you're preparing for an exit, scaling your company, or simply looking to build a more valuable business, understanding these value drivers is essential. Key Topics: EBITDA | Profitability | Valuation Multiple | Business Risk | Enterprise Value | Founder Freedom Factor | Founder Dependency | Company Value | Business Independence | Value Creation

Send us Fan MailA busy clinic isn't automatically a valuable business. In this episode of the Private Practice Survival Guide, Brandon Seigel explains how to build a value dashboard that buyers and lenders actually care about, why revenue isn't the same as value, and how to remove owner dependency so your practice becomes a transferable, scalable asset. You'll learn the exact KPIs to track, the systems to document, and the playbook that proves your practice can run without you. He also breaks down valuation frameworks—from revenue multiples to EBITDA—and shows how diversified revenue and strong leadership benches command higher multiples.What You'll Learn:The difference between revenue and true enterprise value—and why replacement cost mattersHow to calculate and reduce your owner dependency scoreThe essential monthly KPIs for a 12-month rolling value dashboardHow to build SOPs and a practice playbook that buyers trustWays to diversify revenue (private pay, telehealth, groups, training, wellness, consulting, education)Common value-killing mistakes and how to avoid themHow valuation ranges are influenced by margins, growth, systems, and risk profileBuild a business worth owning—and selling—so you can thrive, not just survive. #PrivatePractice #PracticeManagement #HealthcareBusiness #EBITDA #BusinessValuationWelcome to Private Practice Survival Guide Podcast hosted by Brandon Seigel! Brandon Seigel, President of Wellness Works Management Partners, is an internationally known private practice consultant with over fifteen years of executive leadership experience. Seigel's book "The Private Practice Survival Guide" takes private practice entrepreneurs on a journey to unlocking key strategies for surviving―and thriving―in today's business environment. Now Brandon Seigel goes beyond the book and brings the same great tips, tricks, and anecdotes to improve your private practice in this companion podcast. Get In Touch With MePodcast Website: https://www.privatepracticesurvivalguide.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonseigel/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonseigel/https://wellnessworksmedicalbilling.com/Private Practice Survival Guide BookThis show is proudly produced at PS Studios — learn more https://www.psstudios.co

The AI Recruiting Summit 2026 is happening now through July 20th, and registration is free for every live session. Recruiting engineers, operators, and recruiters actually running AI on their desks are showing what is working behind the scenes. Do not miss it. Register here: https://ai-recruiting-summit-2026.heysummit.com/ This episode is brought to you by Atlas. The resume never tells the full story, and most of what candidates share ends up buried in notes and forgotten. Atlas is the AI first recruitment platform built to eliminate admin. It captures every conversation automatically, and with MagicSearch you can ask things like who mentioned they are open to relocating and pull the answer from your entire database instantly. Atlas customers have reported over 40% EBITDA growth and over 80% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. Unlock your exclusive listener offer here: https://recruitwithatlas.com/ Holly Dary spent nearly 20 years becoming everything she set out to be at a large global staffing firm. She oversaw eight markets, built teams that produced, and made very good money. Then she hit her 20 year mark and a question she could not shake. Keep doing the same thing on repeat until retirement, or bet on herself and build something of her own. She chose the second act. At the end of 2019 she launched Tarbos Talent in Austin, put all of her chips in the middle of the table as the sole provider for her family, and started making placements right away. Then, three months in, COVID shut everything down. Every job order died. Offers were rescinded. For a brand new firm with a database built from nothing, it should have been the end. Instead she doubled down. While competitors furloughed and let go of long time producers, Holly hired the best of them. She built her tech stack and her database through the quiet months, got her team back in the office the moment Texas allowed it, and came out of the shutdown twice as strong. From zero she has built a team of 26 across two offices in Austin and Houston, in a business where most firms take 12 to 18 months just to turn a profit. Tarbos was profitable inside of two. None of that is the most remarkable thing she has survived. Fifteen years ago, when her daughter had just turned one, Holly was diagnosed with AML leukemia and told to get to the hospital within 30 minutes. She was not scared. She was furious that anything might take her from her kids, and she carried the same positive mindset that runs her business straight through treatment. Her oncologist later told her that her attitude was half the reason she made it. In this conversation Holly breaks down how she builds firms that win. Why the human touch is what separates an elite recruiter from a replaceable one. Why she recruits like a sniper instead of blasting 500 people at once. Why speed and sitting shoulder to shoulder with her team is a real advantage in a remote world. And why, after 26 years, doing the reps is still the whole game. If there is a quiet voice in the back of your head telling you it is time for your own second act, this is the episode. Connect with Holly Dary on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-dary-aba2952/ Listen to the full episode:

Most business owners think getting a call from private equity is the finish line. Brian Will says that's exactly when you're most at risk. In Part 2, Brian delivers the frameworks that took him three exits and decades of hard lessons to build — from the five keys to success (which are also the five keys to failure) to what private equity firms will do to your earn-out if you're not paying attention. In this episode: The five keys to success — and why every single one is also a key to failure Why your business is not your product — it's the business inside the business: marketing, data, systems, and the ability to put any product through a machine that finds customers and converts them The private equity playbook most sellers never see coming: how an $80 million deal became $60 million, why earn-out structures based on EBITDA are almost always a trap, and why you must never let a PE firm take over your accounting Brian's AI workflow — three screens, three AI models (Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude, which he calls Jake, Elwood, and Jeff), and the one prompt he uses to make sure they challenge him Why you should stop chasing advice from billionaires — and find someone exactly ten steps ahead of you, fresh out of the game, who's made mistakes at your level recently enough to still remember what they felt like Living Forever AI: Brian's current startup building interactive AI twins for personal legacy, professional use, and homeschooling — and why he's bootstrapping it while competitors have raised $20 million. Episode Highlights:00:00 - Escape the Commodity Trap 00:30 - Podcast Intro and Setup 01:30 - Five Keys to Success 01:50 - Key One Strong: Why 02:25 - Keys Two and Three 04:38 - Key Four: Check Ego 05:25 - Key Five: Master P&L 07:33 - KPIs and Pattern Forecasting 09:54 - Pricing and Testing 13:14 - Business Is a Data Game 14:59 - AI for Financial Analysis 16:49 - Living Forever AI Twins 20:37 - Experience Meets AI 23:56 - AI Jobs and Media Fear 29:36 - Why Start at 60 31:07 - Proving It Again 31:52 - Builder Not Manager 32:43 - Exit Strategy Reality 34:51 - Private Equity Earnouts 39:43 - How PE Rollups Work 44:02 - Structuring Safer Earnouts 45:44 - Post Acquisition Lessons 49:52 - Business Beyond Product 55:28 - Using AI As Advisors 57:52 - Stop Chasing Billionaires 01:00:49 - Final Advice And Wrap Resources mentioned: Dropout Multimillionaire, No: The Psychology of Sales and Negotiations, The Invisible Multimillionaire, I Give the Dumb Kids Hope — Brian Will's books Living Forever AI — Brian Will's current company: https://livingforeverai.com/ brianwillmedia.com — Brian Will's website ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude — Brian's three AI models, running simultaneously for business planning and analysis The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People — Stephen Covey Quotes: “ If you are a commodity business, the only way for you to win is to chase pricing down to the bottom until you can't make money.” - Brian Will “ I did a company, literally 32 marketing channels, and when I did the analysis, nine of those channels were unprofitable. Nine. And they represented 20% of their spend, their marketing spend.” - Brian Will “ And at some point, I started questioning me. I've been doing this consulting thing and telling people what to do for 20 years. I wonder if I actually know what I'm talking about.” - Brian Will “ Wherever you feel, you know, some angst around something, and this could be anywhere in your life, I think it's really important that you lean into it and realize that that angst is, is not there for you to pull back from anything. It's actually for you to lean into something, and there's something that you don't yet know.” - Dwayne Kerrigan “ Stop chasing the advice of billionaires, because they can't help you.” - Brian Will About Brian Will: Brian Will is a serial entrepreneur, two-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author, and business consultant who has founded or co-founded ten companies across four industries, with combined valuations exceeding half a billion dollars. He is a two-time TEDx speaker and the author of four books including Dropout Multimillionaire and No: The Psychology of Sales and Negotiations. Currently, Brian is the CEO of Living Forever AI and runs a coaching and consulting practice helping entrepreneurs master the core metrics, sales systems, and processes that drive sustainable growth. Connect with Brian Will: https://brianwillmedia.com/ Connect with Dwayne Kerrigan Facebook Instagram Linked In Website Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed by guests during The Dwayne Kerrigan Podcast are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent those of Dwayne Kerrigan and his affiliates. Dwayne Kerrigan or The Dwayne Kerrigan Podcast is not responsible for and does not verify the accuracy of any of the information contained in the podcast series. The primary purpose of this podcast is to educate and inform. Listeners are advised to consult with a qualified professional or specialist before making any decisions based on the content of this podcast.

Today in the business of podcasting:Audioboom posted record H1 2026 results, with revenue up 30% year-on-year to $45.7 million and adjusted EBITDA up 80% to $3.2 million, while also ending its strategic review and unveiling Spotify and Apple partnerships to power video monetization later this year.Creator economy newsletter Scalable finds brand safety concerns among US enterprise marketers have plummeted from 50% in 2023 to just 10% in 2025, as the industry pivots toward brand fit over blanket caution, a shift with clear implications for podcast advertising.The BBC's newly released annual report shows its ad-funded podcasts outside the UK drew over 515 million downloads and 116 million listeners, offering a rare public benchmark for global podcast monetization.Netflix subscribers on ad-free tiers keep getting blindsided by ads during live sports events like the Home Run Derby, a trust gap podcasting has largely sidestepped by setting clear ad expectations upfront.Media analyst Brian Morrissey argues publishers' second attempt at video is built for durability, using platforms like YouTube and TikTok as acquisition funnels toward owned audiences and revenue, a strategy many podcast publishers are already running on YouTube.To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

Send us Fan MailRon Yekutiel, Co-Founder, Chairman, President, and CEO of Kaltura, Inc. (NASDAQ: KLTR), joins the latest WTR Small-Cap Spotlight for an in-depth look at the company's next chapter. In conversation with host Tim Gerdeman and WTR analyst James Kisner, Yekutiel explains how Kaltura is moving from a long-standing leadership position in enterprise video to an AI-powered, agentic digital experience platform. He outlines how the company is combining its core technology with photorealistic conversational avatars from the eSelf acquisition and intent-based journey orchestration from PathFactory to transform customer, employee, learner, and audience experiences.During the episode, Yekutiel demonstrates his own digital twin, an avatar that presents Kaltura's investor deck, answers questions, and switches to Japanese on command. The discussion also covers the two agentic solutions planned for release in the second half of 2026, the strategic importance of Kaltura's real-time experience layer, and how the leadership team is balancing investment in growth with adjusted EBITDA profitability and positive cash flow.

Today in the business of podcasting:Audioboom posted record H1 2026 results, with revenue up 30% year-on-year to $45.7 million and adjusted EBITDA up 80% to $3.2 million, while also ending its strategic review and unveiling Spotify and Apple partnerships to power video monetization later this year.Creator economy newsletter Scalable finds brand safety concerns among US enterprise marketers have plummeted from 50% in 2023 to just 10% in 2025, as the industry pivots toward brand fit over blanket caution, a shift with clear implications for podcast advertising.The BBC's newly released annual report shows its ad-funded podcasts outside the UK drew over 515 million downloads and 116 million listeners, offering a rare public benchmark for global podcast monetization.Netflix subscribers on ad-free tiers keep getting blindsided by ads during live sports events like the Home Run Derby, a trust gap podcasting has largely sidestepped by setting clear ad expectations upfront.Media analyst Brian Morrissey argues publishers' second attempt at video is built for durability, using platforms like YouTube and TikTok as acquisition funnels toward owned audiences and revenue, a strategy many podcast publishers are already running on YouTube.To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

Slyšet od divadelníků pojmy jako EBITDA, cashflow nebo dluhopisy je sice neobvyklé, ale pro zakladatele ostravského Divadla Mír Alberta Čubu a výkonnou ředitelku Veroniku Kusou je to denní chleba. Jejich unikátní divadelní projekt, který proslavily i populární skeče Štěpána Kozuba, má totiž obří byznysové plány – stavbu nové multifunkční arény za stovky milionů korun. V nové epizodě podcastu Money Maker odkrývají, jak dělají z umění výdělečný byznys a jak pro své smělé plány shánějí investory.V rozhovoru se dále dozvíte:

On today's episode, this Part 2 conversation features Jake Conway continuing his April 2026 Mastermind presentation with a deeper look at hygiene performance, owner compensation, cash flow strategy, and practice valuation. Jake explains how hygiene production impacts payroll, fixed costs, doctor production, and overall profitability, while showing how KPIs like perio percentage, fluoride, open hygiene time, exam mix, and production-to-pay ratios can reveal the true causes behind underperformance.  He also outlines how owners can think about paying themselves as both clinicians and owner-operators, including W-2 salary, distributions, gap pay, break-even targets, and capital reserves. The session wraps with a practical look at practice valuations, adjusted net income, EBITDA, doctor-to-doctor sales, and how owner production can directly influence the value of a practice in a DSO or private equity transaction. Be sure to check out the full episode from the Dentalpreneur Podcast! EPISODE RESOURCES https://www.truedentalsuccess.com Dental Success Network Subscribe to The Dentalpreneur Podcast

70% of your team may not be underperforming. They may be underutilized. The cost isn't payroll. It's the EBITDA you're already leaving behind. Most CEOs assume AI becomes valuable when it replaces people. That assumption quietly pushes attention toward cost cutting while a much larger financial opportunity goes unnoticed. Every week spent treating experienced employees like expensive administrators instead of economic assets compounds into slower execution, lower operating leverage, and pressure on future valuation. The real exposure isn't whether AI arrives. It's whether your competitors redeploy thousands of productive hours before you do—and widen a gap that's difficult to close once it becomes embedded in the business. Dejan Nenov, Founder and Chairman of Panaton, shares lessons from more than three decades building technology companies across software and healthcare, explaining why the companies creating the most value from AI may look remarkably similar on the org chart—but dramatically different on the income statement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most home service businesses are using AI the wrong way.In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson and Jack Carr break down how AI is actually changing the trades and why the biggest opportunity isn't replacing technicians, but removing the operational friction that slows growing companies down. They share how they're using AI across acquisitions, accounting, purchasing, reporting, dispatch, and marketing while keeping the human experience at the center of the business.They also discuss why venture capital is pouring money into home services, how AI is creating a new wave of EBITDA expansion, the software they're replacing with custom-built AI tools, and why the companies that embrace AI as a force multiplier, not a replacement for people, will have the biggest advantage over the next decade.In This Episode:• Why home services has become an AI "safe haven" for investors• What AI should never replace inside your business• Using AI to reduce friction instead of cutting headcount• Replacing expensive SaaS tools with custom AI solutions• How AI is transforming acquisitions and multi-location growth• Why accounting is the biggest bottleneck in scaling through M&A• The balance between automation and human customer experience————————————————

J Darrin Gross I'd like to ask you, Muriel Touati, what is the BIGGEST RISK?   Muriel Touati Yes, upon me, the biggest risk is to not have that acquisition engine, because not only it helps solve the four structural issues at once, if it's done well, but also if you decide to really sell, you will get a higher valuation. You will not get discounted. You will not get all this earn out or this alt back. You will get what you want, because a business that is only working with referrals has a 60% 60% customer concentration, like 60% of the revenue are coming for, like, with from two clients, let's say world of mouth, the founder is still managing everything, or they are another person taking care of one key things, it's also a risk, like you want the knowledge to be amongst everybody, like have a good knowledge base, so anybody can be replaced if you don't have the system, all of that, so this acquisition engine and all the system around help solve all those issues and the revenue predictability and also when you go to sell instead of getting one time or two times your EBITDA you can get a beautiful four five or six time EBITDA, because business buyer like me could be, you know, buyer operator, we want those, you know, turnkey business, and also the big guys like the private equity, they love this business too, and they are ready to pay cash for it, so it's a win-win.   https://www.exit3dstudio.com/  

