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M&A Masters Podcast
with Patrick Stroth
Master the clean exit! Discover secrets of M&A Masters. You’ll hear inside interviews with M&A advisors, attorneys, investment bankers, private equity players, and the entrepreneurs themselves. If you ever want to sell your business this is a must-listen podcast.

Scott Hendon | Fund Managers’ Biggest Tax Concern in 2021
Our guest for this week’s episode of M&A Masters is Scott Hendon of BDO. Scott has been with BDO for 20 years and currently serves as the National & Global Practice Leader for Private Equity. A true icon in M&A, he brings a unique perspective as he knows both the investment side and the service side. Today we sit down with him to talk about the recently released Spring 2021 BDO Private Capital Pulse Survey Report. The survey polled 100 private equity and 100 venture capital middle-market fund managers across the United States. On the show, Scott talks about the key takeaways from the report and offers his insights into: The current key M&A drivers The 3 top impacts of Covid-19 on deal making The biggest tax concern for fund managers The biggest surprise in the report And more MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Private Capital Pulse 2021 Report https://www.bdo.com shendon@bdo.com TRANSCRIPT: Patrick Stroth: Hello there, I’m Patrick Stroth, President of Rubicon M&A Insurance Services, and trusted authority for transactional liability. Welcome to M&A Masters where I speak with the leading experts in mergers and acquisitions. And we’re all about one thing here, that’s a clean exit for owners, founders and their investors. I’ve got to say just on a personal note, real quick. When you’re doing these interviews, your big dream is to have a monster guest who’s breaking some news out there. So I no pressure to my guest, Scott here. But this is something I’m very, very excited about today, because we’ve got a true icon in mergers and acquisitions in America right now. Today, I’m joined by Scott Hendon. national and global practice leader for private equity for BDO. BDO is the fifth largest accounting firm in the world that generates over $10 billion in annual revenues,

Tom Wells | 5 Things Every Brand Needs To Be Successful
Our guest for this week’s episode of M&A Masters is Tom Wells, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of 10 Point Capital in Atlanta. 10 Point Capital partners with visionary founders and operating executives to build dominant franchise brands. A foodie who loves hospitality, Tom found a way to combine those by investing in such companies as Walk-On’s and Slim Chickens. We chat with Tom about the inspiration behind 10 Point Capital, and the meaning behind their brand name, as well as: The one key thing they look for when partnering with a brand 5 things that determine which brands will be successful How to master building rapport with potential clients Franchise investing post pandemic And more MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: 10 Point Capital Tom’s Email: twells@10pointcapital.com TRANSCRIPT: Patrick Stroth: Hello there, I’m Patrick Stroth, President of Rubicon M&A Insurance Services. Welcome to M&A Masters where I speak with the leading experts in mergers and acquisitions. And we’re all about one thing here. That’s a clean exit for owners, founders and their investors. Today, I’m joined by Tom wells, managing partner of 10 Point Capital. Based in Atlanta, 10 Point Capital is an independent sponsor that specializes in a very interesting class of business, franchises. In particular franchise restaurants, which I’ve seen quite a bit of action in the last 18 months. So I’m excited to get into this. Tom, thanks for joining me today. Tom Wells: Thank you for having me. Patrick: Now, Tom before we get into 10 Point Capital and the work in the franchise restaurant area, let’s start with you. Give our audience a little context. How did you get to this point in your career? Tom: Yeah, so as you mentioned, I’m based in Atlanta, I actually grew up in Atlanta. But lefting left for a while,

Brien Davis | Investing in e-Commerce in a Post-Pandemic Market
On this week’s episode of the M&A Masters Podcast, we are joined by Brien Davis, Founder of Altacrest Capital. Altacrest is a private investment firm focused on consumer brands with enthusiast customer bases and centered mainly on e-commerce. Giving clients the experience of an institutional sized team at the boutique level, Altacrest Capital’s focus on e-commerce has been even more fine-tuned in the virtual world of COVID. We chat with Brien about his journey from big companies to lower middle markets, as well as: Building an investment thesis around e-commerce Flexibility and strengths of being an independent sponsor Growth in the e-commerce industry Risk and cost in transactions The e-commerce markets that will continue to grow post-COVID And more Listen now… MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Altacrest Capital Brien’s LinkedIn TRANSCRIPT: Patrick Stroth: Hello there. I’m Patrick Stroth, President of Rubicon M&A Insurance Services. Welcome to M&A Masters where I speak with the leading experts in mergers and acquisitions. And we’re all about one thing here. That’s a clean exit for owners, founders and their investors. Today I’m joined by Brien Davis, founder of Altacrest Capital. Altacrest is a Dallas based private investment firm focused on investing in consumer brands with enthusiast customer bases, largely through e-commerce. Brien it’s a pleasure to have you. Welcome to the show. Brien Davis: Thank you for having me, it’s a joy to be on. Patrick: Now, we’re going to get into Altacrest and where you’re dealing with all the cool kids with the enthusiast customer, right, all that stuff. But before we get into that, let’s start with you. What brought you to this point in your career? Brien: Sure, no, it’s been a bit of an entrepreneurial journey for myself, you know, which has been fun, because we get to work with a

