After hours of engaging discussions and interesting guests, M&A Unplugged now marks its 100th episode! Besides hitting this momentous achievement, the show is also being downloaded in more than 50 countries and one of top ten M&A shows worldwide. To celebrate their first hundred episodes, Domenic Rinaldi looks back with gratitude to everyone he has worked and collaborated with to make the podcast show possible and successful. He also brings some of his previous guests who share their anniversary greetings as well as their number one advice in closing M&A transactions.

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Celebrating M&A Unplugged’s First Hundred Episodes

It’s hard to believe we’ve reached this milestone. I’ve been told by show consultants. It’s something like 75% of all shows never get past twelve episodes. Getting to 100 appears to be no small feat. As is the case in most ventures, we as entrepreneurs don’t achieve these types of milestones without a tremendous supporting cast. Before I go through some shout outs to the people who have helped us launch this show and those that keep it running week in and week out, I’m excited for the content of this episode. To mark this 100th episode, we’ve asked some of our previous guests to provide their number one mergers and acquisitions tip. I’m so grateful to all the guests that have appeared some multiple times to help us deliver on our promise of helping our readers be better prepared for their own business acquisition or sale.

We’ve had some awesome guests along the way. I’m so thankful for their willingness to be transparent in sharing the good, the bad and the ugly of their own transactions. Those collective experiences over 100 episodes make for quite a catalog of content. I hope our audience has found these lessons useful. This show is more of the same. The number one M&A tips from people who have been there and done it. It’s also catapulted us up the show rankings. Our show is downloaded in over 50 countries. We were selected as one of the top ten M&A shows in the world. I love knowing that we are having an impact in places I would have never dreamed of.

M&A Unplugged 100: Never get emotional. Look at the facts and the cashflow. Make sure you’re making a rational decision. If you have to, walk away.

Let me take a quick moment to thank some of the people who have helped make and shape the show. First, big shout out to Turnkey Podcasting, my friends, Strickland Bonner, Doug Sandler and Marjorie Alexander. Without Turnkey, I don’t know that we would’ve ever gotten the show off the ground. Their guidance, their training, their patience, their expertise was invaluable in helping me develop the mission, the plan for the show and then getting it out into the world. For any of you thinking about potentially launching a show, I highly recommend giving the folks Turnkey a call. Besides being tremendous individuals, they are experts. They might tell you so helpful. It was amazing.

Next on my list is Charlie Valor from Valor Media. Besides being a tremendous human being, Charlie is unbelievable at helping people hone in on their content strategies, making sure that the content plan is one that’s going to deliver tremendous value to the readers week in and week out. Charlie has been invaluable in helping us set a schedule and a plan for content that was relevant to our audience. Once we have that plan, helping us understand how to get it out in front of the most people so that the show can get a wide audience. That’s proving to be the case by what we’re seeing in the growth of the show.

Big shout out to our Marketing Manager, Ellen Park. Ellen has done a tremendous job week in and week out of editing all the videos, preparing all the marketing materials, getting it out on all of our social media platforms and out in the world, making my guests and myself look great. She’s done a tremendous job. There’s a lot that goes into producing, editing and getting a show out there. Ellen has been a rock when it comes to producing this show. Big shout out to my son, Reed Rinaldi, who does all of the audio editing he has been for some time. I’ll tell you. The unedited version of some of these shows is appalling in some cases. Reed makes our guests and me sound good. He does a tremendous job.

To our many guests, I’m so grateful. I’m so thankful to all of you for being on the show, contributing your expertise and helping our audience. Last but certainly not least, our readers and our subscribers, subscriber base that’s growing month in and month out. Our readers, who have become pretty active in providing us feedback, giving us shout out, letting us know when we’re delivering good content, appreciate all the feedback and for all of you tuning in week in and week out. Last thing, please remember that you can access tons of free resources on our website at K2Adviser.com. Click on the Resources tab. Being prepared is critical to ensuring that you maximize returns and minimize risks. Thank you for being here and hope you enjoy the show.