In 2022, EVONA had eighty staff, a Manchester office, a six-hundred-thousand-pound monthly cost base, and had just spent three hundred thousand pounds flying the whole company to Monaco. Tom Kelly calls it the moment four first-time founders lost perspective.What followed was one of the more honest rebuilds you will hear in recruitment. Contract team gone. Marketing team gone. Management team restructured. Tom moved to the US, took the wheel as sole decision-maker, and rebuilt around two metrics: twenty-five interviews per person per rolling four weeks, and a thirty-day close on every job.Three years on, EVONA is projecting ten million pounds net fee income this year. Three and a half million EBITDA. Thirty-five people. Two inbound client enquiries arrive every single day.Tom Kelly has been in the space sector since 2018. He has never taken outside investment. And last month was the largest in the company's history.On this episode of The RAG Podcast, Tom breaks down exactly how they got there.EVONA is now the dominant name in space sector recruitment. Ninety-five percent US clients. No cold outreach. No single client above nine percent of revenue. A thirty-two day average time to fill on roles that take competitors sixty.Tom Kelly is thirty-nine. He does not have a rigid three-year exit plan, but he does think there is a short window, and he does believe AGI changes the calculus for anyone thinking about an acquisition in this space. What he is building now is the version of the business that is worth something, the lean, high-output, brand-trusted version that took cutting fifty people to find.If you have ever wondered what it actually looks like to rebuild a recruitment business properly after it nearly breaks, this episode has the blueprint.Episode Sponsor: AtlasAdmin is a massive waste of time. That's why there's Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.It doesn't only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it's entering a whole new era.With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply look for keywords.Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that's not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform.No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/Episode Sponsor: HoxoEvery recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn, but AI has turned templated posts and outreach into a commodity. When everyone sounds the same, the market stops listening. The recruiters winning now are the ones the market trusts.At Hoxo we help recruitment founders become the most influential name in their niche, using AI to multiply output while trust stays the product. Our clients turn their existing networks into £100K to £300K in new billings within months. Watch the free RAG listener training to see how: https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Send us Fan Maila comprehensive outline of key financial metrics and ratios utilized in corporate advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions (M&As), restructurings, and equity or debt transactions. It categorizes these critical data points into five main areas:Liquidity: Metrics that measure a company's cash flow and working capital, such as the current ratio, quick ratio (acid test), debt-to-capital, and the cash collection cycle.Profitability: Indicators of a company's ability to generate earnings, including EBITDA, earnings per share (EPS), return on equity (ROE), return on assets (ROA), and various profit margins (gross, operating, and net).Leverage: Ratios that evaluate a company's debt levels relative to its earnings, such as the interest coverage ratio and debt-to-EBITDA.Valuation: Tools used to determine the value of a business or asset, including Enterprise Value (EV), Price-to-Earnings (P/E) multiples, Discounted Cash Flow (DCF), Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC), and the Dividend Discount Model (DDM).Asset Turnover: Methods that evaluate how efficiently a company manages its assets, specifically noting inventory valuation methods like LIFO and FIFO.Support the show

Interview with Nicholas Holthouse, MD of Mont Royal ResourcesOur previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/mont-royal-resources-asxmrz-ashram-pea-nears-as-capex-slashed-50-and-fluorspar-upside-emerges-10160Recording date: 8th July 2026Mont Royal Resources Limited (ASX:MRZ, TSXV:MRZL) has used the past month to substantiate its case as a scale rare earths developer positioned to help address Western critical minerals supply gaps. The centrepiece is an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment for the company's 100%-owned Ashram Rare Earths and Fluorspar Project in Nunavik, Québec, released and followed by the formal NI 43-101 Technical Report required under Canadian disclosure rules.The updated PEA confirms Ashram as a 30-year, large-scale development. On a post-tax basis, the project delivers an NPV8 of C$2.03 billion, an IRR of 22.0%, and payback of 3.9 years from the start of production; pre-tax figures are stronger, at C$3.44 billion NPV8 and 25.6% IRR. Life-of-mine revenue is forecast at C$24.6 billion, with EBITDA of C$15.5 billion (a 62.7% margin), driven by average annual production of approximately 17,466 tonnes of saleable rare earth oxide, including roughly 4,035 tonnes of NdPr oxide. Initial capital expenditure is estimated at C$1.23 billion, including a 30% contingency, with the Company also anticipating C$342 million in refundable Clean Technology Manufacturing tax credits.The updated Mineral Resource Estimate totals 204.3Mt (73.2Mt Indicated at 1.89% TREO and 131.1Mt Inferred at 1.91% TREO), with the mine plan drawing on only around 25% of that base over its 30-year life leaving room for future expansion, including the currently excluded BD-Zone. NdPr, the primary magnet metal pairing, represents approximately 21% of the resource's total rare earth oxide content, a distribution that positions Ashram to supply the higher-value end of the rare earth basket into markets forecast to grow at 8-12% annually through 2050.Beyond the economic study, Mont Royal is managing two other active workstreams. First, the company acknowledged an independent, Nation-led initiative from the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach to evaluate potential regional access corridor options, a process Mont Royal says it respects but does not control, running in parallel to its own engagement with Inuit, Naskapi and Innu communities on Ashram-related infrastructure. Second, the company's 75%-owned Northern Lights Minerals project is undergoing a helicopter-supported gold till-sampling survey across the Chateaufort Property, targeting ground directly along strike from Benz Mining's 1,005,000oz Eastmain gold deposit, with preliminary data expected in August 2026 and a full report in Q3.For investors, the key considerations are straightforward. On the positive side: a resource base and NdPr distribution that stack up well against global peers, PEA economics that clear the bar for progression to Pre-Feasibility Study, and access to Canadian government funding support, including the anticipated tax credit allocation. On the risk side: the PEA carries a ±50% accuracy range typical of scoping-level studies, no off-take agreements or committed financing are yet in place against the roughly C$1.23 billion initial capital requirement, and the assumed third-party access-road cost model has not yet been formalised into an infrastructure agreement. Permitting is expected to take several years given the project's location within federally and provincially regulated territory under the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement.The Company has targeted the second half of 2026 for the start of Pre-Feasibility Study work, alongside continued permitting, environmental baseline studies, and strategic partnership discussions as the next set of milestones to track.View Mont Royal Resources' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/mont-royal-resources Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com

Private equity just bid to take Criteo private at a 50%+ premium and two of the sharpest voices in commerce & media read the exact same filings and reached opposite conclusions. Ayelet Shipley and Christian Hassold break down Vista Equity Partners' (with hedge fund Quinti Capital) proposed take-private of Criteo (Nasdaq: CRTO): the "melting ice cube" bear case vs. Ken Kubec's "Footnote Trade" bull case (reported retail-media revenue down 32% vs. ~24% underlying growth once you strip out an accounting change and two client roll-offs), why a business throwing off ~$400M in profit was trading around 2x EBITDA, the Luxembourg "re-domicile escape hatch," and whether Vista's playbook gives Criteo product oxygen or runs off its 900 engineers.Plus the market update on AI marketing-tech venture rounds (geoSurge, Vendelux), and two quick deal hits with very different structures: Descartes x Drivin and Banzai x ConnectAndSell.⏱️ Chapters 00:00 — Intro: Market & Deals Friday 00:49 — Market Update: VC keeps funding AI marketing tech (geoSurge, Vendelux) 03:06 — Feature: Vista + Quinti bid to take Criteo private — the facts 05:55 — The Operator's Read (Christian): toll road, or mispriced commerce-media asset? 11:32 — The Deal Architect's Read (Ayelet): incentives & the Luxembourg escape hatch 15:50 — Quick Hits: Descartes/Drivin & Banzai/ConnectAndSell 19:40 — WrapReads referenced: Chris Sheldon: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/chris-j-sheldon_criteos-retail-media-growth-fell-from-23-share-7480304433730441216-MyKwKen Kubec: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kenkubec_privateequity-adtech-retailmedia-ugcPost-7480605776760307713-dbqi

Bill Cohan joins Peter to make sense of an I.P.O. market that may be in way over its head. He discusses Bending Spoons, whose portfolio of old internet companies just went public at 35 times EBITDA, and Jersey Mike's, the popular sandwich chain gunning for a $12 billion valuation. Bill explains why both are probably overvalued and evidence that Wall Street banks are willing to sell anything for a quick buck.

On this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ breaks down Jersey Mike's S-1 and the franchise machine behind more than $4 billion in sandwich sales. He explains how an asset-light royalty model works, why franchise economics can be so powerful, what Blackstone saw in the business, and what the filing reveals about growth, margins, and the real money behind the subs.—SPONSORS:RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform that lets your product team ship new pricing without asking finance for permission, and your sales team close deals without creating downstream chaos. Check out their free tool at calculator.rightrev.com It scores your rev rec process, shows what's exposing you to risk, and tells you exactly where to focus before it bites you in the rear end. Check it out at https://calculator.rightrev.comPulley is an equity management platform that lets you issue options, model dilution, and complete 409As without your cap table turning into a spreadsheet disaster. Founders raising, hiring, and scaling use Pulley to keep equity clean and stay focused on building. Learn more or request a demo at https://pulley.com/mostlymetricsRillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjMaximor is an autonomous finance platform that runs order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, the close, cash management, and reporting on self-learning agents instead of a dozen disconnected tools. One PE-backed customer cut their close in half, took audit findings from seven to zero, and cut back-office costs by 70% in six months. You pay for outcomes, not seats. See it at https://www.maximor.ai/Brex is an intelligent finance platform with AI-powered agents that capture expenses automatically, enforce policy before the spend happens, and close your books in minutes instead of weeks. 35,000+ companies like OpenAI, Coinbase, Anthropic, and DoorDash already run on Brex. It's time to get Brex AF. Learn more at https://www.brex.com/metricsAnrok is the sales tax platform that watches your exposure everywhere, automates compliance, and flags risk before it turns into a surprise back-tax letter from a state you've never set foot in. Companies like Anthropic, Notion, and Vanta already trust Anrok to stay ahead of rules that move faster than any spreadsheet can. Talk to a sales tax expert for a personalized exposure estimate at https://www.anrok.com/rtn—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNCJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Sell $4B in subs, own none of the stores0:33 Origin story: Peter Cancro buys a sub shop at 171:47 It's a royalty business2:42 Key metrics6:07 What you're actually buying6:42 The three revenue streams7:19 The franchisee's P&L10:00 Sponsors — RightRev | Pulley | Rillet13:02 Corporate P&L: 47% EBITDA margins13:33 The Blackstone math14:38 $2.1B whole business securitization15:09 Full EBITDA bridge16:00 The CEO buying back the 2%17:10 Red flag 1: Up-C structure18:11 Red flag 2: tax receivable agreement18:45 Red flag 3: controlled company governance19:05 Red flag 4: sponsor already took $500M19:29 Red flag 5: charitable donations added back20:13 Red flag 6: cheap debt maturing in 202920:52 Sponsors — Maximor | Brex | Anrok23:56 Valuation: $10–12B24:32 Peer comparison25:27 How do you underwrite $12B?25:58 Misc: quantum attack on the provolone26:28 The hidden 53rd week26:57 No drive-thru is a feature27:13 Verdict27:56 Credits#RunTheNumbersPodcast #IPO #Investing #BusinessStrategy #FinanceLeadership

The AI Recruiting Summit 2026 kicks off July 13th and runs through July 20th, and this episode is your preview of exactly what you will see there. Live sessions are free, so you can pop in and out around your desk. If you want the replays, grab the VIP option or join the Elite Recruiter Community, where every summit replay lives permanently. Register now at https://ai-recruiting-summit-2026.heysummit.com/ because 2026 is the year you draw your line in the sand. This episode is brought to you by Atlas, the AI first recruitment platform built to eliminate admin. Atlas captures every candidate conversation automatically and turns it into something you can use. With MagicSearch you can ask questions like who mentioned they are open to relocating next year, and it pulls answers instantly from real conversations across your entire database. Atlas customers have reported over 40 percent EBITDA growth and over 80 percent increase in monthly billings. Unlock your exclusive listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/ Pulled straight from the Elite Recruiter Community library, this session is a taste of the summit format: a real recruiter walking through a real AI powered desk, screen level detail and all. Nick Poloni of Cascadia Search Group billed 1.3 million dollars last year, his first time crossing the million mark, with only about half a year on his current AI stack. This year he is already around 700K and climbing. And here is the part that should stop you mid scroll: he rates his own coding ability a one out of ten. He cannot write a line of code, and he still built his own recruiting bots, rebuilt his firm's entire website from scratch in Claude, and wired his ATS into Slack so a pipeline bot flags every stalled candidate before breakfast. Alongside Jake Price of PIN, Nick breaks down the full system. He records hiring manager intake calls, feeds the notes into Claude, and has AI write his AI sourcing prompts. His outreach is short, specific, and so personalized that candidates reply just to ask if he is real, at one point pulling around a 70 percent response rate across email and LinkedIn on over a thousand candidates. He has done zero traditional business development, no cold calls to HR, ever. Instead he gives away candidates, floats resumes for free, and lets value do the selling, a philosophy that landed him a 20K a month retainer and a 100 rep sales build. You will also hear how he sourced an entire salesforce in two and a half weeks, ran 500 to 800 interviews over three months without a single no show, and turned a Philippines based assistant into the chief of getting stuff done. If any of this feels out of reach, that is exactly why the summit exists. From July 13 through July 20 you will get walkthroughs, tools, and tech you can steal for your own desk. Nick's billing figures are his own account of his results, shared as he told them. Register for the AI Recruiting Summit 2026: https://ai-recruiting-summit-2026.heysummit.com/ Join the Elite Recruiter Community: https://elite-recruiters.circle.so/checkout/elite-recruiter-community Subscribe to the newsletter: https://eliterecruiterpodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe Connect with Nick Poloni: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickpoloni/ Connect with Jake Price: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-price-05a6562b/ Listen on Apple Podcasts: Listen on Spotify: Watch on YouTube: This episode is sponsored by Atlas: https://recruitwithatlas.com/

Walmart just bought its way into the connected TV arms race, and The Trade Desk is the biggest loser. In a ~$1.4B deal announced during Cannes Lions week, Walmart Connect is acquiring Vibe.co, the self-serve CTV/streaming ad platform, to close a 10x gap with Amazon's ad business.Christian and Ayelet break down the deal from two distinct angles, the operator's read and the deal architect's read, plus a venture market update, hot tea on SPS Commerce quietly selling a business back to its founder, and eight rapid-fire quick hits in what's officially become the summer of add-ons.One venture update. One deep dive, two POVs. Hot tea. Eight quick hits.⏱️ TIMESTAMPS0:38 — Happy Fourth of July, and what's on the agenda2:19 — Market update: JustAI raises $17M Series A (Base10, Y Combinator, Peak XV)3:00 — Concord raises $3M seed for agentic media buying, and why Vibe.co's CEO is an investor4:34 — "The Summer of Add-ons": why fragmentation is fueling M&A4:44 — The deal: Walmart Connect acquires Vibe.co, the "Google Ads of streaming"6:25 — The numbers: ~$100M revenue, ~$1.4B deal, 10-14x revenue (and why it's not an AI deal)8:00 — Walmart's M&A cadence and the Vizio precedent8:54 — The 10x ad-revenue gap: Amazon at $82B vs. Walmart at $8.2B9:30 — The advisors and why this was a CEO-to-CEO deal9:50 — The operator's read: a capability tuck-in that buys 3-4 years10:00 — Is the CTV TAM actually big enough? The Brian Wieser cannibalization argument12:00 — Integration risk: folding a scrappy startup into a corporate giant12:26 — The France factor: why acquiring 60 employees in Paris is its own challenge14:00 — Why The Trade Desk is the biggest loser (per Ari Paparo)14:38 — The deal architect's read: the founders' first big exit, sold from strength16:55 — Why $180M in retention may not hold founders who don't need the money17:31 — The real make-or-break: keeping the team hungry inside a giant18:00 — Hot tea: SPS Commerce carves out Seller Investigators, sells it back to the founder22:01 — Quick hits: Revmatics/DataFeedWatch, Moburst/Hyperzon, The Independents/Phantasm22:51 — More hits: Samba TV/Bestever, Yes&/Modo Modo, Arketi/Sperling24:00 — Martis Capital takes majority of Deerfield Group (~$280M, 12-14x EBITDA)25:00 — The consistent 14x agency marker, and how to break past it into strategic territory25:38 — Final thought: this is add-on summer

