Next Level Collaboration in Exit Planning: Dealmakers and Manufacturers Team up for Better Owner Outcomes!We had the pleasure of welcoming two guests, representing two different industries, but working together to achieve better outcomes for their manufacturing business clients. Kevin Szozda, Director of Strategic Relationships with Sunbelt Business Advisors and True North M&A, and Steve Kalina, President and CEO of MN Precision Manufacturing Association. Their intentional collabora...
Using Data to Drive Decisions for Growth, Acquisitions and ExitOur guest for this episode is Luke Komiskey, Founder and CEO of DataDrive, a data analytics company who enables its clients to make fast, informed decisions through the use of data and AI!Luke says he's always been an entrepreneur at heart and has enjoyed the challenge of starting and growing companies. And he's helped numerous clients grow their businesses, by helping them collect, analyze and utilize their data for strategic dec...
A Story of two Brothers, their Music and their Give-Back MissionIt all started for Julie when she attended a Christmas Concert by the O'Neill Brothers that impressed her so much, she decided to invite them to be on the show. Both brothers are accomplished musicians; mostly piano, and have had their music downloaded over 2 Billion times worldwide! They've been inducted into the MInnesota Music Hall of Fame, and besides all the concerts they play and other businesses they run, they ...
A Financial Advisor’s Journey from Global M&A to Private Business ClientsToday we had the pleasure of interviewing Jeremy Weston, a financial advisor with Edward Jones whose unique background sets him apart in the financial advisory space. Jeremy's education in Business Finance first led him to work for large manufacturing corporations, primarily as an auditor for Mergers and Acquisitions. After his skill set proved to be one that could bring people together and build relationships, his r...
A Partnership Exit Strategy where Everyone WinsOur guest Host for today was Chris Jones, President of True North M&A. Chris interviewed his firms' advisor, Tim Schinke and Tim's client, Dan Sundin. Dan is the co-founder and CEO of Innovative Technology Partners (ITP), a managed services tech company in the Twin Cities. Dan and his partners, Andy and Mark founded the business in 2004, and grew it rapidly, utilizing the unique skill sets they each brought to the table. Andy and Mark w...
Building our "All Star Network" with Cathy PaperCathy Paper has been teaching best practices in meaningful connections for many years and we were happy to have her on the show again today, because we know that Business Development and building a network that fosters it can be very challenging; regardless of the industry! If you have sales people or other professionals whose job it is to be the face of the business, but who don't like to leave the office, this episode is for you. L...
Kendall Qualls and TakeChargeMN: Making Black Lives Better!It's been a few years since Kendall Qualls was in the studio, so it was great to have him back again. Kendall is the Founder and President of TakeChargeMN, a nonprofit described as "a Coalition supporting Blacks in the pursuit of American core principles". Their foundational approach includes fostering free enterprise, education, faith and family life in the Black community. All of the values that have historically made America ...
CFO of YTS companies Shares their ESOP Journey, with Guest Host, Kyla Hanson of JAK CPA's! Our episode today featured a guest co-host with Kyla Hansen, Partner at JAK CPA's and Sponsor of the Poised for Exit Show!Kyla's client, YTS Companies, became an ESOP in 2021 with the help of JAK's team and Kyla's expertise. Kyla invited YTS CFO, Andy Yetzer to share the story of how their company pursued an ESOP transition and after facing some obstacles, successfully organized a structure for ESOP tha...
Selling a Financial Advisory Practice: A Former Financial Advisor Shares Tips and AdviceOur guest today was Steve Juetten, CFP and Founder of Bridgegate Partners, a firm who specializes in succession and exit for owners of financial advisory practices. Steve's background in M&A prior to becoming a CFP really gave him a great window on how to prepare when the time came for him to sell his practice. He decided through the lessons that he learned along the way, that advising other firm owner...
Tiger 21: Your Personal Board of DirectorsOur guest today was Bonnie Speer McGrath, Chair of the Minneapolis chapter of Tiger 21, a ultra-high net-worth peer group for entrepreneurs, investors and executives. Bonnie's background and role as a peer group facilitator are quite different from the typical facilitator profile, since her members are all ultra wealthy individuals. As she said, people think when you have all that money why would you need a peer group? And the answer is that life...
