In this episode of Private Market Insights, Josh Levine interviews pricing expert Mark Stiving. They discuss the challenges of raising prices and the fear that comes with it. Mark explains that people are afraid to raise prices because they are uncertain about the future and worry about losing customers or facing negative feedback. However, he emphasizes that raising prices can significantly increase profitability if done intelligently. They also discuss the concept of value and how it should be the focus when determining pricing. Mark suggests using a value table to understand what value means to customers and how it can be measured in terms of incremental profit. They also touch on the importance of price segmentation and understanding different market segments. Mark concludes by discussing the impact of inflation on pricing and the importance of annual price increases. He also mentions the concept of predatory pricing and its long-term viability.

In this episode of Private Market Insights, host Josh Levine interviews Tristan Maher, an expert in international SMB acquisitions. They discuss the topic of international M&A and the challenges and differences compared to deals in the US. Maher emphasizes the importance of being integrated into the local culture and community, as well as understanding the legal and financial landscape of the country.

In this episode of Private Market Insights, Josh Levine interviews Brad Englert, a technologist, leadership expert, consultant, and author of the book "Spheres of Influence." They discuss the importance of building professional relationships and effective communication in leadership and management. Brad emphasizes the need to understand the goals and aspirations of others, manage expectations, and genuinely care about their success. They also discuss the challenges of stepping into a leadership position in an established organization and how to handle key customer relationships during a business acquisition. Overall, the conversation highlights the importance of intentional and transparent communication in building successful business relationships.

(00:00) Setting the Stage for Professional Relationship Building and Change Management

(02:49) Exploring the Core of Leadership: Communication

(05:01) Navigating Leadership in Acquired Businesses

(11:52) Redefining Corporate Family

(16:12) Building Formal Relationships and Communication Strategies

(20:29) Adapting Quickly in New Organizations

(25:15) Strategic Planning for New Leaders

(31:32) Managing Expectations in Troubled Organizations

(33:35) Facilitating Smooth Business Transitions

(47:21) Celebrating Success and Concluding Thoughts

🔗 Check out the Private Market Labs website: https://privatemarketlabs.com/

💬 Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/levinejm

🔗 Check out the Spheres of Influence website: https://bradenglert.com/spheres-of-influence/

💬 Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/englertbrad

Buying and operating a small business can be a challenging and lonely experience. People who are successful often find company in tight communities of entrepreneurs going through the same struggles. For this episode of Private Market Insights, I am talking with master community builder Karen Spencer, a founder of Searchfunder and current Managing Partner of Fetch Strategies. We talk about building and sustaining support networks for searchers and operators.

(00:00) Introduction to Private Market Insights with Special Guest

(01:15) Understanding the Importance of Community in Search Operations

(04:34) The Evolution of the Digital Space(06:15) Advocacy for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Search Community

(10:52) Collaboration in Deal Searching

(16:16) Transactional vs Relational Approaches in Business

(21:33) Transitioning to Entrepreneurship

(27:40) The Success of Search Funder

(32:42) Choosing Startups Over Established Businesses

(35:58) Reflections and Predictions for 2024

💬 Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/levinejm

🔗 Check out the Fetch Strategies website: https://fetchstrategies.com/

💬 Connect with Karen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenyspencer/

The SMB M&A space has cyclical trends: certain industries become hot, spurring interest, increased activity, and heightened multiples.

Our guest for Private Market Insights is entering our space with one of the most interesting angles yet: he’s an active professional football player, most recently as a quarterback with the Cleveland Browns.

Even the most experienced investors and dealmakers hire legal counsel to help with their SMB acquisitions. This makes building the right legal team for your search an especially important task when it comes to due diligence. However, things don't always go well: people hire attorneys that are inexperienced with small business M&A or stymie deals with excessive redlining.

(00:00:00) - Introduction to Private Market Insights with Guest Kevin Henderson

Getting started with a search can be intimidating - there are numerous information sources, tons of conflicting information, and limited tactical insights when it comes to planning your exact moves (apart from this podcast). Helping people learn how to search is the topic for our next episode of Private Market Insights.

For sellers, figuring out what your business is worth and how to go about selling it can be very challenging. The lack of transparency around this process can also confuse buyers and lead to misunderstandings at the start of the negotiation process. Fortunately, we're hosting Tom Taulli, M&A expert, author, and founder of BizEquity to help make sense of this process.