#977 What does it really take to sell your business for millions? In this episode, host Brien Gearin sits down with Nick Bradley, founder of High Value Exit — a global expert who's helped lead 26 business exits totaling $5 billion. Nick reveals how founders can prepare their businesses for a high-value sale, what private equity buyers really look for, and why only 2 out of 10 companies ever sell. From building transfer value and mastering EBITDA to designing your company with the end in mind, this conversation is a masterclass in scaling, strategy, and smart exits for entrepreneurs aiming big! (Original Air Date - 11/3/25) What we discuss with Nick: + Nick's $5B in business exits + Lessons from private equity world + Why only 2 of 10 companies sell + Designing your business with the end in mind + The five pillars of “Scale to Sale” + Reducing risk and building strong foundations + Understanding EBITDA and profitability + What makes a business attractive to buyers + Common pitfalls when selling a company + Knowing if and when you should scale Thank you, Nick! Check out High Value Exit at ⁠HighValueExit.com⁠. Follow Nick on ⁠LinkedIn⁠. Watch the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠video podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ of this episode! To get access to our FREE Business Training course go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MillionaireUniversity.com/training⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. To get exclusive offers mentioned in this episode and to support the show, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠millionaireuniversity.com/sponsors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

GAME CHANGER: LEADING EDGE MATERIALS GRANTED 25-YEAR MINING LEASE FOR NORRA KÄRR HEAVY RARE EARTH ELEMENTS PROJECTOBS: ett överklagande av regeringens beslut påverkar inte bolagets övriga tillståndssökande. Bolaget har nu ett papper på rätten att utveckla fyndigheten och gå vidare till nästa steg. En rättstvist mellan två utomstående parter har inget med LEMSE att göra förrän eventuellt regeringen har förlorat en tvist.The next step is securing an environmental permit. The environmental application is likely to be submitted within 9 months, and the permit could be granted within a year from that.Four years from now we could see the first Dysprosium shipped to clients craving the material for making strong and small electrical motors for vehicles and robots. Lemse should in that case be able to quickly ramp its annual EBITDA to at least 200m USD (which should be compared to the current total market cap of just 70m).Swedish exploitation permit approval validates project economic viability and establishes a critical foundation for European rare earths.Exploitation permit milestone achievedGovernment approval secures 25 years of development rights. This legal milestone validates the project economic case and serves as a major de-risking event.Operational and regulatory strategyPermitting requires extensive environmental documentation despite existing government endorsements. The company will now pursue environmental permits while focusing on site design and supply chain integration.Strategic market and production goalsProduction targets include significant annual dysprosium and terbium output to support European industry. Future focus involves securing offtake agreements and non-dilutive financing to bridge valuation gaps.

Kiera has talked to a ton of doctors to come up with tips for how to fill that CEO time that so often feels fathomless. The ideas include blocking out your schedule to understand your frequency, committing to "deep work" time, optimizing whatever you can, and more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent- Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera. And today is a fun rift of a CEO, giving some CEO tips. And I was just on a birthday trip. You guys, had a birthday and it was so fun. And my husband and went off to Austria and Amsterdam. ⁓ We have traveled a lot. If you guys have been a podcast listener, you know I'm obsessed with traveling. so because we've traveled so much, we're kind of on to off the beaten path locations and.   This year I was like, Hey, I've never seen the Tulip festival in Amsterdam. Like let's head on over there for that. And so when we were there, some of these ideas came to me and I realized this would be, again, I love some white, white noise space guys. If you are an owner of a business and you have not booked yourself one trip that you are off the grid completely. when I talk my, so it was my birthday when I was gone and ⁓ luckily I have some like great friends in my life that texted me. My phone is off off.   Like I kid you not, is on airplane mode. I don't even put it on wifi. Like I don't text people. Jason has his phone and I will say it's the greatest gift I give myself. And one of my friends did not know this quite as well with me. And she was like, Hey, said my other friend, like I texted care like two days ago and I haven't heard from her. She's like, ⁓ when care travels, she is like dead off the grid. Like you will not get in touch with her. If something happens, even if her house is on fire, like she'll deal with it when she gets home, like genuinely she's off the grid. She needs to have that, like just shut off downtime.   And I will say for any of you, and I told an office to do this a while ago and they came back from their trip and they were like, Kiera, that was the best gift and we're going to do that now forever. And so for you, that would be my like birthday gift to all of you to do for yourselves is take a week, completely shut off. No Slack, no emails, no text messages, ⁓ completely turn your phone off if you can. Tell your family where you're at, like have it to where someone can be reachable if necessary. But I will tell you, I sleep better.   than I ever do. ⁓ I come back refreshed. My team all tells me like I am such a happier boss when I come back. I feel like my relationship with my husband is so much stronger because I feel like he gets his wife back. I feel like I come back. I was in the Tulip Festival. There's videos that I have not posted. They're just for Kiera. I feel like literally skipping like a little girl through these Tulip Festivals. I feel I go back to the true core of who Kiera is. I don't need to be a boss. I don't need to be a CEO. I don't need to be a consultant.   I am able to be like free bird Kiera out there. Jason even calls me bird when we travel and it's just a space. So there's a little tip for you that I hope you listen to and I hope you take and hey, if you do it, send me a message and let me know how it went for you. I will also fair warn that sometimes what I call it is it's the adrenaline. What would it be? It's like coming off of the adrenaline. So that drop.   Sometimes I get angry. So fair warning that that does is the dopamine drop if you will and I felt like I have had like three days where I'm just sheer angry and I'm like what is going on? I'm on vacation. I'm in this beautiful place and I'm just mad but it's because you go from being so high tilt throttle to nothing that your nervous system does kind of have this like whiplash. So I have found that some ways to ease into that is one knowing that two I tried to hit the gym like three or four times when I'm over there because that allows like   a lot of that energy to just get expelled rather than going from like high level to nothing. And then I've also found that like reading books, so something for my mind, I usually try to do fiction books. So it's not like obsessive learning, ⁓ but just taking my mind into a different space. Some of those can be a tip for you. again, hopefully some of those help. But ⁓ today I wanted to go through like, how do I actually block and use my CEO time? Because I think that this is a zone that a lot of people want to do as owner doctors and, but they're like, I just don't know what to do during CEO time. So I wanted to   just share with you what I personally do in the company, how I block it, what I have, and then also letting you guys know that we actually have a forum and I'm happy to share it with any of you. can reach out, email us, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com, but like what do I actually do during my admin time checklist? This has been built with lots of different doctors input and also what I personally do.   So for me, I do have a personal assistant and I have an executive assistant. So first step is if you don't have either of those, and I know I talked to a lot of dentists and they get weird about it they don't want to have an executive assistant or a personal assistant, but I will say hands down, this is something absolutely that's tactical that you should do. I have my personal assistant actually watch my schedule and then her job is to go through and to refine my schedule. And she does an amazing job. She's like, hey, Kiera, you're running back to back to back all these meetings. You need to move into some different places. Like these are some things that I think you need to do.   We actually have an Excel spreadsheet. just so you know, I do have an Excel spreadsheet. I'm looking at it right now as I'm podcasting for you. And I look in there and I put in and I have on my like on the right hand side, I have my scheduling needs, what my frequency is. Like we've got podcasting in there. I've got certain coaches that I need to get into. I've got my workout time in there. I've got like my C-suite meeting with the COO and the CRO and our lead consultant and ⁓ Britt and my EAPA meetings and the bookkeepers and our fractional CFO.   I have all those meetings that I need to be hitting. And so we look to see where are those at, where are the meetings that I need to have, but non-negotiable for me is my deep work time. So that's my CEO time. That's my deep work time. I have to have on busy weeks, non-negotiable, I need a two hour block. Like that is a non-negotiable for me, must, must. And it's during the day. I don't do it on my Fridays or my day off. I don't enjoy that for me. I get really actually annoyed to do it on those days. So mine gets blocked during my time.   For dentists, I recommend you do it during your time. ⁓ Working hours, I recommend that you block it in there because if you're producing, let's say $1,000 an hour, you've got to be doing at least $2,000 worth of value during that time. again, when you're giving that up, you tend to be a lot more productive. for me, my first week is very busy. I, first week in the company is something that is none of our favorites. Like we love it.   But it's hard, it's heavy. We have our doctor mastermind that we do. I usually do podcasting on the first week. I'm meeting with a lot of my direct reports. It's a heavy week for me, but we still have my non-negotiables. And so I just look at my timing and I know Monday's a full meeting day, Tuesday's a coaching call podcasting day, Wednesday I'm meeting with the COO, CRO, CFO. I have all those meetings to make sure that they can move on their items from Monday. That for me, it's a pretty heavy day.   And then I've just got a lighter afternoon on Wednesdays to just catch up on projects. Thursdays where I'm, and for me, I also have to know where is my ideal time. So when you're blocking your CEO time, you need to know where are you the most optimal? For me, I'm always the best in the morning. Like seven, 738, like right there is where I'm gonna start like cranking and I'm gonna just go solid for about two hours till 10. My worst time in the entire day is three o'clock. Like I am dead and usually around 11, I start to like.   zone out and I'm not as productive. So I've just had to try that. That's a trial and error. Test yourself. See, do you like the mornings? Do like the afternoons? Do like the end of day? Like where are you? Brittany's zone, she's a night owl. That girl, she starts to get her prime optimization on it like three, four, five o'clock at night. Like that is when that girl, she starts to churn and she puts out her best work and we both know that. I'm like, amazing. We work on very polar opposite different ones. So like she needs to put her deep works over your OMS, finding out as well for them. But for me,   Mine is Thursday mornings is where I put that deep work. Then what I prefer to do is on my weeks where I'm not as busy. So I do coaching calls every other week. On my non coaching call weeks, I have two hours on Tuesday, two hours on Thursday. So I'm blocking four hours for myself. So your personal assistant, your executive assistant, they should be blocking this. And to me, this is a like, you do not like, you know, like a stove is hot. Like we don't touch that. You never touch my deep work blocks like ever. Don't ask me to schedule there. Don't ask me to put a meeting there.   Do not ask me to disrupt that time. And I am so strict on my deep work time that people know like, we don't touch that with a 10 foot pole. And your team needs to know that. Doctors, also recommend a lot of times, especially if you do it in the morning or the afternoon, go to the library somewhere where people aren't going to find you. Go to a coffee shop where you can like headphones in zone out. But I found when a lot of times my doctors are trying to do CEO time and they're at an office, their door is being knocked on.   If you want to be in the office, you need a sign on your door, and I've done this for several doctors, where it says CEO time, do not message or do not enter. And it needs to be like, if someone knocks, because they always do that knock like, hey, sorry, doc, it's just real quick. Do not for one second respond, because your team needs to learn that you're dead set on this. Like, this is your only time, you guys, that you get to work on the business. The only time.   Otherwise, what happens is you become the CEO that never sleeps because your CEO time is in the middle of the night. It's early, early in the morning. It's late at night because you never have time for your brain to actually fix these problems. And so your brain just churns on all this. Like I need to check the books. I need to check this. I need to have that. So what you do is when you're exhausted, you try to like get all these things done rather than having set times. You can also build in your schedule. Like there's a set time for paying the bills. If you're doing that. I know I've got some doctor doing that.   I would hope that your OEM does that and you just have meetings where they report to you. But again, depending upon where you are on this journey, you really need to block it. Now, great, we figured out how you block it. Now what do you actually do during that time? So for me, big things I'm gonna be working on are usually for me big projects. So I have a lot of presenting, a lot of events, lot of like, right now I'm reworking our entire customer journey and that's a big project that needs to get done. I'm working with our CRO and like,   building out budgets and working models. And I need to review all of the projections she sent over to me. like, it's the, the projects that for me, like, there's a lot of things like approving payroll or stamping off on this budget that don't require a lot of time. But if my marketer, our CRO is sending over to me, like an entire proposal of their growth marketing plan, that's not something that I'm going to be doing in like a quick, like 15 minute block. Like I need set quiet, like   uninterrupted focus time is what that really is. So imagine like studying for a big test, like you guys like blocked everything out. That's what you work on here. So it'd be your overhead, your P &L, like going through your CPA reports for you. Looking to see credit card charges, like looking through the P &L, like what's a detailed report, what things are on there, are fees categorized correctly. You do this once a quarter, have your CPA send it over to you. You can do it once a month, but you look at that.   What about my cost per procedure? How much does it actually cost me to do every single procedure? And like, how could I reduce my overhead? Looking at my expenses, looking to see my tax estimated bill and have we saved enough for that? And do I have enough money set aside for that? You can go through that. We have an entire systems checklist. You can actually go through all the systems of the practice. I have it set up per month and this is a great time for you to actually review. All right, let's look to see how are our doctors being optimized? What trainings could I put into place? What things could we bring in the practice?   How could I maximize and optimize this? Could we do training with our team for this? What about areas for my like schedule? Like let's review the schedule. Am I the most optimized when I'm producing or is there a way that I could type my block schedule up and be stronger on it and produce more with minimal effort? Like to me, CEO time is where I'm squeezing the juice out of the lemon. Like where can I optimize this a little bit more? How could I optimize my hygiene department? Let me look, is there a way I could add curadont? Can I find a better way to teach my hygienist?   When was the last time we reviewed our periope protocol? Is that still what I want them doing? What could I do on like what would doctor do? And could I train at my hygienist to actually tee up treatment better for me? What if I want to bring on an associate, like let's go through an entire associate onboarding document, set it up. What's my training schedule with them? What are my case studies I'm going to put together with them? Do I have a doctor study club that I'm going to do? What about looking at our new patients? Let me review all of our marketing dollars. Where am I spending the marketing dollars? Are we answering the phone? What's our phone conversion rate?   Let me actually assess my entire front office. Like where are the areas that are keeping us so bottlenecked? And is there AI or different processes or different systems that we can put in place to make it better for them? Let me go through all of our treatment plans. What did I diagnose? What was scheduled and why? What things am I missing? And how could I tighten up my treatment planning process? How can I work with my treatment coordinator and what things do she or he and I need to work through so that way I can close more cases and help more patients? ⁓ Just looking through all these different things.   going and listening to treatment plan presentations of the team, listening to how my hygiene team's training up Floyd and Perio, looking, going and talking to my biller and saying, walk me through our AR. Like I want to see, let's call people together. Where are we at with the AR? How many patients are not called? Show me an EOB. I want to see how you're entering this. Teach me those ways. Are my percentages right where they need to be for collections? Let me make sure my bank statements match my collection statements. What about onboarding? I'm going to be hiring new people. Let me check that entire onboarding process. And is it set and is it ready to go?   Does each procedure have its own checklist, pictures, accountability? If not, can I build out a process and have my whole team take this on or can I delegate this to a team member? Let me look at my marketing. Let me look at like, what is the next, like what's my one, three, 10 year plan? Let me read traction and figure out how to run better meetings. Let me read the book, Designing Your Life. Like, that was a laundry list. That's what you work on during Deep Work CEO time. You read books.   You listen to podcasts, you think about the business, you have quiet white noise time, you build associate onboarding documents, you build better onboarding. And there's a fine line because I want you to know like some of those things should be done by your OM and other people that are not you. ⁓ Reviewing marketing plans, reviewing budgets, looking to see what people are doing. That is my time that I do need to dedicate talking to vendors, researching consultants, having meetings with consultants. Like that's during deep work time. Those are things that I can do during that time. But really it's my time to work.   on the business, work on the highest level things. And I hate when people are like work on the business. I'm like, what the heck does that mean? It means that you're physically like, okay, pretend the business. We're going to go buy it from someone else. What would we go in and do if we were doing our due diligence? We'd look at their treatment plan. We'd look at their new patients. We'd look at their marketing. We'd look at their PNL and their overhead. We'd look at their EBITDA. We'd look to see where we could squeeze juice before we bought the business. If that's like an easy way for you to think of like building and working on the business, it's one, if I were going and buying a business, I'm going to go work in like   optimize those things. The second side is like, where are we broken? Like what things are not working? I realized like, you guys, our consulting team has grown, our clients have grown. I'm so proud of the business that we've built. I also realized what we used to do versus what we need to do today, there's a gap. And so now this is a big project for me of like, okay, we got to figure out our marketing to our sales, to our client success, to our consultants, to our renewals, to our masterminds.   This whole little sprinkling journey has like eight different pieces to the customer journey. And I need to go refine and optimize every single one of those, have meetings with the core team members. I need to work through this. So I built a whole thing with ChatGPT. What do I want it to be? Then I scheduled the meetings with my team. Super freaking pumped. That's a huge, huge, huge business initiative. No one on my team is going to think of that. Like maybe they do.   But that's Kiera's job. That's a CEO's job. That's where I need to be putting my time, my effort, my energy. That's what drives your business. What's going to make your business? Like you can also do a SWOT analysis. Like what's my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats. A lot of times I go back to my idea boards. I have a book that if you guys know, I've talked about on the freaking podcast and I'm just chicken guys. need, what is it called? Like when you write under a different name, that's what I need. I'm just scared of reviews of my writing.   So I'm like, I need a pen name. Like I just need to make up a name and publish the book. It's ready to go. It's been built. I need to get that done. But I spent a lot of my CEO time writing a book. You spend a lot of your CEO time looking to see if you want to expand your business. If you want to simplify your business, you want to optimize, this is what you do. So I wanted to just get on the podcast and help you see how do you do it? Which team members do I use for it? Where are mine blocked? And how do you set yours up? And I would say,   Today, listening to the podcast, my action items to you would be number one, I need you to find out where your prime optimize time to work is. Is it morning, afternoon or end of day? Then the next thing is I need you to block two hours minimum every single week. Then three, email me, talk to me, whatever you need to do, but I need you to build a CEO checklist and I need you to start working on those optimization pieces every single week consistently. And I need this to be like your bootcamp workout training where you commit to doing this for the next eight weeks and then we reassess.   Non-negotiable, not interrupted, not like, I don't feel like it today. It's a, have locked in for eight weeks. If you need an accountability partner, well, high five, I'm Kiera. This is what we do. This is why people hire us. It's because you usually know what you need to do. You just aren't willing to stay committed to doing it. Why am I paying my personal trainer so much for a photo shoot that we're doing? Because like yesterday I benched freaking Reese's. I was exhausted. I was tired. I haven't slept for days coming in off that trip. Jet lag's a beast. So that was a fun flip.   ⁓ exhausted, tired, not wanting to hit my workouts, not wanting to hit my macros. And she said, Hey, Kiera, you got three weeks left before your photo shoot. Here are the things you need to do when that happens. Like you're good. This is what happens in tomorrow. This is what I want you to do when you get that craving. Here's exactly what you're going to eat. I don't know. Even have to think today going into it. We're not going to binge on the Reese's eggs. Yes. Did I go buy like five packages post Easter because they're my favorite treat. And if you want to like schmooze me, send those to me. Absolutely.   But I needed somebody to hold me accountable to it. When the days are hard, when things you don't know what to do, when I'm, I told her, I was like, I don't know what to work on now. Like I'm having a hard time hitting my workout. She's like, all right, let's rework it. Let's figure it out. Sometimes having a coach that holds you accountable, that pushes you into this is one of the fastest, easiest ways to get more results with less effort. She holds me accountable to it. It's not hard. She's there in my corner when things fall apart. She's there in my corner when things are surviving. I talked to her, maybe.   30 minutes a week, if that. And it's usually like every other week, if that. It's usually a quick text of like, hey, I'm struggling here, I just need your help. Or, hey, I need you to hold me accountable this week to making sure I get my CEO time done. We as consultants are that way for dentists, because you don't usually need a whole new operating system, you just need someone to help you stay accountable to the things you know you need to do. So if we can help you with that, reach out, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. But today commit to having CEO time dedicated for you, for your business.   It's one of the greatest gifts I can give you. So yes, go on vacation, happy birthday to you when that happens or whenever you want it to be. And the second thing is have your dedicated deep work CEO time. Hopefully that gave you a nice laundry list of things to work on. What I do, the only other thing that I didn't share with you is throughout the week as things come up on me that I know I'm gonna need more brain power to do. I have my personal assistant. say, hey, pop this in on my deep work. My deep work block is set as a private thing so people can't see it.   So she goes in and puts all the things that I need to work on. So when I show up to deep work, I'm not spending thinking time of what do I need to work on? It is literally already there with all the links, all the pieces. And that's her job is to make sure when I walk into deep work time, it is exactly what I asked her to put in there. The things I want to work on, things she might see that I need to get answers to that are not like a simple answer. That's not taking my time. These are like heavy items. And her job is to make sure my deep work is always there. So if that helps you, who I use, who on my team,   Sometimes I feel like these are the little like peel back the curtains of what do other CEOs do? This is what our doctors do. This is how we share in the masterminds. Come in person, be with us, get around like-minded people. Your net worth isn't equal to your network. And I would say it might be time for you to upgrade and elevate. And I'd love you to be a part of ours. So reach out. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.

