Marc Bell, CEO of Marc Bell Capital

Marc Bell has taken 17 companies public, rebuilt distressed businesses, and invested across industries most wouldn’t dare touch. In this follow-up to Part 1, he’s back with sharp insights on what it really takes to run high-stakes deals—and survive them.

Marc and Kison cover everything from building a rock-solid diligence process to choosing between private equity and private credit. They get tactical about capital allocation strategy, reflect on the mistakes that shaped Marc’s approach today, and unpack how to lead during downturns—when optimism fades and character shows.

This episode is a masterclass in M&A realism. Whether you're planning your first minority recap or running a mature corp dev team, you'll walk away with fresh perspective—and a few war stories that’ll stick with you.

Things you will learn:

• The tradeoffs between debt and equity—and when to choose either

• Why the wrong private equity partner can cost more than capital

• How to lead through setbacks and build people-first organizations

 

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Episode Chapters

• 03:00 – How to run smarter diligence

• 04:30 – Building the business case

• 06:30 – Avoiding deal surprises

• 07:00 – Culture as a value lever

• 09:30 – Capital allocation 101

• 11:30 – Vetting PE partners

• 15:30 – Why Marc avoids public markets

• 18:30 – Structuring around IRR and risk

• 20:30 – Real estate timing and opportunity

• 22:00 – Leading through failure

• 24:00 – Solving real problems with hospitality

• 25:30 – The cost of bad partners

Questions, comments, concerns?Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A.