Deal Talk with 7MA

Local and global investors alike are eager to tap into demand for nearshoring from U.S. and Canadian businesses, which remains high. Investors are also starting to back companies that serve local markets. 

In this episode of Deal Talk with 7MA, host Ben Bruggeworth talks with 7MA colleagues Horacio Yenaropulos and Daniel Siller, both managing directors at 7MA. 

Investors are “looking for nearshoring advantages and for good businesses with good capabilities inside the region,” says Horacio. Horacio and Daniel explain why investors are so excited about Latin America, the factors affecting supply and demand, and how they expect the growth of private equity in the region to play out. 

Investor interest has increased following the pandemic, and both Horacio and Daniel expect it to grow further as the region develops the language and technology skills that U.S. and Canadian companies desire. 

They warn, though, that founders and owners should expect lower valuations and increased scrutiny during due diligence as investors look more closely at business fundamentals than they did over the past couple of years. Daniel also notes that governments in the region need to clarify legal and legislative issues that impede investor confidence. 

Regardless, Horacio and Daniel are both confident that the future for the region is bright. “It’s a nascent region with nascent private equity,” Daniel says, “I think that over time, a lot of the larger and midsize players will start to look at the region as a great place to invest.” 

Name: Daniel Siller

What he does: Daniel is a Managing Director with 7 Mile Advisors based in Boston, Massachusetts. Across more than 25 years of experience in investment banking, he has closed over $35 billion in equity raises and $50 billion in M&A transactions. Daniel, who is fluent in English, Spanish, and French, previously worked at several banks including Credit Suisse, Lazard, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs.

Organization: 7 Mile Advisors

Words of wisdom: “There are many years, if not decades, of potential growth in Latin America.”

Connect: LinkedIn 

Name: Horacio Yenaropulos

What he does: Based in Mendoza, Argentina, Horacio is a Managing Director with 7 Mile Advisors and leads the Latin America sector coverage team. He has 25 years of financial experience and previously worked with Globant’s corporate development group, where his responsibilities ranged from due diligence to SPA closing. He’s also held financial leadership positions with several key Latin American companies, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, Hidronor Chile, Viña San Pedro Wine Group, and Belatrix Software. 

Organization: 7 Mile Advisors

Words of wisdom: “A lot of good things are going to continue happening in this market.” 

Connect: LinkedIn 

Name: Ben Bruggeworth

What he

“We at 7 Mile Advisors are serving companies who are helping businesses procure and use technology in an effort to develop, capture, connect, move, store, compute, and secure data,” explains Founding Partner Tripp Davis, of his work at 7MA. 

On this episode of Deal Talk with 7MA, host Ben Bruggeworth talks with 7MA colleagues Tripp Davis, a Founding Partner, and Tim Frye, a Managing Director, about the Managed Services Providers (MSPs) space and what they ultimately foresee happening in the market. 

Since 2008, 7 Mile Advisors has been an investment bank solely focused on technology services as a sector-centric bank. They drill into the marketplace in specific sub sectors to map landscapes and identify key businesses that they can serve via M&A, private capital raising, and strategic growth advice.

The MSP sector is an area in which 7MA spends a lot of time. Due to the velocity and complexity of technology environments, it’s a fast-growing market. Tripp and Tim share their own experiences and what they see as this market continues to evolve and businesses continue to get more specialized help from MSPs. 

Tune in to hear Tripp and Tim talk about their experiences in MSPs, the future of M&As in this sector, and their dedication to vertical growth in the market.

Name: Tripp Davis

What he does: In addition to being one of the Founding Partners of 7 Mile Advisors, Tripp Davis has more than 20 years of investment banking and advisory experience. 

Organization: 7 Mile Advisors

Words of wisdom: “As investment bankers, we are looking to help sellers, boards of directors, and private equity groups grow value and, ultimately, unlock that through a successful M&A transaction.”

Connect: LinkedIn  

Name: Tim Frye

What he does: Tim is a Managing Director at 7 Mile Advisors with a background in tech-enabled business services. He brings a wealth of industry experience and perspective to M&A transactions.