M&A Unplugged 100: If you address tough issues up front and come to a reasonable understanding of them, it will give you a good frame of reference and guidelines to get the deal done.

Darren Mize

My name is Darren Mize, Partner, Founder of GCF Business Valuation. We’re so excited to celebrate the 100th episode of M&A Unplugged. We’re professional advisers to business brokers and business intermediaries. We focus and specialize in business valuation. We were fortunate enough to spend a couple of segments on M&A Unplugged in 2020. We had a great time with Domenic. I certainly recommend it to anybody who’s interested to read some or all of the shows that were posted. Our number one tip when it comes to M&A transactions is never get emotional. Look at the facts. Look at the cashflow. Make sure you’re making a rational decision. If you have to, walk away. Sometimes the deal isn’t that good. We’re happy and so proud to be part of the 100th episode of M&A Unplugged. We certainly recommend that you read any time you can.

Jeff Petersen

This is Jeff Petersen with The Law Offices of Jeffrey T. Petersen. I’m a corporate M&A attorney. I’m here to wish a very happy 100th episode to Domenic and the team at the M&A Unplugged Podcast. It’s a show that I’ve been fortunate enough to be a guest on before. I’m very happy to see them hit the episode number 100 mark. The M&A Unplugged team had asked for my number one tip when it comes to M&A transactions. That tip would be this. The letter of intent is sometimes not given enough attention in this whole process. People want to get to the transaction itself and the deal documents that will be definitive. They think that because for the most part, that LOI is not binding. They can figure things out later and everything will be okay.

I think that can be a big mistake because if you address the tough issues upfront and come to a reasonable understanding of them, it will give you a good frame of reference and good guidelines going forward to get the deal done. Too often I’ve seen people, buyers and sellers try to kick that can down the road. It’s come to bite them after they spent a lot of time, money and energy on trying to get a deal done. My tip for any buyers and sellers out there is take a little bit more time, exercise a little bit more patience, try and get that LOI as comprehensive and fit as you can before you start the transaction. Happy number 100 to Domenic and the team at M&A Unplugged.

Jim Piper

My name is Jim Piper. I am the President of Matot. We are a fourth-generation manufacturer based in Chicago of custom engineered commercial dumbwaiter and material lift equipment. Congratulations to Sun Acquisitions on their 100th episode of M&A Unplugged. What a journey? We’re proud to have been a small part of it. When asked about my number one tip for M&A transactions, I would focus on ensuring 100% that the seller, he or she or the firm is clear as to what their next steps are going to be, either personally and/or professionally once the deal is done. Basically, you want to ensure that the seller is ready to sell. As simple as it sounds.

M&A Unplugged 100: If you’re serious about selling your business, get serious about organizing it.

You want to know that there’s a clear exit path or strategy once the deal is done. That can be in a retained role as a consultant. That can be 100% stepping away from the business. Overall as a buyer, as we were in our case, we were looking for that level of assurance to be sure that as we went through the due diligence and other processes, that we weren’t going to run into any unexpected hurdles, changes of heart to ensure that the M&A process went off without a hitch. That would be my number one recommendation. Thank you so much, Domenic and team for everything that you have offered to Matot. Congratulations on the 100th episode of M&A Unplugged.

John Schreiner

This is John Schreiner with the law firm, Perkins Coie. I’m a partner in the firm’s business group, where I focus my practice on M&A as well as serving as an outside general counsel at the family owned and other closely held businesses. I want to congratulate the entire Sun Acquisitions team on their 100th episode of the M&A Unplugged Podcast. That is an amazing milestone. The show has provided practical guidance to so many buyers, sellers and the other M&A professionals with content that has been incredibly useful to everyone from first-time sellers to seasoned practitioners.