Are your internal silos and sub-par training protocols exposing your brokerage to massive legal liabilities? Derek Zeluff from Envoy Logistics dives into why quality training and brutal, cross-departmental transparency are absolute non-negotiables for a thriving freight operation!  We break down the danger of the "low-cost model," why treating your team as logistics consultants rather than transactional order-takers changes the game, and how recent landmark rulings at the Supreme Court level are fundamentally shifting the landscape of broker liability!   In this conversation, you'll learn the following: The Myth of the Pre-Trained Rep: Rushing to onboard people under the assumption that they "already know how to do this" is a massive oversight; comprehensive, ongoing training is vital. Breaking Down Silos: True operational success requires brutal transparency across all departments so sales and operations can seamlessly work as one cohesive force. Logistics Consultants vs. Order Takers: To stand out in a crowded market, sales reps must shift away from transactional, low-cost pitching and approach clients as high-level logistics consultants who understand financials and EBITDA. The Reality of Broker Liability: Recent Supreme Court and state-level rulings are forcing a massive shift toward strict risk mitigation, making robust carrier vetting software and continuous audit trails essential. Over-Communication is King: In a tightening market, the ultimate differentiator is consistent, proactive communication—sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly with your customers.   About Derek Zeluff Derek Zeluff is the President of Envoy Logistics and a seasoned logistics leader known for his servant-first leadership style, disciplined execution, and focus on building high-performance teams. He brings a practical, no-nonsense approach to the supply chain space—centered on simplifying operations, strengthening accountability, and ensuring that strategy translates into consistent, real-world execution. With deep industry experience in logistics and freight brokerage, Derek is recognized for developing strong carrier and customer relationships while building teams that operate with clarity, ownership, and urgency. He is an IMPACT-certified sales trainer who emphasizes coaching, fundamentals, and performance-driven culture over complexity or process overload. His leadership philosophy is rooted in serving others—removing obstacles, setting clear standards, and creating an environment where people can succeed through discipline and consistency. Prior to his logistics career, Derek also spent time in aviation, an experience that shaped his systems-based thinking and respect for precision under pressure.   Connect with Derek Website: https://envoylogistics.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/envoy-logistics/  