Organization: 7 Mile Advisors

Words of wisdom: “The core driver of value in all the processes that 7 Mile runs with MSPs has been recurring revenue. We have a saying, internally, that recurring revenue is king.”

Connect: LinkedIn  

Name: Ben Bruggeworth

What he does: Ben is a Vice President in Business Development at 7 Mile Advisors. 

Organization: 7 Mile Advisors

Words of wisdom: “As we think about the buyer universe, we've seen a number of private equity groups across the country make investments within the MSP space.”

Connect: LinkedIn

☑️ For a custom valuation assessment using 7 Mile’s five pillars of strategic value, contact Lexi Papa at

7MA’s Sydney Scadden, Nic Anderle, and Tyler Ratterree all have one significant thing in common - they sought internships to propel their careers. 

While in college, Nic had two internships  - one at RSM, which gave him great hands-on accounting experience, and another at Copper Run, which ultimately swayed him to pursue an investment banking career path. 

With a plethora of internship experiences under his belt -  in everything from commercial banks and their loan servicing departments to working in his college’s admissions department - it took Tyler more time to discover his interest in investment banking. In fact, it wasn’t until his internship at PwC during graduate school that he found his calling in deal processes. 

For many, like Sydney, the ultimate goal of an internship is to have the role transition into or lead to a full-time job, which is exactly what she achieved. Sydney was a summer intern analyst at 7MA before being hired as an employee. She went from setting up phone calls and meetings as an intern to leading the deals she had once watched unfold.

On this episode of Deal Talk with 7MA, host Steve Sypek talks with three of 7MA’s finest about their personal internship experiences, the benefits of internships in general, and how 7MA’s own internship program can help young professionals hoping to break into the world of investment banking.

Name: Sydney Scadden

What she does: Once an intern at 7 Mile Advisors, Sydney is now a Vice President. Sydney offers project execution, data analysis, and business development expertise and has contributed to the success of more than 25 deals within the IT Services and Tech-enabled sectors since she joined 7MA in 2018. 

Connect: LinkedIn  

Name: Nic Anderle 

What he does: Nic is an Internship Program Coordinator and Associate at 7 Mile Advisors with M&A and accounting experience. Before joining the team at 7MA, Nic was an Investment Banking Analyst Intern at Copper Run Capital, which is an M&A advisory firm focused on the lower-middle market.

Connect: LinkedIn 

Name: Tyler Ratterree

What he does: Tyler is an Internship Program Coordinator and Associate at 7 Mile Advisors with finance, accounting, and macroeconomics experience. Prior to working at 7MA, Tyler served as a deals consultant for PwC, which focuses on capital markets and accounting advisory services.

Connect: LinkedIn 

Name: Steve Sypek 

What he does: Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Steve is the Senior Vice President at 7 Mile Advisors. He has 9 years of international relationship management and business development experience. 

Connect: LinkedIn

☑️ For a custom valuation assessment using 7 Mile’s five pillars of strategic...

Happy New Year and thank you for joining us in our first 2023 episode of Deal Talk with 7MA. 

In today’s episode, 7 Mile’s co-founders Leroy Davis, Andy Johnston, and Tripp Davis join Steve Sypek to reflect on the eventful period in the M&A world over the past couple years.

They recount coming off a historic year in 2021, where M&A activity in the technology services space and the broader market was at all time highs. They discuss some challenges that 2022 introduced that they may not have expected heading into the year. They analyze the impact of geo-political events such as Russia’s attacks on Ukraine and the Fed sparking further caution as they aggressively drove interest rates higher following a prolonged period of near zero rates. 

Throughout the episode, they provide insight into how 7 Mile Advisors responded to these events and what they see on the horizon for the IT Services Industry in the M&A world.

