Dennis O’Rourke is a Partner at Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP where he serves as Chair of the firm’s Corporate, M&A, and Securities Practice Group. Dennis has over 20 years of experience handling complex mergers, acquisitions, securities offerings, corporate transactions, and general counsel matters. He is an experienced negotiator who takes an innovative approach to advising clients on their business objectives and providing practical solutions.

This week, Dennis joins Phil to talk about the psychology of exiting a business, what buyers are looking for, and some pitfalls to avoid.

Marc Weiss is the Co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Open Field Capital, an SEC registered investment advisor managing over $100 million in emerging technology assets. Marc co-founded Open Field in 2005 to invest exclusively in emerging technology companies, capitalizing on the partners’ deep experience and networks, with the objective of maximizing capital growth for their investors.

In this episode, Phil and Marc dive into what's going on with DeepSeek, why markets care, and the move toward an inference dominated world.

Veneta Dimitrova is the Senior U.S. Economist for Ned Davis Research. She is the primary person responsible for formulating the U.S. economic outlook and identifying macroeconomic trends, particularly as they relate to developments in U.S. fixed income and equity markets. Veneta’s focus in recent years has been on trends in the labor market, productivity growth, and income inequality.

In this week's episode, Phil sits down with Veneta to hear her analysis of the U.S. economy at the start of 2025.

Contact Veneta:

LinkedIn: ⁠Veneta Dimitrova

​Jaime Diglio is a high-performance coach, trainer, author, and speaker best known for her ability to repeatedly turn average players into top performers by developing their inner game. Her programs combine AI data-driven insights and proven behavioral science and psychological strategies to help leaders identify and build up their strongest players. She’s taught thousands at top companies, including Gartner, Microsoft, and Slalom, to use these principles and lead teams to exceptional success. In this episode, Phil sits down with Jaime to learn more about improving communication in your team, uncovering what motivates your key players, and understanding your people.

Connect with Jaime:

LinkedIn: Jaime Diglio

Website: infirstconsulting.com

Buy Her Book: Moneyball Leadership

Dr. John LaMattina is the former president of Pfizer Global Research and Development, a speaker, author and Forbes contributor. At Pfizer, he managed more than 13,000 scientists and professionals in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Dr. LaMattina spent 30 years at Pfizer Inc, having joined as a medicinal chemist in 1977. He's received numerous awards including an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of New Hampshire. 

In this episode, Phil and John talk about challenges executives face in the corporate world, the importance of learning from others, and what makes a startup a success.

Contact John:

Website: johnlamattina.com

LinkedIn: John LaMattina

Peter Ward is the founder and CEO of SoHo Dragon, a New York City-based IT solutions and staffing firm focused on helping CXOs and technical teams obtain as much value from the Microsoft Cloud as possible. He is an MVP and solution architect on Microsoft Cloud software who prefers taking the technical lead on Microsoft Azure/M365 projects from an architect and deployment standpoint. In this week's episode, Phil and Peter discuss the challenges he has faced as his company expands, creating a strong company culture, and what it means to be wealthy.

Contact Peter:

LinkedIn: Peter Ward

Website: sohodragon.nyc

Phil D'Amelia has been running his company, Vitralogy, for over 7 years now. He has over 30 years of experience in the technology industry and knows what it's like to take a risk launching a business. In this episode, Phil and Phil dive into the keys to growth, marketing, and embracing mistakes.

Contact Phil:

Website: vitralogy.com

LinkedIn: Phil D'Amelia

When Brenna Carles started the journey of building her own home, she fell in love with the process. She started studying and working at a mortgage lending company part time to learn the business. In 2021, she launched her own firm as founder of The Mortgage Shop and now has over a decade of experience in the lending business. In this episode, Phil sits down with Brenna to discuss effectively managing a team, time blocking, and helping clients plan for the future.

Contact Brenna:

LinkedIn: Brenna Carles

Instagram: @brennacarles

Website: mortgage.shop

In 2009, Nick Leopard set out to prove that there was a better way to work in finance – and more specifically, a better way to unlock value potential in private equity portfolio companies. He was right. Nick founded Accordion, and in the years since, he has grown the company to serve more than 200 private equity firms and their portfolio companies.

This week, Phil sits down with Nick to talk starting from zero, setting and maintaining a good culture, and maximizing his company.

Contact Nick:

Website: accordion.com

LinkedIn: Nick Leopard

Matt Gilbert is a Founding Partner of Gilbert & Pardue Transaction Advisors (GaP). With more than 31 years of experience as Partner/President/CEO/Shareholder of successful middle and lower middle market businesses, Matt has a wealth of experience in transactions where his ownership, livelihood, and personal funds were at stake.

Today, he dedicates himself to helping GaP clients plan, market, and execute strategic sales of their privately-held businesses and assists motivated buyers with locating and successfully acquiring these types of companies.

In this episode, Phil and Matt talk being a founder, working with quality people, and increasing the value of your business.

Contact Matt:

Website: gap-advisors.com