My tip for M&A transactions is to identify your primary goals and work towards achieving that. If you’re a seller that wants to never think about the company again after closing, be sure to structure the transaction to avoid potential post-closing liabilities, obligations or other contingencies. Instead you want to remain involved with your company and participate in the next chapter. You want to focus on the conditions of your post-closing participation with the business. Whatever your primary objectives are, I urge you to identify them early on and remain focused on these bigger picture items throughout the transaction process. There are wonderful opportunities in the market, whether you’re a first time seller or a serial acquirer. Know your goals, surround yourself with the right team and get after it.

Mike MacNair

My name is Mike MacNair. I’m with Go MacNair Advisory companies. I sold MacNair Travel Management, a firm that was involved in corporate travel management around North America. I wanted to congratulate Dome and the team on your 100th episode. What a great accomplishment. What an incredible amount of useful information you provided to everybody. My one tip is to prepare for one of the biggest transitions that you will ever have experienced in your life. Take some time to reflect. Think about what you want to happen during this transition and what you don’t want to happen during this transition both personally and professionally. Give yourself some time to think about this, journal on it and reflect on it in a lot of different places that give you creativity and inspiration. It’s time for you to craft your next big future. Taking the time to prepare for it will be very useful. Congratulations.

Tan Render

This is Tan Render. I’m a Partner in the transaction advisory services group at Miller Cooper, Chicago-based public accounting firm. I grew up specializes in buy-side and sell-side, financial and tax due diligence and quality of earnings analysis. I am so proud for Domenic Rinaldi, Sun Acquisitions and everyone associated with the M&A Unplugged Podcast for hitting 100 episodes. I’m truly looking forward to enjoying the next 100. My tip for M&A transactions is geared towards sellers who agree to receive a portion of the purchase price in the form of an earn-out. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the use of earn-outs as buyers may have difficulty valuing a business based on 2020 financial performance.

A seller must fully understand all nuances of the earn-out. For example, will the earn-out be based on revenues, gross profit, EBITDA or net income? What accounting policies will apply to the company post-closing for purposes of calculating the earn-out? How will the parties manage the possibility of not hitting the earn-out threshold? Will pro-rata payments be made? Will catch up payments be permitted if you’re to exceed expectations? What rights does the seller have to review the earn-out calculation? How will the earn-out be treated for tax purposes?

These are a few examples of issues that need to be considered by a seller before agreeing to an earn-out in the sale of their business. When it comes to earn-outs, an ancient M&A philosopher once said, “The simpler, the better.” I’ve seen time and time again, buyers proposing earn-out structures that are anything but simple. These complicated formulas often give the buyer an advantage when it comes to paying the earn-out or worse, not paying the earn-out. I hope you enjoyed the tip. Best of luck in 2021.

Klint Kendrick

This is Klint Kendrick, Chair of the HR M&A roundtable. I’ve done dozens of M&A transactions as an In-House Human Resources Leader for Fortune 500 companies, acted as a coach and adviser on many more. I’ve worked on both the buy and sell sides in addition to joint ventures and other alliances. I’m excited to be part of M&A Unplugged’s 100th episode celebration. My number one tip for M&A transactions is pay attention to the people. It’s tempting to downplay the items that can’t be put into a financial model or listed on a spreadsheet, but the statistics show most deals don’t meet their financial objectives. One of the primary reasons is failed integration. Successful integration relies on people who are willing to help you. That willingness comes because they feel like you’re trustworthy. You need to make sure they’re taken care of you just like you hope they’ll take care of you. To put simply, take care of the people and they will take care of you. I wish you the best of success with your future deals.

M&A Unplugged 100: When you’re considering selling your business, you need to understand what life is going to look like after doing that.