Name: Andy Johnston

What he does: Andy is a Partner and Co-founder of 7 Mile Advisors. He has advised on more than 50 business services and digital transformation transactions, including deals with Deloitte, Accenture, Valtech, and multiple private equity funds. He received his bachelor’s degree from Duke University and is a Certified CFA with the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute. Outside of work, Andy enjoys sailing, traveling, and spending time with his family.  

Organization: 7 Mile Advisors

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Leroy Davis

What he does: Leroy is a Partner and Co-founder of 7 Mile Advisors with 25 years of investment banking experience. He has managed transactions in the Technology, Consumer, Insurance, Healthcare & Infrastructure sectors. He began his career with Coopers & Lybrand and is a member of the AICPA. He received his bachelor’s degree from Hampden-Sydney College and his MBA from Wake Forest University.  

Organization: 7 Mile Advisors

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Tripp Davis 

What he does: Tripp is a Partner at 7 Mile Advisors with 20 years of investment banking and advisory experience. He joined 7 Mile Advisors from Hyde Park Capital Partners, where he served as head of the Business Services, Technology and Communications group while advising companies in a variety of industries on M&A and capital raising assignments. He received his bachelor’s degree from Hampden-Sydney College and Post-graduate studies at Florida State University.

Organization: 7 Mile Advisors

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Steve Sypek 

What he does: Steve is a Senior Vice President at 7 Mile Advisors with 9 years of international...

After attending the HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition, Andy Johnston and Ben Garber have insight into the top industry trends as they relate to digital transformation. According to Andy and Ben, healthcare providers and digital service companies are increasingly coming together to shape a more interconnected data environment.

The focus on cybersecurity initiatives was an emerging topic of particular interest. As companies embrace digital and move their data to the cloud, the danger of cyber threats increases dramatically. While cybersecurity solutions are developing rapidly, it’s difficult to keep pace with data exposure risks. That’s why it’s vital to not only focus on your digital transformation solutions, but also on diverse security protocols to protect your information.

Individual companies aren’t the only ones focused on cybersecurity. The government is playing an increasing role in regulation to create specific standards of compliance. Through cybersecurity executive orders, the Biden administration aims to create more transparency and safety within the fast-paced digital world. So, while companies need to remain vigilant to protect themselves, a system to ensure compliance with federal regulations and statutes is important as well.

Andy and Ben further discuss changes in revenue cycle management and how it plays into the digital world, how healthcare providers are refocusing their projects on non-pandemic related issues, and how private equity groups are enhancing their shareholder value.

On this episode of Deal Talk with 7MA, Andy and Ben explore specific ways in which the healthcare industry is moving through digital transformation. From case studies to 7 Mile Advisors’ services, they break down the current trends and share how healthcare providers and technology service companies are coming together to develop better customer care. 

Read the Full Show Notes on our website

Name: Andy Johnston  

Organization: 7 Mile Advisors 

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Ben Garber

Organization: 7 Mile Advisors

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Ariail Barker

Organization: 7 Mile Advisors

Connect: LinkedIn

☑️ For a custom valuation assessment using 7 Mile’s five pillars of strategic value, contact Ariail Barker at [email protected].

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☑️ Subscribe to Deal Talk with 7MA on Apple Podcasts,

Pablo Hernández became an entrepreneur at just 14 years old when he founded Ingenia Agency, the company he still runs today. As the oldest of seven boys, he had an early start to entrepreneurship through his father, who owned a successful chain of language schools in Mexico. Pablo would accompany his father to work over the summer months, where he first discovered the possibilities available through the internet.

"I was one of the few guys in Mexico who knew how to program websites. Anybody I would find: my dad's lawyer, my dad's architect, the school psychiatrist, the psychologist, I would say, You need to have a website," Pablo recalls. "I always had the vision of building amazing websites. I wanted to build the website for the Mexican Stock Exchange, for Coca-Cola, and Grupo Bimbo. All three happened."

Pablo shares insights into the international growth his company has experienced over the past few years, including expanding into a U.S. office based in Houston. Pablo also shares how the potentially controversial decision to pursue personal coaching over completing his MBA became a growth catalyst for his business.