A Special Industry Update, With Jason Diamond and Mindy Diamond Jason and Mindy Diamond revisit how advisor due diligence is evolving—from AI and enterprise value to firm stability, ownership, and optionality—and why those questions matter more than ever. In Summary Due diligence has always been about finding the right fit. But what advisors are evaluating has expanded considerably. In this replay of an Industry Update, Jason Diamond and Mindy Diamond revisit The Advisor Transition Playbook to explore how advisor priorities continue to evolve. Beyond the traditional reasons advisors consider change, they discuss newer factors shaping decisions today—from artificial intelligence and enterprise value to ownership structure, firm stability, and long-term optionality. The conversation reinforces that while every advisor's motivations are personal, the evaluation process has become far more strategic. Today's advisors aren't simply comparing recruiting deals or platforms. They're considering how today's decisions may influence the value, flexibility, and future of the businesses they're building. The Storyline For years, advisor movement was largely driven by familiar themes: bureaucracy, management changes, technology frustrations, and the desire for greater independence. Those factors remain important. But the conversations Diamond Consultants has with advisors today increasingly include questions that rarely surfaced just a few years ago. How should AI factor into firm selection? What is the long-term value of building enterprise value instead of simply maximizing a recruiting package? How important is a firm's ownership structure? And how should advisors think about stability in a marketplace where acquisitions, recapitalizations, and private equity investment have become commonplace? Jason and Mindy revisit the transition framework introduced in Part 1, focusing less on the mechanics of making a move and more on the evolving criteria advisors are using to evaluate their options. The result is a broader discussion about due diligence—not simply as a transition exercise, but as an ongoing strategic process for advisors seeking to build their best business life. Topics Covered Advisor due diligence Traditional vs. emerging drivers of advisor movement Artificial intelligence in wealth management Enterprise value and advisor ownership Recruiting deals versus long-term economics Reverse due diligence Firm ownership and stability Private equity in wealth management Advisor optionality Building a long-term advisory business Blubrry Player > Download a transcript of this episode… Listen and Learn Highlights for Advisors Why are the traditional drivers of advisor movement still relevant? (4:00) Jason and Mindy revisit the longstanding push-and-pull factors that continue to influence advisor decisions, from bureaucracy and management frustrations to the desire for greater ownership and control. How has AI become part of the due diligence process? (13:50) The discussion explores why advisors increasingly expect firms to demonstrate a clear AI strategy—and why investment, integration, and vision may become meaningful competitive advantages. Why should advisors care about enterprise value, even if they don't technically own their business? (24:30) Jason and Mindy explain why more advisors are evaluating decisions through the lens of long-term business value rather than solely short-term economics. What does reverse due diligence really involve? (37:15) The conversation highlights why advisors should evaluate prospective firms with the same rigor firms use when evaluating advisors. How does firm ownership affect advisor optionality? (38:00) Private equity, acquisitions, and changing ownership structures have made it increasingly important to understand what happens if a firm's strategy changes after an advisor joins. Why has due diligence become more strategic than ever? (45:30) The episode concludes with a broader discussion about defining one's “best business life” and making decisions that align with long-term goals rather than reacting to short-term frustrations. Key Takeaways The reasons advisors evaluate change have expanded well beyond traditional frustrations such as bureaucracy and compensation. AI has become an increasingly important component of firm evaluation, not because it replaces advisors, but because it can enhance productivity and client service. Enterprise value is becoming a consideration even for advisors who currently work within employee models. Reverse due diligence is just as important as a firm's evaluation of an advisor, particularly when assessing ownership structure, capitalization, and long-term stability. The most effective transition decisions balance immediate economics with long-term flexibility, ownership, and optionality. Every advisor's definition of success is different, making clarity around personal goals the foundation of any due diligence process. https://youtu.be/WZbUZJZK1yc Quotable Moments “Every advisor deserves to live their best business life.” “Just because you're frustrated doesn't mean you should move. You need something worth moving toward.” “The question isn't simply what you're paid today. It's what you're building over time.” “Knowledge is power. Understanding what your business is worth should be part of every advisor's decision-making process.” FAQs Why are more advisors expanding their due diligence beyond compensation? While transition economics remain important, advisors are increasingly evaluating technology, AI capabilities, enterprise value, ownership opportunities, and long-term flexibility as part of the decision-making process. How should advisors evaluate a firm's AI strategy? Rather than looking for finished products, advisors should assess whether a firm has a clear vision, meaningful investment, and an integrated approach to using AI to improve advisor productivity and client experience. What is reverse due diligence? Reverse due diligence is the process of evaluating a prospective firm as thoroughly as the firm evaluates the advisor. It includes understanding ownership structure, financial stability, culture, technology, leadership, and long-term strategy. Why does enterprise value matter for employee advisors? Even advisors who do not currently own their businesses may benefit from understanding how different business models create opportunities for ownership, long-term value creation, and future monetization. How has private equity changed advisor due diligence? Private equity has introduced new opportunities for growth and capital, but it has also made it more important for advisors to understand ownership structures, investment horizons, and what future transactions could mean for their business. What does Diamond Consultants mean by an advisor's “best business life”? It refers to aligning an advisor's business model, goals, client experience, compensation, flexibility, and long-term vision in a way that best supports both the advisor and the clients they serve. While transition economics remain important, advisors are increasingly evaluating technology, AI capabilities, enterprise value, ownership opportunities, and long-term flexibility as part of the decision-making process. Rather than looking for finished products, advisors should assess whether a firm has a clear vision, meaningful investment, and an integrated approach to using AI to improve advisor productivity and client experience. Reverse due diligence is the process of evaluating a prospective firm as thoroughly as the firm evaluates the advisor. It includes understanding ownership structure, financial stability, culture, technology, leadership, and long-term strategy. Even advisors who do not currently own their businesses may benefit from understanding how different business models create opportunities for ownership, long-term value creation, and future monetization. Private equity has introduced new opportunities for growth and capital, but it has also made it more important for advisors to understand ownership structures, investment horizons, and what future transactions could mean for their business. It refers to aligning an advisor's business model, goals, client experience, compensation, flexibility, and long-term vision in a way that best supports both the advisor and the clients they serve. NOTE: The views and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Diamond Consultants. Neither Diamond Consultants nor the guests on this podcast are compensated in any way for their participation. Related Resources The Advisor Transition Playbook: The Latest on Due Diligence, the Move, and Everything In Between – Part 1 Annual Advisor Transition Report Top 10 Tips for a Strategic Due Diligence Process Should I Stay or Should I Go? View the transcript of this episode… The Advisor Transition Playbook: The Latest on Due Diligence, the Move, and Everything In Between – Part 2 A Special Industry Update with Jason Diamond and Mindy Diamond. Jason Diamond: Welcome to a replay of one of the most popular episodes from our podcast series for financial advisors, The Advisor Transition Playbook: The Latest on Due Diligence, the Move, and Everything In Between. It's Part 2 of a 2-Part Industry Update with Mindy Diamond. I’m Jason Diamond and this is the Diamond Podcast for Financial Advisors. Mindy Diamond: At Diamond Consultants, we help elite advisors identify the right environment for their businesses to thrive, whether that’s at a wirehouse, boutique, or independent firm. With nearly three decades of experience, we’ve guided thousands of advisors and represented more than a quarter of a trillion dollars in assets transitioned. And each year, one in four advisors managing a billion dollars or more who change firms are our clients. Our process is education driven and based on building relationships, starting as your strategic partner, well before you’re even thinking of a move. To schedule a confidential conversation, call us at 908-879-1002. Wondering why advisors change firms and where they’re headed? Are transition deals going up or down? Those very questions and more inspired us to create our Annual Advisor Transition Report. It’s the award-winning data-driven resource designed for advisors that connects the dots between the motivations around movement and the firm’s appetite for top talent. Arm yourself with the knowledge you need to make smart decisions. Download your copy at diamond-consultants.com/transitionreport. Jason Diamond: There’s been a noticeable shift in how advisors are approaching decisions about their business, not necessarily in whether they’re exploring change, but in what they’re focused on when they do. Mindy is back with me for a continuation of our earlier conversation on the Advisor Transition Playbook. Last time, we spent time on the mechanics, how due diligence works, what a move actually entails, and how to think through the process. What’s become more apparent since then is that the inputs into that process are evolving. The traditional drivers are still there, but layered on top are a set of considerations that didn’t carry the same weight before. AI is one of them, and not just as a tool, but as a differentiator that advisors are starting to diligence more seriously. Enterprise value is another. Showing up in conversations, even for advisors who don’t technically own their business, but are thinking more critically about what they’re building over time. And then there are questions around stability, ownership, and flexibility. What happens to the firm itself and whether advisors retain the ability to adapt again if circumstances change. None of this is theoretical. It’s showing up in real time conversations. What we want to do here is unpack those new triggers of advisor movement and what they suggest about how decisions are being made today. So let’s get to it. Mindy, the legend, thank you for joining me. So glad to have you on. Mindy Diamond: Thank you. I’m so happy to be here. Jason Diamond: Great. Let’s dive right in. I’ll set the stage really quickly one more time. When we spoke about this topic last, we talked about the drivers of movement, what we’ll call in this conversation as the old or the legacy drivers of movement, and we spoke about the mechanics of the move. Before we get into the new drivers of movement, which I want to be the meat of the conversation, remind us, when we talk about the legacy drivers of movement …. And by the way, by saying legacy, I by no means want to suggest that they’re not valid today, because they’re equally valid, if not more so today than they were then. But when you think of the classic drivers of movement in our industry, what are they? Mindy Diamond: Yeah. So I would say, first of all, let’s start by saying that for every advisor, they’ve got a unique set of needs. So the first thing to say is that while you and I can talk about the categories of frustrations or things that might bother an advisor, they show up differently in each advisor’s life. So it’s important to note that everyone is unique. But generally speaking, if I had to package them, I’d say it’s number one that shows up most of the time is too much bureaucracy. A feeling that a firm or a model is just too hypervigilant in terms of compliance and it’s too bureaucratic and too hard to get things done. Number two would be some sort of change in or frustration with management. Something is going on that the person or persons that are responsible for managing the business are just not … They’re not the wind at their back. They’re obstreperous. They’re causing difficulty and frustration. And probably the third one would be less about a pain point and more about the desire to be something that they couldn’t where they were. The notion that they want to be more independent, they want to be a business owner and they just can’t do that. That doesn’t exist within the model where they work. Those probably have been the three ones top of mind, but I bet you’ll have some … You’ll add to that. Jason Diamond: I’ll add a couple. But before I do, I’ve heard you talk about this topic, maybe said another way as pushes and pulls. Can you explain what you mean by that? Mindy Diamond: Yeah. So I think that we think about the pushes, the frustrations, the things pushing somebody out the door, the factors that make it less easy or less fluid to do business. And there’s almost always pushes that exist when somebody comes to us, where they’re frustrated to some degree or another about certain things. But we tell people all the time that just to be frustrated should never be enough, because if all you’re doing is running from one set of problems, you’re very likely to run into maybe a different set, but still problems elsewhere. So a move needs to be driven in equal part, if not more, by pulls. Being pulled toward an opportunity that can be needle moving enough or better enough than where you are now. Pushes and pull. Jason Diamond: I love it. So let me ask you a little bit of a pointed question. Is a recruiting deal a valid pull factor? Mindy Diamond: So look, it’s different for every person. We’ve had advisors come and say, “I just went through a divorce and the most important thing to me is to recapitalize. And so a recruiting deal is really important.” And while I would never be one to say that’s not valid, it can be … And by the way, any advisor should want to and expect to better their financial situation. There should be economic gain. But it shouldn’t be the only or the primary reason for the move. So you want to monetize. The notion of wanting to monetize in the short term should be a factor in what model you pick, but it shouldn’t be the primary driver for a move. Jason Diamond: I agree with that wholeheartedly. I was going to say something I think maybe would’ve surprised you a little, which is like, yeah, I think recruiting deal is a very valid pull factor because what we’re saying is, it shouldn’t be the only pull factor. And sometimes it is and it makes us a little bit sad, I think, when that’s the case. But all of these factors you mentioned, and the ones I would add, I think that maybe technology would be another kind of factor that drives movement, all of these factors are not one specific reason. If you did the exit interview, either actually conducted the exit interview with advisors or thought exercise exit interview, I think they would point to a confluence of all of these factors. Compliance was a headache. I wanted to launch a podcast. I wanted to be able to send a timely communication to my clients. We used to hear that one during COVID a lot, right? By the time compliance approved something to send to clients, it was already stale. So do you agree with that, that it’s generally a confluence or a combination of these? Or in your experience, is it advisors are like, “No, compliance or the tech is so bad, I’m out”? Mindy Diamond: Yeah. So most often there’s a straw that breaks the camel’s back incident or thing where they’re willing to put up with a series of minor paper cuts, if you will. And then almost always there’s something that happens. You and I got a call the other day from a team that said that they had split from their partner and the management of the firm was favoring the ex-partner, making it harder for them to stay or making it less fun or feel good for them to stay. So while they gave me a laundry list of things that were imperfect, I don’t know that any one of the things that were imperfect up until then would’ve been enough to drive them out. But when that one thing, that feeling that they were a second class citizen came up, that was the straw that breaks the camel’s back and went from a minorly frustrated to, “I’m out of here.” Jason Diamond: Yeah. And there’s probably a hundred examples you could walk us through. And I wanted to just highlight too, this concept is not limited to the wirehouse or employee or captive firm world, this is equally relevant for independent advisors. Granted, some of the pushes and pull factors, some of the triggers are not necessarily the same, but the idea that advisors outgrow a broker dealer or an RIA or either need or want or desire in some way, shape or form, greater autonomy, flexibility, freedom, control is certainly not limited to the employee space. I just wanted to make that point. Mindy Diamond: And I think that’s absolutely right. I think the notion of that frustrations or limitations or bureaucracy only existed if you were a W2 employee at a bulge bracket firm. That went out the window. As the industry landscape has expanded and there’s more and more valid ways to be a financial advisor, there’s more and more ways for a firm or a model or an infrastructure to frustrate an advisor. And that’s not being overly negative. It’s just to say there is no perfection anywhere. Jason Diamond: Yeah, 100%. And by the way, to play a little bit of devil’s advocate on that, and then we’ll move on, I would just say there are pain points that might come from a firm being small and subscale as well. My firm doesn’t have efficient technology. They don’t invest enough in the business. They don’t provide a lead mechanism. They don’t have a robust banking and lending or investment solutions platform. So this stuff cuts both ways. An advisor can be frustrated or limited and an advisor can be excited. Pushes and pulls I think touch on, we’ve heard from advisors in every single pocket of the market, this is a relevant concept. Mindy Diamond: The theme of this is that every advisor deserves to live their best business life. That’s what people are in search of when they reach out to us or when they engage with us. What they’re looking for more than anything, and this is irrespective of where they work or how long they’ve worked or how much they manage, every advisor is in search of their best business life. And what defines their best business life is having the best quality of work life, but also the best ability to do what they want to do with their business, to serve their clients without limitations, to grow the way they want, to be paid a fair wage, and ultimately set up to maximize the value of the business they’ve built. Those are the definitions of one’s best business life. Jason Diamond: I used an even simpler definition of best business life and I stole it from you, which is the true north concept, which is if your true north is maximizing enterprise value and chasing the dollar and trying to build something that’s scalable and saleable, then great. If your true north is to build a lifestyle practice, there’s plenty of advisors who are successful and happy and content in that regard as well. And I think that’s what we’re talking about, is finding your true north and then it’s possible. I mean, that’s the beauty of the landscape. We’re talking about this, a lot of this is pain points or things that advisors experience. The exciting part of this is there’s never been a better time to be an advisor because of the breadth of choice they have and the ecosystem that’s been born to support advisors, to your point, across the spectrum. Mindy Diamond: Yeah. And it’s also, I think, worth saying that it starts with really good crystal clear clarity around not only what’s frustrating you, but what you want ideal to look like. Because I can’t tell you, or I can tell you because … I can’t tell our listeners, I can’t stress enough how often we get calls from advisors that tell us where they think they want to be or tell us they want to move. They have clarity about what’s frustrating them or what they want to change, but they don’t really have clarity about what they want it to look like. And the less clarity you have, the less likely you are to be successful in finding the exact right solution. So our work, the thing we probably do best is really work with advisors to help them. It doesn’t take long. In an hour conversation, we can help them to really get crystal clear on what they’re looking to solve for. Jason Diamond: Absolutely. All right. Great appetizer. We set the table. Let’s dive into the main course now. I want to talk now about what I’m calling the 2.0 triggers or the new triggers of movement. And to be clear, it’s not that these are more important or better or more significant drivers of movement. In fact, you could argue they’re probably at present less significant than the ones we just listed. But I think what we’re saying is these are triggers that are starting to come up more and more in conversations and we expect them to only proliferate further. And in that regard, they’re noteworthy and important for advisors because advisors should be reconciling not just what are the things I need to be worrying about today, but also what are the things I need to be potentially worrying about five years from now. So with that in mind, let’s dive in. I think the first one we have to start with is AI. And I always chuckle a tiny bit when we mention AI, we used to have to specify what are we talking about. Are we talking about artificial intelligence or alternative investments? And now it’s very clear. Everybody knows we’re talking about artificial intelligence. So the direction of the industry, no over-dramatization to say is at stake here. It’s that important of a topic. Let me ask you just very simply first, is this coming up in conversations with advisors? Mindy Diamond: Oh, all the time, but it’s almost table stakes. So I think the way it comes up is that people assume, advisors assume, and by the way, have the right to assume that AI is part of the tech stack. The notion that if I’m evaluating a firm and part of what frustrates me or part of what’s really important to me is cutting edge, really robust technology, part of what I am expecting is that a new firm is going to have really robust technology. And part of that is really robust access to AI. And has honed the AI in a way that’s user-friendly, that really answers or delivers on making me a better … Not replacing me as an advisor, but making me a better, more efficient advisor. Jason Diamond: 100%. And I would also add, so as I think about this AI topic, I don’t want this to become a conversation around, is AI going to replace advisors, because I think we both agree that’s not going to be the case. Especially at the top end of the market for quality advisors, I think they’re not going anywhere. But in my view, when we think about the trigger of movement, AI has the potential to be transformative because a couple kind of use cases or trigger cases come to mind, and I’d love to hear your thoughts. One is, do you think advisors will potentially consider a move because they’re worried about this? So in other words, play this logic out with me. I’m 55 years old and I’m like, “Oh man, AI might be coming from my job.” And there’s firms offering 400% of revenue to move my book. Maybe I should take that check and kind of de-risk and monetize while I can. What are your thoughts on that? Mindy Diamond: I absolutely think we’re already working with that fall into that category, but to say that is the only reason for the move would be wrong. I’m grateful that people trust us enough to be transparent with us. So they let us know that underneath the notion that they want to better serve clients, they ultimately want better access to A, B, and C, they want to be able to do D, E and F with less restriction, is really the main reason for the move. But underneath it, the notion that my book, I want to protect myself. My book may well be the biggest it’s ever going to be. It is going to be worth more today than it could be in the future if things don’t go my way. And if I know I’m going to move and one of my goals is to monetize, I might want to do that now. Jason Diamond: I agree. And that’s where the top deal story comes in also. Firms paying a top deal is a part of that story. It’s what you just said, plus advisors know firms are willing to pay incredible multiples. I mean, as we speak, UBS is in market with one of the largest deals in history. So those two narratives side by side, I agree. I think this becomes more of a kind of catalyst or driver movement. It’s come up in my conversations on both sides of the spectrum. It’s the tech savvy, AI savvy advisors who are excited about this, who are like, “I want to be the most AI enabled version of myself I can be. It’s going to make me a rockstar and it’s going to widen the gap with my peers,” but it’s also come up with the people who are, I think, rightly scared and fearful about what this might mean for their job. Mindy Diamond: Let me ask you, what are examples of the way you’ve seen some of the best firms who have embraced AI? What is their narrative? What is it that they’re saying to advisors that if you come here from a tech or AI perspective, you’ll be better because we’re able to do … Fill in the blank. Jason Diamond: Yeah. So a couple that come up. First of all, I want to make the important point. Advisors do not expect that firms, either their current firm or firms that they are diligencing prospectively, have this figured out or solved. Everybody understands this is a fairly new area that firms are still very much kind of developing their strategies in. What advisors want to see is a few things. They want to see though leadership, they want to see investment, and they want to see a strategy, right? Effectively, they want to see a step in the right direction, really. So I’ll give you a couple examples. There are a number of tech savvy RIAs, very tech-enabled, AI-focused RIAs, because I think this is easier to be nimble. I think where you’ll see this quicker probably is in the independent space. That what they’re doing is things like this. An advisor logs on to their workstation in the morning and their system queues them proactively, Mr. and Mrs. Smith may be good candidates for a Roth IRA conversion. And then if the advisor decides to contact the client in some way about it, the system will of course help them draft the communication, but then it’ll take it a step further and actually help them to process and transact that conversion. So soup to nuts, ultimately driving efficiency. That’s the name of the game. That’s why firms, I think, are excited about AI, at least the good firms. Because what I think they realize it will do is, the stuff that’s a waste of time that could be automated that advisors, and probably even more so their associates, client associates are spending time on, that should be a massive time saver for advisors. And I think if you play that story out, what does that mean? It should mean bigger books of business and therefore more productive advisors because they have more time to prospect and focus on their clients. Thoughts? Mindy Diamond: Yeah. So I think you said it perfectly, but it raises the question then. You say that the RIAs can be more nimble. You’re right. I mean, the big story around the biggest firms was like moving a battleship, it takes a long time to turn it. It’s not as nimble. So what and how are the bigger firms competing against the RIAs with respect to AI? And second question, we still always get questions, and rightly so, about Morgan Stanley has more money to invest… Jason Diamond: That was going to be part of my answer. Mindy Diamond: … than fill in the blank RIA. So how does that all work? Jason Diamond: That is absolutely going to be part of my answer, is that I have heard this question posed almost presumptively both ways. “Oh, it’s got to be that the RIAs are going to be the clear winners in this.” And I’ve also heard, “Oh, it’s got to be that the wirehouses are going to be the clear winners in this.” I don’t think it’s going to be channel specific like that. I think it is going to be firm specific. I think there’s going to be firms that are going to do this well and firms that are going to not do this well. But there’s going to be winners in the wirehouse space. There’s going to be winners in the regional firm space, with firms like Raymond James who are clearly trying to be on the cutting edge of this. There’s certainly going to be winners in the broker-dealer space. LPL is investing heavily in this, as are many of their broker-dealer competitors. And then of course the RIA space, where sometimes they may not have the budgets, but they have a couple things. They have private equity backing, sometimes. They have the custodians that they’re built on, right, or the tech vendors that they’re built on. So Schwab and Fidelity or Orion and Addepar. They have other ways to access these innovations. One of the things that comes up with this that your question I think gets at is, a similar question that was raised around technology stacks, which is strength of offering versus integration. And that’s where I think a firm like Morgan Stanley really will shine, is they should … Because they don’t put anything out that’s not well integrated. The big firms have generally done a pretty good job of that. Versus the RIAs. Sometimes we’ve heard feedback where, yes, you have access to you name it, right? You dream it up, you can go and buy it. But the left hand may not speak to the right hand quite as well. Mindy Diamond: Yeah, that’s actually a really good point. And integration is probably one of the biggest … If you ask an advisor when they talk about technology as either being one of their pushes or pulls, probably what they’re referring to more than anything is not only having the capability, but having the integrated capability. So that’s a great point. And I think your point is right, that the final chapter on this has not been written. Nobody thinks that it has. And so whatever answers you and I can talk about today about who’s winning this race, or this tech race or this AI race, will be totally different tomorrow. We all know that. But I think for purposes of this conversation, to say that an advisor having an expectation that their technology be outstanding and that AI be on the table, that a firm is embracing it and heading in the right direction, if you will, has the right thought leadership and the right willingness to invest in it is what advisors are really looking for right now. Jason Diamond: Absolutely. And this is a question too from the firm’s perspective, if you are a firm of any size, you must be able to answer that. This has become question 1A. And again, I don’t mean to suggest that I think AI is the number one most important factor driving advisor movement today. It very well might be at some point down the road. I don’t think we’re there yet. But I do think it’s the topic du jour or the hot topic, where every advisor is asking about this. So that means if you’re a firm, you need to be prepared to tell the story or at least have the vision. And I think what we’re hearing from both advisors and from firms is this, AI is going to … What is right now a gap between the good and the bad, the quality and the non, is going to become an absolute chasm, right? An absolutely mountainous gap between the best firms and the firms who are able to adapt this technology or this AI. And the same thing at the advisor level, between the AI-enabled superpowered advisor versus those who are in the dinosaur ages, for lack of a better term. Mindy Diamond: Yeah. And we’ll move on, but it is worth saying that the day of the standalone independent, the one man or one woman band who hangs out a shingle, and to use your term, running a lifestyle practice, nothing wrong with that, but it would be near impossible to imagine a world where a standalone independent can compete with a private-equity-backed RIA or an RIA that has a big pool of capital behind them or to compete with the major firms. And our point is the ability to compete is probably more important with respect to this topic than just about any other. Jason Diamond: Totally agree. Thank you for tying a bow on that because I think that’s a good place to leave the AI topic, at least for now. I’m certain we’ll have more to say on this one. By the time we release this episode, we’ll probably have more to say on it. So we’ll have to do a follow-up again. But I want to talk now about enterprise value. And this is one where if you’re an RIA or if you’re an advisor at an independent firm, this might sound like a duh, but hear me out on this one. The idea is as follows, if I’m a wirehouse advisor or any sort of captive advisor, I don’t technically own anything. Agree? Mindy Diamond: Agreed. Jason Diamond: Okay. So if that’s true, that I don’t technically own anything, I technically don’t have any sort of enterprise value or ability to monetize. But my premise here and why I would argue that enterprise value has become a driver of movement is even wirehouse advisors know … They see teams like OpenArc, a massive RIA that launched last year. They see their corner office peers breaking away, starting independent firms. They see them selling to asset managers, private-equity-backed RIAs, private equity firms in their own right for these massive multiples. And what I guess I’m getting at, and I’m curious if you agree is, if a wirehouse advisor, let’s say, sees their colleagues sell to a private equity firm for 20X, doesn’t that have to become a little bit of a catalyst for movement in its own right? Mindy Diamond: Without a doubt. Historically … Actually, let me date myself. When I started this business now 32 years ago, there was zero way for an advisor who was a captive employee of a firm, of any firm, to monetize their business. It’s why there was so much movement, because the only way they could monetize was to get paid a big fat transition deal to move from one firm to the other. Jason Diamond: Yep. Mindy Diamond: Obviously, we all know that first it started with the big firms, and then just about every brokerage firm on the street began to offer a retire-in-place program. And that is the big firms or a traditional brokerage firm’s way of allowing advisor to monetize in place from their perspective to stave off attrition. And for an advisor that believes that the status quo serves them well, that finishing their career, that leaving their legacy, that leaving their team at their firm is the best thing to do, then those retire-in-place programs, like Merrill’s CTP or Morgan’s FAP or UBS’s Alpha or a name at every firm has them, is the best gift to advisors there is. But the problem is that the next generation at those firms are buying an asset they don’t own. And so when we talk about enterprise value or the desire to build enterprise value as a real driver of movement, what we’re talking about is not only that advisors want ownership of an asset, because ownership translates into more control and autonomy and agency over building it the way you want to, but it also translates into maximizing the value of the business that you’ve built. So that’s a long-winded way of saying that the OpenArc deal you are referencing, for anybody not familiar, is a Merrill Lynch team, a legacy Merrill Lynch team in Atlanta that was managing more than 120 billion in assets, part retail, ultra high net worth client assets, and part institutional consulting assets. And believe me, I don’t want to make it sound like it was a snap that one day they’re happy and the next day they’re going independent. Over a 10-year period became more and more aware, driven by the pushes and more aware of the pulse. But ultimately, while there was a long list of things they wanted to be able to do that they couldn’t to best serve clients and grow the business, the real driver at the end of the day, or I shouldn’t say the real driver, but a major driver was the notion of building and owning enterprise value. Yes, they could have all gotten very attractive deals and retired with your Merrill CTP, but they wanted to own the business, they wanted cap gains treatment. And so they went through the sweat equity big time of building what they’re calling OpenArc for the ability for probably five, 10, 20 years, because there’s partners with all different ages, so at all different times, to be able to really maximize the value of the business they’ve built. Jason Diamond: Can I push back on that for … It’s a super helpful example, but my one thought is, okay, yeah, of course, 130 billion in assets, they should be concerned with enterprise value at that size. And the delta between caring about enterprise value and not is too great because those guys have, by all accounts, a phenomenal business that is rivaled by very few in the industry. Most of our audience does not fit into that stratosphere. So what about advisors in, let’s call it the million to $10 million space? Should they still care about this concept? Mindy Diamond: Again, it’s an inside job. It’s a personal thing. Some don’t. But the answer is yes. And if I were them, I would. Why? Because whether I am generating a million a year in revenue or $10 million a year in revenue, at the end of the day, I’ve got an asset. I’ve built a valuable asset. And I have the choice at the end of the day or the middle of the day to decide a million things about that asset. How do I want to live my business life? How do I want to serve my clients? Where do I want to work? But one of the biggest factors to determining where and how they want to work is, ultimately, do I want to be able to maximize the value of the business that I’ve built? And while there are few things that are really definitive in this industry, the one thing that is absolutely indisputably definitive is that if you build an independent practice like the ex-Merrill Lynch churned RIA OpenArc team did, you will ultimately build enterprise value exponential multiples greater than any way you could monetize the business as a traditional employee. Jason Diamond: And that math absolutely still holds up even at numbers smaller than we’ve mentioned. I totally agree with that. I’ll give you one other reason why I think you should care. And I’d love your thoughts on this one. I’ll ask it two ways maybe. I’ll tell you my take and then I’ll ask you yours. Morgan Stanley, let’s use as an example. Who are Morgan Stanley’s competitors? In my opinion, the legacy answer to that is, well, of course the wirehouses are Morgan Stanley’s competitors. Merrill, UBS, Wells Fargo, what maybe used to be a longer list, but today those four. I don’t think that’s the answer anymore. I think those are the direct competitors. But because of this enterprise value conversation, I think Morgan Stanley’s competitors are anyone and everyone who recruits financial advisors with books of business. Because if you think about it, an advisor who has a $3 million business at a wirehouse, even if they’re not actually going to do this, they don’t have any entrepreneurial spirit, no desire to go independent, they still know that they could. This is an option and a viable option. And firms are even figuring out ways to cut out the middle step, right? Because this was historically a two-step process. You’re a wirehouse advisor or a W2 advisor. You break away, launch an independent business to establish your enterprise value, begin building it, and then you monetize it. If you could cut out the middle step, or even if you couldn’t, I still think it’s pretty clear that if you’re an advisor, this is important because the firms know … Like when Morgan Stanley’s writing a recruiting deal, they’re kept honest by RIAs and acquirers just the same as their direct peer set. Do you agree with that or do you think I’m reading too far into this? Mindy Diamond: Oh no, I agree a thousand percent. I think that it is naive for anyone recruiting for or on behalf of a traditional firm to think that the only competition is another traditional firm. The days of pomposity for a senior leader at a traditional firm to say, “We’ve got the best technology, the best everything fill in the blank. We have no competitors.” That’s just naive. Because even if it’s true, you’ve got the best platform infrastructure fill in the blank, there is a multitude of advisors that value things different than what you can provide. Beauty is in the eye of beholder is probably a good way to say that. But at the end of the day, what we’re really talking about is when I started the business, because there was no way, no really good way for an advisor to really monetize their life’s work, the only thing they could or were focused on from a personal financial gain perspective was the short-term deal. What are they paying? What’s the transition deal? Now, of course they’re concerned about that. But almost to a person, they’re equally concerned about what I can build and what will this allow me to build in terms of the value of the business I’m building in the long term. So let me ask you, if we’re talking about an advisor that has the ability to monetize in the short term for what could be 4X and in some cases more than that these days, and we’re talking about the ability to maximize enterprise value, and we talk about the concept of moving once and monetizing twice, what kind of numbers are we talking about? Fill in the blanks there. Jason Diamond: It’s such a hard question to answer because I do genuinely believe recruiting deals, when you talk about 300 to 400% revenue deals in the recruiting space, they vary a little bit, but I feel pretty comfortable quoting those types of numbers that most firms are somewhere in the 300 to 400% of T12 realm. There are some outliers, we mentioned UBS. But the multiple or EBITDA based or enterprise value M&A market where we’re doing these legitimate buyout transactions, the valuations do vary quite a bit. But here’s how I think about it. First of all, most firms are not purchased or sold at top line revenue. Most are sold at some sort of adjusted EBITDA number, which factors in local expenses, platform expenses, but also advisor compensation. And then that adjusted number is typically multipled. The multiples are anywhere from 8X for small kind of, let’s say, million dollar revenue businesses up to, we’ve seen deals struck at north of 20X for some of these mega cap RIAs. Typically, just back of the envelope, if I had to quote, I typically estimate around 5X top line at capital gains is a good kind of ballpark valuation. But there is quite a bit of nuance to it, more so than the traditional recruiting space. And I do think, shameless plug, part of the value in working with somebody who’s an expert on the entirety of the industry landscape is just that. It’s the idea that you need to run the horse race across multiple verticals. The good advisors who work with us typically are looking at a wire like a Morgan Stanley or a Merrill. They’re looking at a boutique firm like a Rockefeller, or they’re looking at a regional like an RBC or a Ray J. They’re looking at an independent firm like an LPL or a Sanctuary. They’re looking all across the spectrum. Mindy Diamond: I think that’s exactly right. But the topic of enterprise value, you can see how powerful it is and how wise it is. For an advisor today, when considering their personal economics to consider not just the short term, but to weigh in or add in or factor in, what could I be building and what ultimately will that business be worth at the end of the day? Jason Diamond: Yeah, 100%. Short of going out and selling your business, what can advisors do then? So I’m an advisor, okay, I’m curious about this. Or is it just as simple as, “Yeah, you should know what your business is worth if you’re an advisor”? Mindy Diamond: Definitively yes, because I mean, we always believe that knowledge is power. And just like it’s important for you to understand what your options are within your own firm, how can I ultimately retire out and monetize my business where I am, I think it’s really hard to make a decision in a vacuum without having other perspective. And getting other perspective doesn’t have to be that you have to go out and take 20 meetings. It’s not that hard for you to figure out what your business is worth to make it a data point for whether or not you’re ultimately best to retire in place or go elsewhere. Jason Diamond: Yeah, that I think is the main takeaway. And the education point is so important. I think because these are relatively new concepts for a lot of advisors that haven’t formally shopped a business before, there’s a lot of resources available. And we’ll certainly link some as well on the page for the episode. Let’s shift gears now, our kind of final trigger 2.0, which is stability and ownership structure of the firm. And this has been a little bit of a hot topic. It’s honestly been a hot topic every year because it seems like things pop up every year. And a lot of times advisors don’t reconcile the question of who owns the firm or how stable is the firm until something happens. The firm gets bought, the firm goes bankrupt, like the First Republic scenario. What should a good advisor do proactively about the idea that if you’re a W2 employee or even an employee who’s affiliated with a broker dealer, you saw this with Commonwealth, you just don’t really have control over what the firm decides to do. Give me your thoughts on this. I know it’s a big topic. Mindy Diamond: Yeah. First of all, using Commonwealth an example, it’s a good one. Because for those unfamiliar, Commonwealth is a boutique broker dealer that was privately owned and whose tagline was, “We love our privately owned status and we are never going to sell,” until one day they did. And not only did they sell, but they sold to the biggest independent broker dealer in the country, ala LPL. That’s not good nor bad, it’s just a fact. So if Commonwealth, who had definitively said we’re never up for sale, suddenly sells, any time you’re an employee of a firm, you never know what tomorrow brings in. You’re not in control over whether it’s sold. So that’s one example. But as you’re talking about this, I’m thinking about, I’m probably going back 20 years, so I’m 10 years into my career and I talked to someone who had been a very successful Merrill advisor. So I’m going to say he was probably generating around $5 million in revenue at the time. Going back 20 years, that’s a pretty significant book of business. He was courted for years by what he thought was a top RIA. And in those days, remember 20 years ago, the RIA space wasn’t nearly as mainstream as it is now. But the story the RIA told him was that ultimately, one, he was going to be a partner in the firm, that was very appealing to him. So he was going to have equity in the firm and much more freedom and control. And locally, by the way, the RIA was a really high quality brand. He worked on a lot of the economics, the short term and the long term with them. They did a ton of due diligence on his book of business. But he failed to ask … And I didn’t represent him. I just know this story. He failed to ask or do enough due diligence about the stability of the firm. What we think is really important, we talk about this expanded landscape. If you’re looking at Morgan Stanley, I don’t think you necessarily need to see Morgan Stanley’s balance sheet. If you are talking to a firm that is anything but a bulge bracket or anything but a large firm, it’s really important to do what we call reverse due diligence and to really understand if a firm expects you to open your kimono and show everything about your business to prove your worth, it is equally important that you do the same for them. In this new world order where private equity has come in and there are so many different ways for a firm to be owned and to be capitalized, it’s very important that an advisor understand what’s going on behind the scenes. And one of the questions around stability, if a firm is private equity backed, is it permanent capital? Is it patient capital? Is the private equity firm going to look to sell and monetize in five years? And then who would the likely buyer be and what does that mean for you? So the question is a big question and it’s really important. Jason Diamond: I love everything you just said, except I do think even the wirehouses, wirehouse advisors, honestly, as much as anybody should be asking these questions. And I’ll give you an example right now, UBS. And UBS, it’s not a story of balance sheet stability. I don’t think anybody has concerns that UBS is going to fail. But UBS management has been very publicly, “Oh, we’re cutting costs.” There’s been some rumors, I think for years, probably dating back 30 years to when you started the business about UBS’s commitment to the US wealth management business. I think those questions about stability and ownership structure are still valid. And to me, the implication of it is twofold. One, what you said, reverse due diligence, ask the questions, plan B. But also the concept of the exits or the off-ramps or how many bites of the apple do you get. So if you’re an advisor and you sell your business to somebody and you sign garden leave and non-competes and non-solicits, the question of ownership structure of that firm becomes less relevant because you have no off-ramps and no ability to exit that business anyway. A lot of times that’s how advisors get comfortable with this concept. And that’s what firms will tell them too, frankly, and we’re living through the middle of this, by the way, with Commonwealth and LPL, is vote with your feet, right? To the extent advisors can, the offer … And this is like, you used the example of private-equity-backed firms. This is how Rockefeller addresses the question of their private equity ownership. If we sell to UBS, all of our advisors will leave. They have that built-in put option. So knowing where the off-ramps are or how many bites of the apple an advisor gets, I think is a big concept that ties into that. But we’re absolutely seeing this pop up, probably largely because of those two examples, Commonwealth and UBS this year, more so Commonwealth, to your point. Janney’s another example last year or two years ago now where KKR comes in and buys Janney. So when these examples happen, it seems like it triggers advisors to say, “Is this something that could happen to me and should I be thinking about this?” Mindy Diamond: Yeah. So let me ask you a question. You’re talking, you’ve mentioned UBS offering this outsized deal. So how does the notion of stability and ownership factor in? If an advisor is considering an unprecedented deal from UBS, what are the caveats or concerns with respect to stability and ownership? Jason Diamond: It’s the same list of considerations you should and would ask of any other firm you’re diligencing, except I think amplified even more in the case … If I was counseling an advisor who was looking at UBS, that would be what I would say, is exactly that. You’re seeing all of these departures and defections, and I would want to have conversations with those advisors and understand exactly why and have guarantees or assurances that I’m not going to suffer from those same pain points that force them to leave. Or, and I say this a little bit flippantly, but it’s a little bit true, I understand the devil that I’m getting into bed with, but for 550%, or whatever the deal might be, I can suck it up. And that’s something that some advisors might well say as well. Mindy Diamond: Yeah. Jason Diamond: I don’t want to end on the negative note of overly large transition, not there’s anything wrong with large transition deals, but as you look out, is there anything that’s coming up in your conversation with advisors that you view as the next wave of this? I’ll give you one that maybe you could touch on, and if you have another one, feel free to offer it in conclusion, but do you think age or advisors starting to succeed out of the business will become more of a driver of movement, even though to your point, advisors can access sunset deals? Mindy Diamond: I do actually, because I think the more the average advisor age increases, the more likely that those advisors are going to want to move on to do something else to monetize the business. And so much of the wave of movement we see is driven not so much by the senior advisor, because many seed advisors are happy enough with the ability to monetize their business in place. Even though it may not maximize the value of the business, it’s a close enough approximation and it means I don’t have to disrupt the apple cart. So we support that 100%. But where we get the calls is from the next generation that says, “Yeah, but hold on a minute. It’s a good way for me to take on a book of assets that I not otherwise have access to. And it’s great for my senior partner, my father, my mother, my whatever to monetize the business. But I’m buying an asset again that I don’t own and I ultimately don’t have control over all these things we’re talking about, the AI investment, the ability to create enterprise value, the stability, the cost cutting, all of it.” So I think it’s all of the above. You say, “What else is there?” I think that’s it. It’s all of the above. It’s anything and everything that drives movement. One, it’s personal, it’s highly unique, it’s different for every advisor. There are certainly themes, and we’re talking about them, but there’s a million different things. It’s personal. And while there are an awful lot of pushes, things that can frustrate an advisor, it is the most exciting time in our view to be an advisor, particularly a high quality one, because the options abound, the ecosystem is big, because the ability to monetize both in the short term and the long term is big, mammoth, exponentially bigger than it ever was before. And the true ability to really build an enterprise has never been greater. And I think all of those things, the desire for an advisor to be the best that they can be and live their best business life is probably the biggest driver of all. Jason Diamond: It’s really true these days, if you can dream it, you can probably build it. And we’ve said in the past, if you build it, they will buy it. It’s a great place to end. This was a really fun topic. I think that’s a spot on kind of fourth trigger, by the way, too. This sort of next gen is almost like the force multiplier or the amplifier of like they see all this other stuff and they’re asking these questions even more so. Because if I’m 60 years old, none of this matters all that much. It matters, but I’m out of the business in five to 10 years. Versus the next gen advisors are the ones who often bear the brunt of this. So I think a lot of really smart stuff. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and expertise. In the episode page, we’ll be sure we have our Industry Transition Report. And we’ve also created a tool, the top 10 tips for a strategic due diligence process, which is a great kind of practical hand-in-hand companion for this topic for advisors looking for more pointed tips on the due diligence process. So Mindy, thank you again. This has been a blast. Mindy Diamond: My pleasure. Thank you. Jason Diamond: Thank you for joining us. We'll be back with a new episode next week, so be sure to listen in. Mindy Diamond: As a financial advisor, you hold yourself to the highest standards of integrity, honesty, and credibility. You are successful because you take your professional responsibility seriously and are dedicated to your clients. But are you living your best business life? Are your goals aligned with your firms or could a better option exist? Should I Stay or Should I Go? is a book written with you in mind. It’s a self-guided journey that walks you through the key steps that we take with our advisor clients. This strategic thought process and roadmap to professional self-discovery is designed to help you ask the right questions and think critically and objectively, whether you’re considering change or not. Learn how to get your copy at diamond-consultants.com/thebook. The Advisor Transition Playbook: The Latest on Due Diligence, the Move, and Everything In Between – Part 2 A Special Industry Update with Jason Diamond and Mindy Diamond. Jason Diamond: Welcome to a replay of one of the most popular episodes from our podcast series for financial advisors, The Advisor Transition Playbook: The Latest on Due Diligence, the Move, and Everything In Between. It's Part 2 of a 2-Part Industry Update with Mindy Diamond. I’m Jason Diamond and this is the Diamond Podcast for Financial Advisors. Mindy Diamond: At Diamond Consultants, we help elite advisors identify the right environment for their businesses to thrive, whether that’s at a wirehouse, boutique, or independent firm. With nearly three decades of experience, we’ve guided thousands of advisors and represented more than a quarter of a trillion dollars in assets transitioned. And each year, one in four advisors managing a billion dollars or more who change firms are our clients. Our process is education driven and based on building relationships, starting as your strategic partner, well before you’re even thinking of a move. To schedule a confidential conversation, call us at 908-879-1002. Wondering why advisors change firms and where they’re headed? Are transition deals going up or down? Those very questions and more inspired us to create our Annual Advisor Transition Report. It’s the award-winning data-driven resource designed for advisors that connects the dots between the motivations around movement and the firm’s appetite for top talent. Arm yourself with the knowledge you need to make smart decisions. Download your copy at diamond-consultants.com/transitionreport. Jason Diamond: There’s been a noticeable shift in how advisors are approaching decisions about their business, not necessarily in whether they’re exploring change, but in what they’re focused on when they do. Mindy is back with me for a continuation of our earlier conversation on the Advisor Transition Playbook. Last time, we spent time on the mechanics, how due diligence works, what a move actually entails, and how to think through the process. What’s become more apparent since then is that the inputs into that process are evolving. The traditional drivers are still there, but layered on top are a set of considerations that didn’t carry the same weight before. AI is one of them, and not just as a tool, but as a differentiator that advisors are starting to diligence more seriously. Enterprise value is another. Showing up in conversations, even for advisors who don’t technically own their business, but are thinking more critically about what they’re building over time. And then there are questions around stability, ownership, and flexibility. What happens to the firm itself and whether advisors retain the ability to adapt again if circumstances change. None of this is theoretical. It’s showing up in real time conversations. What we want to do here is unpack those new triggers of advisor movement and what they suggest about how decisions are being made today. So let’s get to it. Mindy, the legend, thank you for joining me. So glad to have you on. Mindy Diamond: Thank you. I’m so happy to be here. Jason Diamond: Great. Let’s dive right in. I’ll set the stage really quickly one more time. When we spoke about this topic last, we talked about the drivers of movement, what we’ll call in this conversation as the old or the legacy drivers of movement, and we spoke about the mechanics of the move. Before we get into the new drivers of movement, which I want to be the meat of the conversation, remind us, when we talk about the legacy drivers of movement …. And by the way, by saying legacy, I by no means want to suggest that they’re not valid today, because they’re equally valid, if not more so today than they were then. But when you think of the classic drivers of movement in our industry, what are they? Mindy Diamond: Yeah. So I would say, first of all, let’s start by saying that for every advisor, they’ve got a unique set of needs. So the first thing to say is that while you and I can talk about the categories of frustrations or things that might bother an advisor, they show up differently in each advisor’s life. So it’s important to note that everyone is unique. But generally speaking, if I had to package them, I’d say it’s number one that shows up most of the time is too much bureaucracy. A feeling that a firm or a model is just too hypervigilant in terms of compliance and it’s too bureaucratic and too hard to get things done.