Domenic Rinaldi | The Number One Pitfall in M&A Transactions
On this week’s episode of the M&A Masters podcast, we sit down with Domenic Rinaldi, President and Managing Partner of Sun Acquisitions. Sun Acquisitions is an M&A advising firm specializing in both buy-side and sell-side advisory services. Domenic also hosts his own podcast, M&A Unplugged, ranked among the top M&A podcasts of 2021. From a young age, Domenic had an itch to own his own business. In discussing why he chose the details of Sun Acquisitions, Domenic says, “Quite frankly, I love the lower middle market. They have more sophistication, more infrastructure, but they don’t necessarily have the money for the advisory groups…so they need firms like ours.” We chat with Domenic about his path to owning Sun Acquisitions, as well as: The ideal client both on the buy-side and sell-side Encouraging empathy in M&A Experiences with rep and warranty The importance of preparation when it comes to transactions Using podcasts to help spread information And more Listen now… MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: M&A Unplugged Sun Acquisitions TRANSCRIPT: Patrick Stroth: Hello there. I’m Patrick Stroth, President of Rubicon M&A Insurance Services. Welcome to M&A Masters where I speak with the leading experts in mergers and acquisitions. And we’re all about one thing here, and that’s a clean exit for owners, founders and their investors. Today I’m joined by Domenic Rinaldi, President and Managing Partner of Sun Acquisitions. Sun Acquisitions is an M&A advisory firm based in Chicago that specializes in both buy side and sell side advisory services. Dom is also the host of the M&A Unplugged podcast, which was recently ranked among the top M&A podcasts for 2021. So we have both M&A, and podcasting in common. Dom, so great to have you. Thanks for joining me. Domenic Rinaldi: Hey, Patrick, thank you so much for having me such

Ryan Milligan | Building a Business on Honesty and Transparency
On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we are joined by Ryan Milligan, Partner of ParkerGale. Guided by their principle – “products that matter, cultures that last” – ParkerGale is a small private equity firm that focuses on profitable, lower middle market technology companies and the convergence of private equity and software. “Let’s just be transparent, and let’s just give everyone the answers to the test,” Ryan says of the empathy he has learned in the market – take the competitive advantage off the table and make it about the people. We chat with Ryan about his journey to building a successful company and culture in ParkerGale, as well as: The excitement of working in the lower middle market The importance and art of measuring culture How a “Chief Worry Officer” can fit into risk decisions and dynamics Buyer diligence and reps and warranties The future of software post-pandemic And more Listen now… MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: ParkerGale Website Ryan’s LinkedIn ParkerGale’s LinkedIn FunCast TRANSCRIPT: Patrick Stroth: Hello there. I’m Patrick Stroth, President of Rubicon M&A Insurance Service. Welcome to M&A Masters, where I speak with the leading experts in mergers and acquisitions. And we’re all about one thing here. That’s a clean exit for owners, founders and their investors. Today I’m joined by Ryan Milligan, partner of ParkerGale. ParkerGale, is a Chicago based private equity firm that focuses on lower middle market technology companies, and is guided by their principal: products that matter, cultures that last. And on a personal level, I’m especially pleased to have Ryan here today because it was ParkerGale’s podcast, which is entitled The Private Equity Funcast that opened the entire private equity world to me four and a half, five years ago. And I’m eternally grateful for that. So Ryan, welcome to the show.