On this episode of Deal Talk with 7MA, Horacio and Pablo discuss trends in digital transformation and what they're focused on to further their personal development, including developing a business mindset, pursuing continual growth both personally and at work, and embracing lifelong learning.

One way Pablo challenges himself is with triathlons. "Becoming an Ironman means that you become very disciplined in your life and very focused. You try to become the best version of yourself," he says. "You find the time to become hyper-productive … This kind of discipline gives you the ability to think more and to take perspective. I think that [training for] the Ironman and running a business is a great combination."

Listen on the Website.

Name: Pablo Hernández

What he does: Pablo founded Ingenia Agency, a full-service agency for creative and technology projects including advertising, web development, and digital marketing, when he was just 14 years old. The company has now been in operation for over 26 years and serves clients such as Coca-Cola, Visa, Diageo, Grupo Bimbo, Kimberly-Clark, Mondelez International, The Mexican Stock Exchange, La Costeña, Nacional Monte de Piedad, Kuspit, and many more.

Organization: Ingenia Agency

Words of wisdom: “I am obsessed with bringing out the best version of myself.”

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Horacio Yenaropulos

What he does: Based in Mendoza, Argentina, Horacio is a Managing Director with 7 Mile Advisors and leads the Latin America sector coverage team. He has 25 years of financial experience and previously worked with Globant’s corporate development group, where his responsibilities ranged from due diligence to SPA closing. He’s also held financial leadership positions with several key Latin American companies, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, Hidronor Chile, Viña San Pedro Wine Group, and Belatrix Software.

Organization: 7 Mile Advisors

Words of wisdom: “​​At the end, there is a reward. And the reward is how successful we are.”

Connect: LinkedIn 

Tom Delbrook grew up loading trucks at UPS. What was originally just a part-time job to get through college led him to discover deals and acquisitions.

“UPS was a great business to learn from. They're willing to constantly challenge you and give you jobs you're not prepared for to see if you can pull it off,” Tom says.

Tom recently joined the 7 Mile Advisors Atlanta team. Just as he experienced at UPS, he believes that people need to be willing to constantly try new things, look at new models, and consider new ways of doing things — it’s one of the many reasons he’s eager to support businesses in technological advancement.

On this episode of Deal Talk with 7MA, Tom discusses how digital transformation has moved forward since COVID started and the incredible technological advancements that have occurred in such a short period of time. He also touches on why private equity has been more interested in IT services lately and shares a few tips for choosing an advisor if you’re looking to sell.

“People that had five or six-year roadmaps of what they needed found they were accelerated into three or four quarters. And people realized there are resources out there that can do this work,” he says. “From a business perspective, [COVID] has changed how all businesses have to think about their operations and position themselves for the future.”

Name: Thomas Delbrook

What he does: As a new partner with the 7 Mile Advisor team in Atlanta, Tom brings a wealth of knowledge to the table from his former role as SVP of M&A Strategy and Integration at Cognizant. Tom has explored a variety of roles but has always gravitated towards the deal side of business ever since his first role at UPS in college.

Organization: 7 Mile Advisors

Words of wisdom: “At any job I’ve ever done, I end up falling in love with deals.”

Connect: LinkedIn

Top takeaways from this episode

★    Digital transformation isn’t happening. It’s here. Tom shares that he saw the need for digital transformation and mobile development long before COVID impacted the ecommerce market. When COVID forced the shut down of brick and mortars, companies were pushed to build enterprise-quality apps, causing a new wave of digital transformation.

★    Private equity has a renewed interest in IT Services. Private equity firms have seen the recurring revenue potential for IT services. It is clear that tech companies with large enterprise clients will always be in demand for more projects.

★ The demand for talent can increase costs. With a limit to the availability of technical talent, for example, full-stack developers, there is a premium that companies need to pay to access top talent in the market.

★    If you’re thinking of selling, don’t sell to the first person who shows up. Tom has some advice for owners who might be considering a sale in the next year. He recommends finding an advisor who will bring you the most logical strategic buyer and encourage you to consider all options by asking the tough questions upfront.