Shipping fascinates me. The industry usually quietly carries approximately 80% of all internationally traded good. Tankers reach 400m long and carry loads of $200m+ worth of oil. But the best part of it is the 4D multi-year chess game played across the globe, by an industry that can be as profitable as it is cyclical.Watch it on YouTube or listen on the Substack player or every podcast app.Key topics discussed* The math behind 30% returns on $140M assets.* Managing risk in a highly cyclical, capex-heavy industry.* Why Japan and China are rebuilding global oil storage.* The "one-stop shop" model for financial investors in shipping (the Uber of Shipping).SummaryPankaj Khanna, CEO of Nasdaq-listed Heidmar, discusses how shipping and freight underpin the global economy, focusing on oil tanker markets. He shares his path from an Indian merchant navy cadet to CEO and 45% owner, and explains Heidmar's growth since 2019 from six ships and six people to managing 65 vessels across six global offices with 65 staff. Heidmar is a non-asset-owning, debt-free, “one-stop shop” providing ship acquisition support, financing and corporate setup, technical management (crews, SMS), and commercial management (employment with oil majors and traders enabled by long-standing KYC approvals), earning daily fees and commissions on freight. The discussion covers spot freight economics, investor types, traders' roles, shipping cyclicality driven by geopolitics, distance and fleet supply, and Heidmar's long-term digital platform and AI initiatives to optimize operations, alongside the company's EBITDA-multiple valuation versus NAV.LinksHeidmarhttps://www.heidmar.com/Pankaj Khanna on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/pankaj-khanna-69746b1/About Investology:A podcast dedicated to investment management intelligence and uncovering new ways to deliver better outcomes for investors. Audio: https://pod.link/the-fintech-filesNewsletter: https://investorama.substack.com/About the Host:George Aliferis, CAIA is the founder of Orama, where he produces content for financial brands and tech companies. Before that, he spent over a decade structuring, marketing and selling complex financial products to institutional clients in Europe and Asia.https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-aliferis/An episode produced by Orama: https://orama.tv/Sales-driven video strategies. Accelerate sales to the financial industry with content that builds trust and drives pipeline.TIMESTAMPS00:00 Pankaj's Journey to CEO01:20 Heidmar's Comeback Story04:11 Why Shipping Chose Him06:12 Inside Tanker Management11:06 Investor Returns and Fees17:34 Uber of Shipping Tech Stack22:33 Traders and Market Cycles34:46 Misconceptions about ShippingThanks for reading Investorama! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit investorama.substack.com

