M&A Negotiation Strategy

Tactical approaches to merger and acquisition negotiations, including setting walkaway points, limiting negotiation rounds, and maintaining transparency during due diligence.

7 episodes

Ep36—Ted Stone: Decades of Financial Strategy — Still in the Game and Giving Back

Ep36—Ted Stone: Decades of Financial Strategy — Still in the Game and Giving Back

Ted Stone, a 72-year-old career CFO, discusses his transition to fractional CFO work serving multiple clients across diverse industries. He shares detailed stories from three major private equity deals—Velocity Express (a last-mile delivery rollup), an office telephone company spin-out, and Solucent (a healthcare data integration)—while exploring current trends including the silver tsunami of retiring business owners, ESOP structures, and the value of executive peer networks like Executive Forum.

Ep30 Bob Brogan—Road Warrior to Business Architect: 40 Years of Transforming Companies

Ep30 Bob Brogan—Road Warrior to Business Architect: 40 Years of Transforming Companies

Bob Brogan shares four decades of experience transforming companies across operations, IT consulting, and strategy. From early data warehousing in Canada to leading a $100M exit for a 43-year-old online ordering pioneer, he discusses business cycles, modular design principles, and the transition from tactical execution to strategic leadership. Now managing partner at Tech CXO Great Lakes, he emphasizes paying forward through mentorship, angel investing, and community work including founding the Legacy Guild scholarship program.

Ep27 Jeff Haynie—The Rise of Agentic Systems and AI-Driven Dev

Ep27 Jeff Haynie—The Rise of Agentic Systems and AI-Driven Dev

Jeff Haynie, serial entrepreneur and founder of Appcelerator (Titanium), discusses his journey from pioneering JavaScript mobile development in 2006 to launching Agentuity, an AI agent cloud platform. He shares insights on Silicon Valley's unique ecosystem, the evolution of software development, and his belief that AI agents will fundamentally transform cloud infrastructure from human-centric to agent-optimized systems.

Ep24 Alan Gold—Sales, Marketing, and AI: How to Survive, Scale, and Avoid Stagnation

Ep24 Alan Gold—Sales, Marketing, and AI: How to Survive, Scale, and Avoid Stagnation

Alan Gold, a fractional CMO and sales consultant with 30+ years in technology marketing, discusses the evolving landscape of sales and marketing in the AI era. He covers M&A market dynamics, hiring and developing sales talent, the critical importance of strategy over tactics in marketing, and how companies can break through growth plateaus by finding adjacent markets and refining their differentiation.

Ep 10 - Chris Caparon: Hard-Won Lessons from a Long and Successful Tech Journey

Ep 10 - Chris Caparon: Hard-Won Lessons from a Long and Successful Tech Journey

Chris Caparon shares his 20-year journey building Sephoria Software, an accounts receivable automation company that grew from a garage startup in 2001 to serving Fortune 500 companies across 110 countries before its private equity exit. He discusses navigating multiple economic crises, evolving technology platforms, and the critical importance of customer-centric product development and maintaining strong founder relationships throughout the company lifecycle.

Ep 06 - Mike Blake: A Journey Through Valuations, Ventures, Visions and Vodka

Ep 06 - Mike Blake: A Journey Through Valuations, Ventures, Visions and Vodka

Mike Blake, founder of High Score Strategies, discusses business valuation methodology, the changing landscape of patent protection, and his journey from venture capital to founding Atlanta's influential Startup Lounge networking series. He shares insights on when valuations help or hinder startup negotiations, the dramatic weakening of patent value through PTAB proceedings, and his recent relocation to Portugal.

Ep 03 - Jan Heybroek - From Startup to Successful Exit - Lessons from a Healthcare Entrepreneur

Ep 03 - Jan Heybroek - From Startup to Successful Exit - Lessons from a Healthcare Entrepreneur

Jan Heybroek, partner at TechCXO's exec ops practice, shares his 17-year journey building and selling a medical market research company to a medical education firm in 2021. He discusses M&A negotiation tactics, the importance of transparency during due diligence, post-acquisition integration challenges, and healthcare industry trends including AI's role in diagnostics and the shift toward personalized medicine.

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