05:23:23 - This week in The Hub - Main Street Weekly
What you need to know about buying, growing or selling small to medium businesses. The news, the pods, the social influencers. Curated from the world of SMB (small to medium business)
We do the research and bring you what’s pertinent when you want to grow, scale, buy or sell your first or your next business.
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In the AI/News/Blogs …
A Bessemer Partner On What’s Driving The Firm’s Billion-Dollar Bet On AI
Bessemer Venture Partners, one of the oldest and more established venture firms in the U.S., earlier this year said it was earmarking $1 billion of its most recent fund solely for investments in artificial intelligence.
The firm’s massive bet on the future potential for AI reflects its belief that the technology is a seismic shift that will fundamentally change the way billions of people work, said Sameer Dholakia, a partner on the firm’s growth team. (639 words) Read more here…
Is Strategic M&A Finally Catching On in Private Capital?
The numbers are up, but there’s nothing easy about combining firms in the alts industry.
The race to expand assets under management (AUM) among ever-larger firms is putting pressure on GPs to find new ways to grow, encouraging more firms to give M&A a fresh look. It’s also true that smaller firms are facing higher hurdles to growth as fund-raising becomes more difficult. That is prompting many to consider hitching on to a larger platform. (1792 words) Read more here…
A 32-Year-Old Nears Billionaire Status by Using AI to Broker Japan Mergers
Shunsaku Sagami has built an M&A firm that uses a proprietary database and AI to broker deals for companies whose founders are about to retire. Mr Shunsaku Sagami saw first-hand the growing succession problem among entrepreneurs in Japan, which is grappling with the world’s oldest population.
The 32-year-old’s solution: using a proprietary database and artificial intelligence (AI) to broker deals for small and medium-sized companies – largely those founded by clients now on the brink of retirement. (680 words) Read more here…
In the Pods …
Richard Luftig on Powerful Technology Behind Castle Placement For Raising Capital - How2Exit E121
Richard Luftig is the co-founder and managing partner of Castle Placement, providing investment banking services and raising private equity/debt capital for early-stage and middle market companies across a wide range of industries including financial services/fintech, real estate, technology, business services, energy/real assets and consumer/retail.
The firm is FINRA-licensed and registered. They have built their business around data and technology, creating a seamless process that is more efficient for raising capital. They also talked about changes in capital markets and technology, AI and cybersecurity and many more! [54:31] Listen in here…
$2M of EBITDA and 50% margins in disaster remediation - Acquisitions Anonymous 194
Bill D’Alessandro (@BillDA) and Mills Snell (@thegeneralmills) review a disaster remediation business that is cruising. [30:08] Listen in here…
Learning to Lead: From Searcher to Boss of 140 - Acquiring minds
Having only ever managed a few people when he bought his business, Alex Glasner shares how the trial by fire is going. [54:00] Listen in here…
Selling a Business for Maximum Valuation - Mission Matters Podcast with Adam Torres
International Business Associates is a Pacific Northwest regional M&A/Business Brokerage firm that represents Sellers in the sale of their businesses in the Lower Middle Market across all industries in manufacturing, services, and retail including franchises. In this episode, Adam Torres and Curt Maier, Vice President of Business Development at IBA, explore buying and selling businesses and the book Curt will be launching with Mission Matters. [37:02] Listen in here…
Master the 'Moneyball' of Business: Unveiling Acquisition Entrepreneurship with Walker Deibel
In this high-energy episode, Jake Stenziano and Gino Barbaro invite best-selling author and seasoned entrepreneur Walker Deibel onto the show. Walker, who is the creator of Acquisition Lab, has an impressive background in acquisition entrepreneurship, amassing over 16.5 million in revenue since 2006.
Join us as we dive into Walker's journey from the Olin School of Business to becoming an acquisition entrepreneur. He shares some hard-earned wisdom about the high failure rate of startups, the challenges of scaling a business, and the statistical truths of entrepreneurship.
We also discuss the concept of acquisition entrepreneurship and how it contrasts with typical startup culture. Walker dives into how acquisition is just as important and effective as innovation and explains why buying businesses is the "moneyball of entrepreneurship". [1:00:48] Listen in here…
Catch the latest issue of Acquisition Aficionado Magazine - a proud sponsor of The Hub! click here
In the Knowledge
Virtual Influencers: What are they and how can they help a business grow
The word influencer is not new to our ears. Brands, whether local or global, have been using influencer marketing campaigns for quite some time now to promote their product lines.