In this second part of a two part conversation, Danny Cahill takes Benjamin Mena behind the scenes of how he builds million dollar billers, why AI is quietly turning recruiters into commodities, and the one skill he says you cannot teach. This episode is brought to you by Atlas, the AI first recruitment platform built to eliminate admin and turn every candidate conversation into something you can use. Atlas customers have reported over 40 percent EBITDA growth and over 80 percent increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform. Get started and unlock your exclusive listener offer at recruitwithatlas.com Danny is not anti AI, and he opens by drawing a sharp line between where it helps and where it hurts. AI is a gift for market research and mapping, but the moment recruiters hand it their messaging, they start to sound exactly like everyone else. Clients are already telling his office that you all sound the same, and Danny argues the real threat was never AI replacing recruiters. It is recruiters using AI so lazily that they make themselves replaceable. That leads into the idea he most wanted to talk about. As everyone races to become a player on social media by outsourcing their voice to a bot, the ability to write and think originally becomes the last real advantage. Referencing Pree Sarkar, who framed it as capture, not create, Danny explains why your narrative and reputation are the one thing generative AI can flatten, and why that makes original language more valuable, not less. Then Danny takes on a myth this audience needs to hear. You do not have to have no life to be great at this. The million dollar billers he mentors are not obsessive versions of him. Many stop at four in the afternoon to be a parent, run nonprofits, and pour into their families. As he puts it, they do not die sad and lonely, they die happy and rich and having helped a lot of people. The heart of part two is mentorship. Danny explains why he still does it when he does not need to, why top billers become a protected class that no one will push, and why there is almost always a wound behind a high achiever. He tells the story of a twenty two year veteran who slumped and confessed she thought she had just gotten lucky, and how he answered her. You do not luck into twenty two years. He also walks through what mentoring actually looks like, from taping calls to weekly accountability. He closes with a challenge. Everyone talks about how technology changed recruiting, but almost no one questions the infrastructure, the pricing, or the sales DNA underneath it. And in one of the most honest moments of the conversation, Danny answers a question no one has ever asked him. What You'll Learn: Where AI helps a recruiter and where leaning on it makes you sound like everyone else Why writing and original thinking are becoming the last real advantage in recruiting The truth about work and life balance among actual million dollar billers Why your best biller becomes a protected class, and the hidden wound behind high achievers How Danny structures mentorship, from the first intake to weekly accountability The infrastructure and pricing questions almost no recruiter is asking If you missed Part 1, go back for how Danny survived four recessions and a pandemic and built a firm of recruiters who last. Connect with Danny Cahill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danny-cahill-a6797a/ Listen to Part 1: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7AaKC3JrP3Y0eeu9SESsHp?si=5xQfHvygTFimUKEhCU5LOg Listen on Apple Podcasts: Listen on Spotify: Watch on YouTube: Join the Elite Recruiter Community: https://elite-recruiters.circle.so/checkout/elite-recruiter-community Register for the AI Recruiting Summit 2026: https://ai-recruiting-summit-2026.heysummit.com/ Subscribe to the newsletter: https://eliterecruiterpodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe Sponsored by Atlas: recruitwithatlas.com

In this episode the hosts analyze a trendy bowling alley, arcade, and bar concept generating nearly $1 million in EBITDA and debate whether the real opportunity lies in the business itself—or in the underlying real estate.Welcome to Acquisitions Anonymous – the #1 podcast for small business M&A. Every week, we break down businesses for sale and talk about buying, operating, and growing them.Looking to build a professional website in minutes? Try Wix: https://wix.pxf.io/c/6898629/3115214/25616?trafcat=templateHubSpot is the backbone for how businesses scale without chaos. Try them out here: https://go.try-hubspot.com/OeG9VrSubscribe for more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@AcquisitionsAnonymousPodcast?sub_confirmation=1Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.acquanon.com/newsletter