[06:00] Mobile has been gaining momentum: Tom saw the demand for ecommerce years ago when he was working with major retailers and Amazon overtook his clients as the largest apparel retailer in the U.S.

[09:18] Ecommerce has turned ROI into a revenue game: Instead of looking for hard and fast returns on projects, the focus on ecommerce has given way to more flexibility. It’s no...

In this special episode of Deal Talk with 7MA, Partner Tripp Davis leads a discussion on navigating M&A as a business owner or operator.

For the panel discussion, which was part of 7MA’s ACCESS Conference 2021, Tripp is joined by David Lewis, Founder and CEO of DemandGen (acquired by BDO) and Partner at BDO Digital; Andy Fay, Chief Revenue Officer of Innovasource (acquired by Energizer); and George Young, Founder, CEO, and now Managing Director of Kalypso (acquired by Rockwell Automation).

This panel of sellers have all navigated successful exits — some in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode they’re sharing first-hand lessons from their own experience in M&A and first-hand insights from the process.

The panel touches on all aspects of the M&A deal process — finding the right partners, working with a trusted advisor, navigating the emotions, and preparing your team once an acquisition goes through.

“I didn't go into the process expecting whether we would go down the private equity route or the strategic route. I really was open to both,” David says of getting acquired. “At least I thought I was; you really do some soul searching when you have people at the table.”

He continues: “When we had 22 offers, the majority of them were private equity, and there were about five strategic offers. And what made sense was it was very clear that I wanted a platform for the business that would catapult our growth.”

When discussing the sale of his consulting firm to Rockwell Automation, George admits being a little “naive” and “narrowly focused” early in the process. He shares how working with 7MA paved the way for a different kind of exit: “I think one of the things that you (7MA) helped us do was not go exclusive. Let's keep this thing open. Let's create the market.”

Tune in to the episode to learn more about the acquisition process directly from business owners.

Name: Tripp Davis

What he does: Tripp is a Partner with over 20 years of investment banking and advisory experience. He joined 7 Mile Advisors from Hyde Park Capital Partners, where he served as head of the Business Services, Technology, and Communications group while advising companies in a variety of industries on M&A and capital raising assignments. Previously, Tripp served as Vice President at DecisionPoint International and began his career with Livingston & Associates.

Organization: 7 Mile Advisors

Words of wisdom: “Strategic points, operational points, transactional points and emotional ones are all part of the transaction cycle.”

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: David Lewis

What he does: For more than 20 years, David has been a pioneering innovator in digital marketing, and has overseen marketing for some of Silicon Valley’s leading technology firms. David and his team at DemandGen have been at the forefront of digital transformation. The company was acquired by BDO, one of the nation’s leading accounting and...

In this special episode, recorded during 7 Mile Advisors’ 2021’s ACCESS Conference, 7MA Managing Director Horacio Yenaropulos hosts a panel discussion on exploring international M&A trends, focused on Latin America.

Joining Horacio are experienced international investor Mario Masrieh, Principal at Trivest Partners, which recently invested in Argentinian FinTech company Veritran; and Daniel Lopatin, Co-founder and CFO of tech consultancy ArganoUV. Daniel’s company United Virtualities was acquired by Argano in February 2021, in a deal that was facilitated by 7MA.

Latin America has a need and market for new digital solutions. Mario says that this was one reason Trivest invested in Veritran. “When you look at the unbanked and underbanked populations ... there's a huge white space,” he says. “Both the governments and the private sector need to bring the populations into the financial institutions, to create more wealth for the population and to support commerce.”

The panel reviews the complexities and challenges that investors may encounter when moving into LATAM, including the diversity of the region, regulatory tax differences, and how to select strategic markets for your business goals. They also discuss best practices for working with the lawyers and accountants on your team.

Daniel believes that understanding the culture of a country or region can be the difference between the success and failure of an acquisition in LATAM. “At the end of the day, your monetary success is attached to your ability to get together with them, and work together for the foreseeable future,” he says. “You shouldn’t undermine the importance of cultural differences when you come into a deal.” 