Todd Dauphinais | The Key to Setting Your Firm Apart
On this week’s episode of the M&A Masters Podcast, we sit down with Todd Dauphinais, Founding Principal and Managing Partner of Clavis Capital Partners in Dallas. Clavis Capital Partners realized that there was a better model and approach to private equity, and set out to create an investment firm focused on operations, the longer term, and on deploying capital in the most flexible and effective manner possible – the independent sponsor model. We chat with Todd about what inspired him to build Clavis, and where the name Clavis even came from, as well as: The successful effects of the independent sponsor model The importance of strategy for growing businesses Building a company culture that sets you apart How the rapid advancement of technology can be used for market benefit Rep and warranty policies And more Listen now… MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Clavis Capital Website TRANSCRIPT: Patrick Stroth: Hello there, I’m Patrick Stroth, President of Rubicon M&A Insurance Services. Welcome to M&A Masters where I speak with the leading experts in mergers and acquisitions. And we’re all about one thing here. That’s a clean exit for owners, founders and their investors. Today I’m joined by Todd Dauphinais, Founding Principal and Managing Partner of Clavis Capital Partners. Based in Dallas, Clavis Capital Partners recognized that there was a better model and approach to private equity, and set out to build a different kind of investment firm. One that was more focused on the operations, on the longer term, and on deploying capital in the most flexible and effective manner possible. And that model would be the independent sponsor model. So, Todd, it’s going to be great to talk to you about this. I’m very excited. Thanks for joining me today. Todd Dauphinais: Yeah, thanks, Patrick. I really appreciate it. Thanks for having

Brooke Ansel | The Benefits of Mezzanine Financing
On this week’s episode of the M&A Masters Podcast, we are joined by Brooke Ansel, Vice President of Prudential Private Capital. She runs a Prudential team focused in the southern United States, but her career path to the investment company was unconventional – it started with the Neiman Marcus buying team. Brooke tells us about how Prudential is more than just a bank – it has a commitment to the lower middle market that might surprise some listeners. Prudential Private Capital focuses more on debt and minority equity, and acts as the private capital arm of the larger Prudential institution. We chat with Brooke about what Prudential Private Capital brings to the table, as well as: Minority equity and mezzanine debt The Prudential Private Capital ideal client Investing in growth and being there for the long-term relationship Important misunderstandings to avoid Optimism for the M&A world Post-COVID And more Listen now… MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Prudential Private Capital’s Website Brooke’s LinkedIn TRANSCRIPT: Patrick Stroth: Hello there, I’m Patrick Stroth, President of Rubicon M&A Insurance Service. Welcome to M&A Masters where I speak with the leading experts in mergers and acquisitions. And we’re all about one thing here. That’s a clean exit for owners, founders and their investors. Today, I’m joined by Brooke Ansel, Vice President of Prudential Private Capital, in their Dallas office. Brooke it’s great to have you. Thanks for joining me today. Brooke Ansel: Patrick, thank you for having me. Thrilled to be on today. Patrick: This is unique. Usually, we’re talking with either private equity firms or other capital providers in the lower middle market. At the first blush, you think Prudential big institution, large cap, you know, interest only, not the case. So it’s a pleasure to have you. So before we get into that, though,

Jon Finger | The Benefits of Building Relationships with Independent Sponsors
Our guest for this week’s episode of M&A Masters is Jon Finger. Jon is a Partner at McGuireWoods LLC in Dallas, and his practice focuses on private equity and corporate transactions. He and his partners were the first in the area of independent sponsors to create a private equity practice dedicated to independent sponsors. Jon and his partners also created “Deal-by-Deal”, a podcast that focuses on the independent sponsor community of the M&A market. Jon says, of this independent sponsor relationship, “Many of these sellers are selling their baby – this has been, and will be, their legacy. Finding independent sponsors who are really appreciative of that is a big part of what we look for in our network for the clients that we want to be working with.” We discuss the importance of building a network and prioritizing the independent sponsor relationships, as well as: The difference between independent sponsors and other buyers Perceptions of private equity Finding creative ways and best practices to partner with independent sponsors The ideal client of the independent sponsor community Hybrid models of independent sponsors and private equity funds And more Listen now MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Deal-by-Deal Podcast McGuireWoods’ Conference McGuireWoods’ Website TRANSCRIPT: Patrick Stroth: Hello there, I’m Patrick Stroth, President of Rubicon M&A Insurance Services. Welcome to M&A Masters where I speak with the leading experts in mergers and acquisitions. And we’re all about one thing here. That’s a clean exit for owners, founders and their investors. Today, I’m joined by Jon Finger, Partner and McGuireWoods. McGuireWoods is a full service law firm with over 1000 attorneys and 24 offices throughout the US and beyond. Jon’s practice focuses on private equity and corporate transactional matters from McGuireWoods, Dallas office. It is in the area of independent sponsors, where Jon and his