Your revenue problem may not be your sales team. It may be the go-to-market strategy behind them. The fastest-growing companies can still lose months of revenue when urgency replaces buyer clarity. Many CEOs push harder when growth stalls: more activity, more pipeline, more hiring, more pressure. But when the market message, buyer definition, and revenue process are not aligned, additional effort can amplify the wrong direction. The cost is not just missed deals. It shows up in wasted sales capacity, longer cycles, unpredictable forecasting, weaker EBITDA performance, and valuation pressure when future growth is questioned. Revenue engines become difficult to diagnose when leadership cannot see where demand breaks down or why opportunities stop moving. Mike Brunnick, CEO of VALR Advisors, shares the hard-earned perspective gained from years leading revenue growth and helping companies understand where go-to-market strategies lose momentum—and why impatience can become one of the most expensive decisions a CEO makes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike Ames built his first recruitment business from scratch in 1989 with six months of industry experience and two partners. One of them died in a car accident after 18 months. He became MD. He had a breakdown. He rebuilt the business entirely around scalability, removed himself from the centre of it, and sold to a NYSE-listed company for £24 million at the age of 38.He thought that would feel like the finish line. It didn't. Within six months he was so low he could only manage one task a day. His therapist's parting advice: "Well, Michael, just get a job and you'll be fine." So he started again at 38, built a second business, sold that to Harvey Nash in 2017, and spent the next fifteen years working out why most recruitment founders never build something that truly works for them."I'm having to live a lot of my life through my grandchildren because I miss my children. Don't be that guy, right?"This week on The RAG Podcast, Mike Ames breaks down the PLW model: what a Profit, Lifestyle, Wealth recruitment business actually looks like, why the 360 model is structurally flawed, and what the "magic number" is that every founder should know before they spend another year grinding for a goal they have never properly calculated.Mike Ames is not selling a formula for a nine-figure exit. He is arguing for something harder and rarer: a business that runs well, pays you properly, and leaves room for the life you are actually trying to live.If you have ever wondered whether the business you are building is working for you or the other way around, this episode is the one.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Episode Sponsor: AtlasAdmin is a massive waste of time. That's why there's Atlas, the AI-first recruitment platform built for modern agencies.It doesn't only track CVs and calls. It remembers everything. Every email, every interview, every conversation. Instantly searchable, always available. And now, it's entering a whole new era.With Atlas 2.0, you can ask anything and it delivers. With Magic Search, you speak and it listens. It finds the right candidates using real conversations, not simply keywords.Atlas 2.0 also makes business development easier than ever. With Opportunities, you can track, manage and grow client relationships, powered by generative AI and built right into your workflow.Need insights? Custom dashboards give you total visibility over your pipeline. And that's not theory. Atlas customers have reported up to 41% EBITDA growth and an 85% increase in monthly billings after adopting the platform.No admin. No silos. No lost info. Nothing but faster shortlists, better hires and more time to focus on what actually drives revenue.Atlas is your personal AI partner for modern recruiting.Don't miss the future of recruitment. Get started with Atlas today and unlock your exclusive RAG listener offer at https://recruitwithatlas.com/therag/• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Episode Sponsor: HoxoEvery recruitment founder is investing in LinkedIn. Most can't answer this: how much revenue is it actually bringing in? At Hoxo, we help recruitment founders build predictable revenue systems on LinkedIn. Our clients are turning LinkedIn into £100K-£300K in new billings within months. Fill in the form today at https://hubs.ly/Q03lBpYC0

Eric Malzone sits down with Eric Bormel, Managing Director at Solomon Partners, for a deep dive into mergers and acquisitions in the fitness and wellness industry — breaking down exactly what it takes for a fitness brand, gym, or health tech company to get acquired, what drives valuation beyond revenue, and how founders can pick the right buyer instead of just the highest bidder. Using the recent Rouvy-to-Zwift acquisition as a real-world case study, Bormel pulls back the curtain on the M&A process from first meeting to closing the deal, explains why connected fitness companies like Peloton are finally stabilizing after the post-pandemic crash, and shares why consumer subscription brands like Strava and Zwift — along with wearables like Whoop and Oura — are currently the hottest categories for investors in the fitness tech space. The conversation also tackles AI's growing role in personalized health, wearables, and gym operations, plus the widening gap between CEO confidence and consumer sentiment in today's economy. Whether you're a gym owner, fitness entrepreneur, or just curious about fitness industry trends and investment activity, this episode is a crash course in fitness M&A, business valuation, and where smart money is heading next in health and wellness. Episode Takeaways:

Your 401k is not going to make you rich. A wealth advisor to $50M+ families just said it on camera.Jeremy Boynton manages ultra-high-net-worth families. He survived two 100-year market crashes back to back, pivoted to alternative investments by learning from a Chicago family office, and today runs Laureate Wealth Management and Pure Crypto, where his first crypto fund is up 6X since 2018.In this Founder Talk episode, Alex and Jeremy go deep on how the ultra-wealthy actually invest, why most founders are playing the wrong game with their money, and which alternative vehicles generate returns most people never see.Key takeaways:00:00:00 Introduction00:04:12Q: Why are crypto and AI creating an unprecedented moment right now?A: Jeremy Boynton says two once-in-a-generation technological revolutions are happening simultaneously00:14:07Q: How is a crypto project replacing AT&T right now?A: Jeremy Boynton explains how Helium built a global telecom network with $250 hotspots00:17:10Q: Should founders diversify or go all in?A: You do not become Bill Gates by diversifying. You diversify AFTER you become Bill Gates00:30:15Q: Why does a wealth advisor say your 401k will not make you rich?A: Jeremy Boynton says real wealth comes from doing something you love, not saving in a 401k00:31:43Q: What wake-up call does every founder need about wealth and life?A: Jeremy Boynton tells the story of a client who saved his whole life and died before his Europe trip00:51:25Q: How does permanent capital private equity generate 40% annual yields?A: Buy blue collar businesses at 3.5-4x EBITDA, hold forever, eat the cash flowsIf you are a founder still treating your investments as an afterthought, this is the wake-up call.

SpaceX raised $86 billion in its IPO then borrowed another $25 billion from the bond markets days later. Anthony Cheung and Piers Curran break down the financial engineering behind the deal, what a BAA1 credit rating means, and why Elon Musk is playing a completely different game to everyone else.Micron just posted EBITDA up 15x year-on-year with gross margins jumping from 39% to 85%. We unpack what that tells us about who's really winning the AI race and why it's no longer the Mag 7.Finally, Keir Starmer is out. UK gilt yields broke above 5% for the first time in decades before falling back sharply. We explain why markets rallied on the news and what Andy Burnham as Prime Minister means for U.K. bond markets.(00:00) Introduction(00:22) SpaceX Post-IPO Sell-Off(05:15) Mag 7 vs Semiconductors(12:27) Oil, Iran & the Fed's Hawkish Turn(15:45) Micron's Blowout Earnings(22:18) SpaceX's $25bn Bond Deal Explained(31:29) Keir Starmer Resigns UK Market Reaction

Ned Tomasevic navigated an early crisis then grew EBITDA to $6m and exited at over 8x, four turns higher than he'd paid.Register for the webinar: Transferable Skills: Crafting Your Resume for SBA Lenders - TODAY!! - https://bit.ly/4v3KOnfTopics in Ned's interview:Being the first American in his familyUtilizing 20 interns for outreachAcquiring with help from a search fundPost-closing discovery led to lawsuitStress shows up in your body firstGetting guidance from his coach and mentorsReducing shrink from 20% to 3%Quadrupling EBITDA in 3 yearsTaking a year off after exitingHis new role as investor, coach and mentorReferences and how to contact Ned:LinkedInSearchers FundJason Jackson on Acquiring Minds: How to Recover from a Fraudulent SellerGet a free review of your books & financial ops from System Six (a $500 value):Book a call with Tim or hello@systemsix.com and mention Acquiring MindsDownload the New CEO's Guide to Human Resources from Aspen HR:From this page or contact jenny@aspenhr.comGet complimentary due diligence on your acquisition's insurance & benefits program:Oberle Risk Strategies - Search Fund TeamConnect with Acquiring Minds:See past + future interviews on the YouTube channelConnect with host Will Smith on LinkedInFollow Will on TwitterEdited by Anton Rohozov and produced by Pam Cameron

Most people think franchising is about income replacement. At the high-net-worth level, the real conversation is about enterprise value. Because the operators who approach franchising seriously are not just trying to buy themselves a business. They are thinking about cash flow, unit economics, operational infrastructure, EBITDA growth, private equity demand, and whether the business can eventually become attractive to a larger buyer. And once you understand that, the way you evaluate franchising starts to change. Most franchise buyers don't miss the opportunity because they fail to recognize a good brand. They miss it because they evaluate the opportunity too narrowly. They look at the concept, the customer demand, and the upfront cost, but they do not always understand how to vet the system, read the disclosure data, identify red flags, or think through the exit before they get in. In this episode of Money School Elite, I sit down with Scott Jones of Franchise Guide Group to unpack how serious operators and high-net-worth investors should think about franchising as a wealth-building vehicle. Scott has owned 10 franchises himself, advised operators for more than 20 years, and worked across the franchisee, franchisor, and supplier sides of the industry. And in this conversation, he breaks down how to evaluate franchising through the lens of diligence, capital efficiency, scale, cash flow, and private equity exit potential.   About the Guest Scott Jones is the founder of Franchise Guide Group, where he helps high-achieving professionals, business owners, executives, and franchise operators evaluate franchise opportunities that align with their experience, goals, and long-term vision. With more than 30 years of business experience, Scott has worked as a CEO, franchise executive, entrepreneur, and multi-unit, multi-brand franchisee. He has helped hundreds of people explore franchising as a path to income diversification, career transition, business ownership, and greater personal freedom. Through Franchise Guide Group, Scott brings a practical, operator-level perspective to the franchise selection process, helping clients understand which opportunities fit their background, interests, capital, and desired outcomes. For Money School Elite listeners, Scott created a dedicated page where you can take the quiz, learn more, and schedule a call: https://connect.franchiseguidegroup.com/ms. You can also follow Scott on Instagram: @‌franchiseguidegroup.   About Your Host From pro-snowboarder to money mogul, Chris Naugle has dedicated his life to being America's #1 Money Mentor. With a core belief that success is built not by the resources you have, but by how resourceful you can be. Chris has built and owned 19 companies, with his businesses being featured in Forbes, ABC, House Hunters, and his very own HGTV pilot in 2018. He is the founder of The Money School™ and Money Mentor for The Money Multiplier. His success also includes managing tens of millions of dollars in assets in the financial services and advisory industry and in real estate transactions. As an innovator and visionary in wealth-building and real estate, he empowers entrepreneurs, business owners, and real estate investors with the knowledge of how money works. Chris is also a nationally recognized speaker, author, and podcast host. He has spoken to and taught over ten thousand Americans, delivering the financial knowledge that fuels lasting freedom.   Resources Private Money Guide:  https://go.moneyschoolrei.com/book-podcast Wealth Wednesday Webinar: https://go.moneyschoolrei.com/wednesday-webinar-podcast Mapping out the Millionaire Mystery:  https://go.moneyschoolrei.com/newbook-podcast    

No one celebrates a new ERP. No champagne. Just groans.Jean de Villiers, Chief Customer Officer at Unit4, wants to flip that script.Jean shares they have kept customers for 20+ years in an industry built on dread. Secret? He runs customer success like a business, not a cost center. He cut the safe middle option. He's betting big on AI agents. And he trains his whole team to have the uncomfortable conversations most people avoid.In this episode of Unchurned, Jean sits down with host Josh Schachter to unpack the playbook: why 45% of what customers pay for goes unused, how high-touch service drives a 50-point gap in customer promotion, and what it really takes to make people love the software they're supposed to hate.Josh is writing a book on building customer relationships. Follow his journey and insights at www.joshschachter.com---What You'll Learn- Why Unit4 runs CS as a profit center, not a cost- How to hit 30% contribution margin to EBITDA in post-sales- Why Unit4 cut mid-touch and kept only high and digital- Packaging every service into a self-serve catalog- Building an agentic digital CSM that feels high-touch- The 50-point NPS gap between high-touch and self-serve- Why 45% consumption is ERP's dirty secret- Training non-sellers on the Challenger Sale method- How AI plus human domain expertise wins together---Want the playbook, not just the conversation? Subscribe for deep-dive, actionable breakdowns from every episode at unchurned.substack.com.---Timestamps0:00 - Preview and Introduction1:44 - Meet Jean de Villiers 2:45 - What Unit4 does and its four verticals4:32 - Customers who stay 20+ years6:32 - The org structure of post-sales7:32 - Running CS as a profit center under PE8:50 - Why they cut mid-touch9:45 - Packaging services into a catalog12:20 - The agentic digital CSM vision13:53 - Success For You: the high-touch subscription18:12 - Sunsetting on-prem product, migrating to cloud & Ava21:50 - The 45% consumption problem23:57 - The 50-point NPS difference25:30 - Challenger Sale training for everyone31:40 - Wrap-up---Where to Find the GuestJean de Villiers (Unit4): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeandevilliers/---Where to Find Josh:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/Unchurned Substack: https://unchurned.substack.com/

When Jean Compeau joined Sonar as CFO in March 2025, AI coding was not yet dominating industry conversations. By the summer and fall that followed, however, the landscape had shifted dramatically. Today, AI agents are producing software code at a pace that humans cannot easily verify, creating both opportunity and risk.That shift sits at the center of Sonar's mission. The company is the global leader in AI code verification and governance in what it calls the agentic-centric development lifecycle, or “ACDC, just like the band,” Compeau tells us. The scale is significant. Sonar is trusted by 7 million developers, processes 750 billion lines of code daily, serves 25,000 paying customers, and counts 75 percent of the Fortune 100 among its customers, Compeau tells us.For Compeau, growth is measured through both financial and operational signals. ARR, NRR, GRR, and EBITDA remain core metrics, she tells us. But she also watches utilization, adoption, lead generation, pipeline activity, and free-to-paid conversion rates because these indicators can reveal future performance before financial results arrive.That perspective shapes how finance participates in strategic decisions. As Sonar invests in new AI-driven products, finance evaluates not only bookings potential but also the company's long-term position in the AI market, Compeau tells us. The finance function remains involved throughout the process, helping operationalize everything from product introduction and revenue tracking to order management and cash collection.For Compeau, finance's role is not simply to measure growth—it is to help shape it.

At the Eurelectric Power Summit 2026 in Helsinki, Laurent had the opportunity to sit down with Catherine MacGregor, CEO of ENGIE and Vice President of Eurelectric, for a wide-ranging discussion on the key issues shaping Europe's energy future.  We began with the themes at the heart of Eurelectric's agenda this year: security of supply, affordability, competitiveness, and the challenges and opportunities created by the rapid growth of data centres.  One of the most striking insights from our conversation was that Europe does not have an electrification technology problem — it has an electrification coordination problem. This was also the central conclusion of the report Power Couples: Enhancing Industrial Competitiveness through Electrification, launched by Eurelectric and Accenture at Power Summit 2026. The report finds that electrification projects rarely fail because technology is unavailable. Instead, they stall when power economics, grid access, infrastructure delivery, financing structures, and industrial investment timelines are not aligned.The proposed solution is a new delivery model: “Power Couples”, bringing together industrial players, utilities, technology providers and capital partners to accelerate deployment at scale.  We also reflected on ENGIE's remarkable transformation under Catherine's leadership over the past five and a half years. The company's strategy has been defined by two parallel moves: more than €15 billion of divestments from fossil and legacy assets, alongside concentrated investments in renewables, networks, batteries, and regulated infrastructure — all while maintaining strong financial discipline, with net debt-to-EBITDA around 3.  The results have been impressive. Since 2021, ENGIE has delivered the strongest risk-adjusted equity performance among major European utilities, combining substantial dividend distributions with significant share-price appreciation. With an annualised IRR of roughly 20.5% since January 2021, ENGIE has outperformed the net returns of many leading global infrastructure investors, effectively delivering private-equity-style returns with public-market liquidity.  Our discussion also covered ENGIE's leadership in power purchase agreements (PPAs), its support for 24/7 Scope 2 accounting, the recent acquisition of UK Power Networks, progress in EV charging infrastructure, and its fully integrated strategy for data centre development.  Finally, we explored ENGIE's investment plans for the years ahead and the broader structural shift underway across the energy system: the continued transition from molecules to electrons.    Eurelectric Report: Power Couples https://www.eurelectric.org/publications/industrial-electrification-power-couples/