Kathy Miller

Domenic, Sun Acquisitions and the team at M&A Unplugged, congratulations on your 100th episode. That’s pretty incredible. What great episodes they’ve been. Even after selling my business, I still read these episodes and hang on to every word that people talk about. If you’re looking to sell your business or buy a business, I encourage you to read these episodes. I’m Kathy Miller. I was the President and Owner of Total Event Resources, which was an award-winning agency that produced meetings and events all over the world. I was fortunate enough to meet Domenic and team and have the opportunity to work together in selling my business. We were effective in selling the business in 2019.

I’m happy to say that we had a great journey. Not always an easy journey when you’re looking to sell or acquire a business. However, the process was smooth based on what Sun Acquisition helped us to do. My one tip for anybody who is looking to sell a business is that if you’re serious about selling your business, then I would suggest you get serious about organizing your business. It’s the most important. There are a lot of things to do, making sure that your business is ready for sale. Someone like Sun Acquisitions can help you do that. Congratulations for your upward movement, Domenic and team, during this challenging time.

Jeremy Weitzman

This is Jeremy Weitzman, Head of the Corporate Group and a business attorney at the law firm of Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger. Congratulations to Dom and his team at Sun on a wonderful accomplishment of 100 episodes of the M&A Unplugged Podcast. I am pleased to have been a part of a couple of the episodes. I can tell you, it is a fabulous forum for all things M&A. As a tip to the sellers out there, I highly recommend that you do some introspection when going into a sales process and understand what it is you hope to get out of the deal. It may be that you’re trying to maximize the amount of dollars in your pocket but things such as having certainty after the transaction, taking care of employees, legacy are all equally important. To the extent you have a good idea going into the transaction of what your motivation is, that will go a long way towards a smooth transaction. All the best to Dome and his team. Best on 100 more. Take care.

Doug Adams

This is Doug Adams with Emerson Capital Corp. Emerson Capital is a consulting firm that specializes in helping buyers obtain favorable acquisition loans for their business purchase. We work with buyers to structure deals, analyze cashflows, determine the best SBA lenders for a given transaction and then guide the buyer through the loan process at no cost to the buyer. I am honored to participate in M&A Unplugged’s 100th episode. My number one tip for buyers is to be sure to utilize top professional advisers such as an experienced business broker, financial consultant and an attorney who specializes in these types of deals. This can make all the difference in the world in obtaining the most favorable terms and protecting a buyer’s interests. Due to the newly enhanced SBA benefits, it’s a fantastic time to utilize an SBA acquisition loan for your business purchase. Thank you, Domenic, for allowing me to participate in this informative show.

Jay Myers

My name is Jay Myers. I’m the past Founder, CEO of Interactive Solutions Inc, otherwise known as ISI. ISI was a technology firm that’s based in Memphis with offices in Nashville, East Tennessee, Little Rock, Arkansas, as well as Oxford, Mississippi. I started ISI in 1996 and built it up to a $20 plus million company. We sold video conferencing, audio visual solutions, telemedicine and distance learning. In 2018, I sold ISI to the largest audio visual integration company in the world. I am very happy to be a part of the 100th episode celebration of M&A Unplugged. Congratulations to Domenic and the entire team at Sun Acquisitions for a job well done.

What is my number one tip when you want to sell a business? The number one tip is to make sure you understand that selling a business is not child’s play. It’s not for the faint of heart. It’s going to take a while to get done. You need to have patience. You need to also have support from a strong M&A attorney, as well as an experienced CPA firm. Also, understand that selling a business that you started has a deeply emotional experience. Be prepared for a ride. Also, understand there’s going to be a lot of ups and downs in the process. The other part of that is when you’re considering selling your business you need to have an understanding of what life is going to look like for you after you sell the business. You need to think through an exit strategy and spend several years if necessary to get that worked out. Thank you very much for the opportunity.

I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you enjoy our content, please remember to subscribe and review our show. I look forward to seeing you again on the next episode of the show. Until then, please remember that scaling, acquiring or selling a business takes time preparation and a proper knowledge.

Important Links:

• Turnkey Podcasting
• Valor Media
• Ellen Park – LinkedIn

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