Misbeliefs about Private Equity Partnership: Success Stories Revealed!We had the pleasure of hosting Shane Slominski on today's episode, who is a partner with Tonka Bay Private Equity Partners in the Twin Cities. Shane has been in the PE space with Tonka Bay for 18 years, and prior to that was a practicing CPA in the M&A space with Arthur Anderson and Deloitte. During those years, he worked often with PE owned companies and learned a lot about how Private Equity worked, prompting him to s...
How CEO Peer Groups can get you "Poised for Exit"Our guest for this episode is John Palen, CEO and Founder of Allied Executives, a long running executive peer group in the Twin Cities. When John's career led him to a place where he sought his own peer group for some professional guidance and feedback, he couldn't find what he was looking for. With necessity truly being the mother of invention, he decided to start his own. Fast forward 24 years, and Allied Executives is likely the most well kn...
Rise of the Non-Technical EntrepreneurWe had the great pleasure of interviewing Colin Hirdman in today's show. Colin and his partners founded Monkey Island Ventures, and their mission is to create as many successful founders as possible! Colin and his partners are entrepreneurs themselves, obviously, so their work is more than just a way to make a living. They love what the do and the difference it makes in the world. As Colin said, when an entrepreneur is motivated to create something f...
Arrowhead Promotion’s Bud Schneider: Pointing the way toward a new generation of leadership! Today’s episode featured the long time leader of a family business in its 3rd generation. The Arrowhead Promotion Company is going strong and looking to the future, as Bud Schneider mentors and guides the new leadership to take over. As a non-family member of a family owned company, Bud truly embraced the role as leader and steward of the family business and its legacy more than most in his position. ...
True Story of Rapid, Strategic Growth Supported by Fractional Marketing Services We had the opportunity to have Luke Riordan, Founder and Partner of Dayta Marketing in the studio today as our guest host! Luke invited a long-time client, Tim Kraemer, President of TKI to share his story of rapid growth, that was largely due to the strategic marketing partnership his company has had with Dayta. The company was founded 86 years ago, and Tim and his brother Brian are the 3rd generation owners...
"Our Advisor had our Back" A Nigerian Entrepreneur's Success Secret Being a visionary entrepreneur with a constant flow of ideas requires you're surrounded by a solid team of leaders you can delegate to. Wale Banjoko is that kind of entrepreneur. He's currently seeking investment capital for his most recent initiative and we had the pleasure of hearing all about it. As he said, "I just want to grow and build" His latest thnic Wholesale Foods Distribution Service. His Business Brok...
Replacing Fear with Courage: A Fresh Look at Employee DevelopmentSarah Line, CEO of Boredroom Breakouts joined us in this episode and how intriguing was our conversation!Sarah's background as a Mission Trip coordinator and leader provided the foundation for the work she does now as a corporate change management expert. Many corporate leaders struggle with how to equip their teams with strategies to manage change; like M&A Integrations for example. There's no wonder the failure rate of M&a...
Funny Tales and Effective Tactics from an Estate Planner!We had the honor today of hosting Christopher Burns, partner with Henson and Efron Law Firm. Christopher's practice primarily focuses on Estate and Tax Planning, and he advises and counsels owners of privately held companies on how best to reduce their tax liability and increase their peace of mind by orchestrating comprehensive estate planning techniques and strategies and facilitating tough conversations between owners and family memb...
Entrepreneurs' Organization: A Tribe to Thrive WithPatrick Donahue, Chapter President of the Entrepreneurs' Organization in MN joined us to talk about EO; its origins, benefits, success stories and how it has transformed the lives of so many members across the globe. The criteria to become a member is a short list and mostly tied to revenue. Members must be majority shareholders of their companies and most are well above the qualifying $1M revenue threshold, but for owners of companies b...
Stephen Covey was Right!"We had the honor of featuring a long time colleague of Julie's, Ken Saddler, with B2B CFO. Ken's expertise in building enterprise value and helping owners understand their numbers and how they correlate to value was the topic of our conversation. Ken is a partner with B2B CFO, a firm that specializes in fractional CFO services for small to mid size companies who need the extra pair of eyes monitoring their budgets, income projections and overall financial s...