Smart Business Dealmakers: The Middle-Market M&A Podcast

John Estafanous is leading RallyBright, the second company he's founded. He's recently raised investor capital — his first experience with the process — as he looks to accelerate growth for the company, which offers a software platform designed to improve team performance. John stops by the pod to talk about how founding the first company has informed building the second, what he learned selling that first business, his experience raising capital, and the importance of connecting with the right investors.

Liana Douillet Guzmán joined, FOLX Health as CEO in February 2022 and was tasked with growing the business to all 50 states. FOLX Health, operator of a digital health company intended to serve the LGBTQ+ community, has raised nearly $60 million since its founding through seed, Series A and Series B rounds, putting the company's pre-money valuation at $95 million. Guzmán discussing the growth of FOLX and how raising capital has changed dramatically in the past two years.

Eric Satz is the co-founder, president and CEO of Alto, developer of an alternative asset investment platform intended to connect everyday investors to alternative investment opportunities. Satz and his team raised $39.94 million of Series B venture funding in 2022, putting the company's pre-money valuation at $250 million. He talks about the capital-raising process and what the future holds for Alto.

Provide, an integrated suite of financial products for healthcare practitioners, was acquired by Fifth Third in 2021. Launched in 2013, the company made its way through pivots and financing rounds to ultimately become an independent business line of the bank in a deal that could accelerate the growth of an already growing company. Provide Chief Business Officer Andrew Bennett stops by to talk about the acquisition and what it means for the future.

Dave Tolmie is a senior partner at The Edgewater Funds, a private equity firm he co-founded in 2001 and has helped grow to more than $3 billion in committed capital. The former CEO of Yesmail, Inc., a company he led through a successful IPO and subsequent sale for $720 million, and previous Senior Vice President of Operations for Bally Total Fitness, a company he joined after building and selling a regional health club to Bally for $90 million, talks about what he looks for in the entrepreneurs who will lead his portfolio investments. He walks through the major stages of that investment and how that affects CEOs as they sell to PE, aggressively build and then sell again.

Dick Simon, a serial entrepreneur and leader in advancing psychedelic-assisted therapies, is the co-founder and CEO of Sensorium Therapeutics. The company identifies new, promising drug leads for therapeutics inspired by psychoactive plants and fungi to address mental health issues such as anxiety. Dick talks about the business, how it's grown, and its recent fundraising, which brought a $30 million Series A into the business in 2022.

After JD Harris joined Ascent Solutions in 2014, he bought out the previous owners and turned the company from a hosting company — which was 95 percent of its business — into one that provides cybersecurity advisory, consulting, education and managed services. In 2021, he sold a minority investment in the company to RunTide Capital to accelerate the already exponential growth the company experienced since he first got involved. JD talks about that first big pivot, the company's growth and the process of bringing on a PE partner.

Hirewell, a recruiting company founded by Matt Massucci in 2001, recently raised $21 million from Pry-tek Holdings, a copany with global reach. Already, Matt has teamed with Pry-Tek on an investment in the London-based executive search firm TritonExec, a company that's expected to compliment the capabilities that Hirewell brings to the organization. Matt talks about the deal, the diligence and what it all means for his and the company's future.

Tranice Watts co-founded Lifting Lucy when she was in her early twenties, working in an industry not known for much diversity. The idea came to Watts — the first Black woman to co-own and operate a craft brewery in the state of Maryland — when she was on a subcommittee of the Craft Brewers Conference. Lifting Lucy has since grown into a national organization that supports under-represented communities within the brewing industry by helping finance opportunities for exposure and inclusion.

Silas Deane founded VendEngine, a financial tech software solution for inmates and their families, when he realized there were serious issues with correctional facilities in regard to money transfers. He discusses the founding of the company, how COVID-19 played a critical role in the firm's path, and how he ended up selling the business to Tyler Technologies.