For M&A transactions, focus and energy are often on multiples and terms. From TobinLeff's experience, if the focus is on the people, favorable terms will follow. This new video podcast, M&A is About the People, is a conversation between four of our TobinLeff Partners — David Tobin, Mary McKinney Flaherty, Roy Page, and Janet Tyler — that focuses on different points and perspectives including:

• How to establish a genuine rapport and mutual trust between buyers and sellers.
• How sellers and buyers should communicate before and during the due diligence process.
• Getting your leadership and management teams involved in the M&A process.
• Building team and cultural continuity internally when emotional stakes are high.
• How and when to communicate with clients.
• Selecting and working with a cohesive advisory team.

We’ve learned a lot from the past 15 years helping business owners maximize and monetize their business value. We hope you’ll learn something new or reinforce your beliefs from this lively conversation.

If you have any questions, TobinLeff's partners are available to help however we can: www.tobinleff.com

TobinLeff Founder, David Tobin, sat down with Jon Morris, founder and CEO of Fiscal Advocate, to discuss developing and tracking financial reports and KPIs to increase earnings and enhance enterprise value for a future sale. Jon is a proven entrepreneur. In 2004, with $10,000 by winning 2nd Place at the University of Chicago’s annual business plan competition he founded Rise Interactive. Over a 16-year period, Jon grew the firm into one of the largest independent digital agencies in the world with 300 people in 6 offices.

This episode is chock-full of tips, including the following:

• The three most important KPIs to track the success of service-based businesses.
• How to create budgets and forecasts to support goals.
• How poor financial visibility can tank M&A deals.
• How investments in marketing and innovations can impact multiples.
• How the right supportive communities, playbooks, and advisors can help you prepare for a future exit.

While many of these recommendations are geared toward owners who are about one to four years from a potential sale, these insights, when applied, will lead to growth no matter what stage of the business lifecycle you find yourself in!

If you have questions or want to learn more about what the next steps look like for your own monetization journey, contact the TobinLeff team today.

Founding Partner, David Tobin, sat down with Mike Neumeier (Co-Founder and CEO of the Arketi Group) to discuss his exit planning journey. Mike secured investments from two private equity groups to form a platform company. In this video podcast, hear answers to questions like:

• How and why did Mike decide to sell?
• With multiple offers to choose from, why did he decide to sell to a PE group as opposed to a strategic buyer?
• How did he select the buyers/investment partners?
• How and when did he communicate the selling process to employees and clients?
• What were some of the challenges he faced during the M&A process?
• What does it feel like to “take chips off the table” while still maintaining a meaningful equity stake?
• How did he juggle both exit planning and day-to-day operations?
• What advice does he have for fellow business owners who are considering selling?

Tune in to listen to the highly informative conversation. Contact our team with any questions you have after listening.