While brands can experience significant growth through influencer marketing, they also struggle in terms of finding the most suitable influencer for their vision, hiring multiple nano influencers to boost engagement, assessing competition, dealing with time and geographical limitations of the influencers, and so on. And at every step, they need to ensure there is no mis-selling. Especially for small businesses, with so much at stake, acing the influencer marketing game isn’t a piece of cake. (1500 words) Learn more here…
Top 9 Small Business Social Media Management Tools
Which is the best social media management platform to get your business off the ground and amongst the titans?
After testing and comparing the top tools on the market, we concluded that the best social media management tool for small businesses is Zoho Social, with paid plans from just $10 per month for 9 social channels. The platform has one of the lowest starting prices available, a solid range of supported social networks, and a wide array of top-tier features including social media monitoring to engagement tools. (4517 words) Learn more here…
In the BIG Guys Corner … (middle market and above)
JetBlue's ambitions could be grounded by antitrust regulators
We've all had the dreadful moment of realization that a flight delay is about to become a flight cancellation. That must be how JetBlue is feeling right now about its proposed $3.8 billion takeover of low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines.
Driving the news: A federal judge on Friday ruled that JetBlue and American must dissolve their partnership in the Northeastern U.S., agreeing with the U.S. Justice Department that the alliance is anti-competitive. (609 words) Read more here…
Mizuho Buys Investment Bank Greenhill in $550M Deal
The Japanese banking giant agreed to buy Greenhill for $15 a share in an all-cash transaction, which values the firm at $550 million including debt, the firms said in a statement. The lender will retain Greenhill’s leaders, including chief executive officer Scott Bok, who will be chairman of mergers, acquisitions and restructuring. (472 words) Read more here…
In the Sosh … who to follow this week
Lisa Forrest
Live Oak Bank SBA Lender, and delivers a wealth of helpful information.
Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Nunzio Presta
CEO BuyAndSellABusiness.com. Nunzio hosts live and virtual events.
Connect with Nunzio on LinkedIn or Twitter.
In the calendar …
The Exit Meetup by Flippa, In a City Near You Soon
The Exit Meetup is a local meet-up for like-minded business owners.
Meet others, and talk about growth and the opportunity to buy or sell. Plus, hear from a successful acquisition entrepreneur. This is an informative and entertaining meetup aiming to connect owners and investors in a fun environment. Check it out
SMB Acquisitions Entrepreneurs Bi-Monthly Networking
A twice-monthly networking meeting where acquisitions entrepreneurs come together online to build teams, share ideas and resources, and help each other succeed. The first and Third Tuesday of each month. Check it out
2023 Hold Co Conference - Sept 18-20 - Cleveland Ohio
The official “Un-Conference” of micro-PE. Where Holding Companies Meet, Learn, Scale, and Grow. Check it out
Rice's Entrepreneurship through Acquisition Conference - Saturday, October 14 - Houston, TX
The State of Search in the U.S. Conference focuses on search fund entrepreneurs, bringing them together with investors, students, and faculty. By Rice Entrepreneurship Association. Check it out
Deloitte Entrepreneur Summit presented by Deloitte Private - June 6, 2023 - Dallas, TX
Join business owners, leading investor groups from around the world, senior executives from large corporate groups, industry specialists, and M&A professionals for a memorable networking event. The 2023 Summit will be held at the Omni Downtown Dallas. Our intent has always been to provide our guests with the highest level of engagement and connectivity, and we truly look forward to doing so this June. Check it out
10th ANNUAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP THROUGH ACQUISITION CONFERENCE - Wednesday, November 1, 2023 - Chicago, IL
The Booth-Kellogg ETA Conference is an annual event that brings together search fund entrepreneurs, investors, MBA students, faculty, and other participants in the ETA ecosystem to meet one another and share insights into this rapidly-growing area. The 10th Annual Booth-Kellogg ETA Conference at the Marriott Magnificent Mile | 540 Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL. Check it out
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