Name: Horacio Yenaropulos

What he does: Based in Mendoza, Argentina, Horacio is a Managing Director with 7 Mile Advisors, and leads the Latin America sector coverage team. He has 25 years of financial experience, and previously worked with Globant’s corporate development group, where his responsibilities ranged from due diligence to SPA closing. He’s also held financial leadership positions with several key Latin American companies, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, Hidronor Chile, Viña San Pedro Wine Group, and Belatrix Software.

Organization: 7 Mile Advisors

Words of wisdom: “An M&A transaction process is normally intense and time-consuming for founders and managers.”

Connect: LinkedIn

Name: Mario Masrieh

What he does: Mario is a Principal at Trivest Partners – a leading private equity firm focused on partnering with founder and family owned businesses. He is responsible for analyzing investment opportunities, identifying strategic acquisition targets, and monitoring existing portfolio companies in the firm’s non-control investment strategy. Prior to joining Trivest, he was a private equity Vice President at Gridiron Capital, and also previously worked as an analyst at Morgan Stanley, in the global consumer and retail team.

Organization: Trivest

Words of wisdom: “We don't re-trade our deals.”

Connect: LinkedIn

Join 7MA Partner Leroy Davis as he sits down for a fireside chat with the Assistant Director for Science and Exploration Science Directorate at NASA Headquarters, Richard (Rick) Davis. On this special episode of Deal Talk, as part of the 2021 ACCESS Conference, they discuss Richard’s background and the fascinating work his team is doing on the Mission to Mars program.

Leroy takes the opportunity to ask Rick how he first became interested in space, his involvement in the Mars Mission, and the technology behind the project. Private equity investors will be interested to hear Rick’s take on private equity, commercial involvement in space exploration, and how NASA and the government partner with private entities to advance space travel.

Rick grew up on a farm outside of Charlottesville, Virginia, in a rural town called Happy Creek. There, the lack of light pollution means “the night skies are dark as anything and you could just see star fields like you wouldn't believe," he explains. "I remember walking outside and seeing them and I was just totally drawn to that.”

Leroy and Rick discuss William Shatner's recent space flight on Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, as well as commercial developments in space travel. As a child, Rick was an obsessive Star Trek fan, which further inspired his future in space exploration. 

“As we look at going to Mars, there's actually two parts of the equation," he says. "Because when you see the Blue Origin … and the SpaceX launches, the cost of getting to space is dropping dramatically. So that increases our ability to push stuff up and to make these missions more affordable.”

Name: Richard (Rick) Davis 

What he does: As the Assistant Director for Science and Exploration, Science Directorate at NASA Headquarters, Richard Davis is an accomplished aerospace engineer with extensive experience working in space exploration. His current role entails significant integration across all mission directorates and offices involved in Mars exploration. He is fluent in three languages, including English, Spanish, and Russian, and has earned numerous accomplishments and awards. Richard is also an instrument-rated pilot with 600 hours plus of flight experience. 

Organization: NASA 

Words of wisdom: “I think that if we do it right, you use the federal government to allow the private sector to establish a toehold and to get the sea legs — or space legs, if you will — to actually get up there. And then they will just go a lot further than any of us would imagine.”

Connect: Twitter

Top takeaways from this episode 

★    The cost of getting to space is dropping dramatically. The Blue Origin and SpaceX launches are examples of what is possible when space travel becomes less expensive. It increases our ability to expedite plans for other missions and make future missions more affordable.

★    Let’s learn from Lewis and Clark. Rick believes we can learn from the Lewis and Clark expeditions. The explorers set out with a limited supply of materials and lived off them to extend their journey. This is what astronauts must do to make a Mars mission successful.

★    Space assembly is the new frontier. The International Space Station has provided the ability for humans to become skilled at assembling equipment and materials in space. Rick thinks it might be the next frontier of space exploration: businesses or international entities could launch materials from...