How2Exit: Buy, Don't Build - M&A of Small Businesses

How2Exit: Buy, Don't Build - M&A of Small Businesses

Welcome to How2Exit, the premier podcast for entrepreneurs, advisors, and everyone in between who wants to dive deep into the world of buying, growing, and selling small businesses valued below $20 million. Our mission is to equip you with the insights and strategies you need to succeed in the small business M&A space. Join us as we talk to the best in the industry and explore the full process of buying, growing, and selling businesses. You'll gain invaluable knowledge from interviews with successful entrepreneurs who have navigated the M&A journey and experts who offer their wisdom on sourcing deals, building rapport, conducting due diligence, closing transactions, integrating acquisitions, and preparing for a successful exit. We cover it all, so you can make informed decisions and take calculated risks. At How2Exit, we pride ourselves on providing an unmatched resource for those looking to thrive in the small business M&A world. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur, an aspiring business owner, or an advisor helping clients navigate the complex process, our podcast is your go-to source for the latest tips, trends, and real-world case studies.Tune in and discover the secrets to mastering small business M&A and achieving your goals in the world of entrepreneurship. Don't miss a single episode of How2Exit – subscribe now and unlock the full potential of your next business venture! Keywords: small business, M&A, entrepreneurs, advisors, buying businesses, growing businesses, selling businesses, due diligence, sourcing deals, rapport building, closing transactions, integrating acquisitions, preparing to sell, interviews, experts, case studies, How2Exit. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/how2exit-buy-don-t-build-m-a-of-small-businesses--4859429/support.

Episodes

June 20, 2025 57 mins
Watch here: https://youtu.be/ru4JXKUa180

About the Guest: 
Francisco Uriarte is Managing Partner at Connelly Capital, a Puerto Rico-based M&A advisory firm. With over 60 transactions completed and $800 million in closed deals, Uriarte combines operational experience as a former business owner with a deep understanding of sell-side representation, especially in the unique legal and cultural context of Puerto Rico. His firm operate...
Mark as Played
Watch Here: https://youtu.be/Vc2Xhcablro

About the Guest: 
Monica Garcia Duggal is an investment banker turned entrepreneur, financial consultant, and breathwork evangelist. With decades of experience spanning institutional finance, entrepreneurship, and real estate, Monica brings an unmatched blend of analytical rigor and human insight. She’s also the author of The Power of Breath: The Gift of Self-Actualization Through Meditation a...
Mark as Played
About the Guest:
Callum Laing is not your average M&A expert. A serial entrepreneur and the author of four books (Agglomerate, Progressive Partnerships, Boardroom Blueprint, and Entrepreneurial Investing), Laing is also the founder of Unity Group, the Veblen Director Program, and Guild. His work focuses on democratizing board access, simplifying capital raising, and helping legacy business owners scale without losing control. Hi...
Mark as Played
Watch Here: https://youtu.be/8WBIPpmXVVY

About the Guest: 
Andy is the CEO and co-founder of Creatively Disruptive—a “revenue growth agency” that helps small businesses scale sustainably. His background is as varied as it is inspiring: from rugby coach to pizza delivery driver to sales manager at CarMax, to eventually buying and selling his own businesses. Today, he helps over 110 small businesses reach profitability through consulti...
Mark as Played
Watch Here: https://youtu.be/PnKoDPkgKFI

About the Guest: 
Rosco Graves is the founder of Polaxis Professional Services and a former Deloitte advisor. He’s navigated both the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies and the trenches of small business ownership—including launching a yoga franchise. Today, he helps small business owners prepare financially for growth, funding, and exits, specializing in turning messy books into stories buye...
Mark as Played
Watch Here: https://youtu.be/JAnrssj-v2g

About the Guest: 
John Martinka is a veteran dealmaker who has spent nearly 30 years helping executives exit corporate life by buying businesses—and helping business owners exit with style and grace. Based in the Pacific Northwest, John runs Nokomis Advisory Services alongside his daughter, focusing on $5–15 million deals. He’s also the author of five books, including Buying a Business That Ma...
Mark as Played
Watch: https://youtu.be/I8AUgv479HA

About the Guest: 
Jed Morris Jed Morris is the Managing Partner of Sunset Coast Partners, an independent sponsor firm focused on acquiring defense contractors. A former Air Force veteran and Microsoft engineer, Jed’s journey into entrepreneurship was marked by soaring ambition — and a brutal, humbling failure that left him facing nearly $1 million in personally guaranteed debt. Rather than hiding, ...
Mark as Played
Watch here: https://youtu.be/BbypHaRpOtA

About the Guest: 
Victoria Hajjar is the founder of Ugli Ventures and a marketing strategist with deep experience building brands from the inside out. With a background that spans A&E, real estate development in China, and leading marketing departments for high-growth companies, Victoria has learned to build marketing engines that are scalable, measurable, and ready for acquisition. Her su...
Mark as Played
Watch Here: https://youtu.be/v4cOn6Py_-Q

About the Guest: 
Dr. Ruth Mannschreck is no ordinary advisor—she’s a former dentist who redesigned her practice around her family’s needs, scaling it with systems, hiring, and delegation. After helping fellow professionals do the same, she now coaches small business owners on how to make their companies scalable and sellable. Her advisory work blends operational excellence with human psycholo...
Mark as Played
Watch Here: https://youtu.be/Q2QTYAN7Juo

About the Guest: 
Jonathan Mast isn’t your typical AI guru. At 55, with a Gandalf-like beard and 20 years in digital marketing, he’s positioned himself as the “voice of reason” in a landscape full of overhype and under-delivery. His company, White Beard Strategies, teaches business owners how to use AI without losing their minds—or their margins. Mast’s approach blends deep industry experience...
Mark as Played
Watch here: https://youtu.be/L90nZyyR1qs

About the Guest: 
Ashish Gupta is the founder of Scale Up Exec, a firm specializing in fractional COO services for growing businesses. With a background in tech startups, corporate leadership at Apple, and turnaround management in the e-commerce space, Gupta has a proven track record of scaling companies and preparing them for exits. His approach blends operational efficiency, strategic growth...
Mark as Played
Watch Here: https://youtu.be/2Q11T0Dnvu4

About the Guest: 
Mike Finger is the founder of Exit Oasis, a platform dedicated to helping small business owners prepare for successful exits. A former business owner himself, he learned the hard way that not every business is sellable. After a wake-up call from brokers who told him his company wasn’t worth buying, he spent years transforming it into a sellable asset. Today, he coaches owners...
Mark as Played
Watch Here: https://youtu.be/nvOnJ02n8KA

About the Guest: 
Beau Eckstein is a business coach and expert in SBA lending, business acquisitions, and franchising. With a background in real estate and finance, he now specializes in helping aspiring entrepreneurs secure funding and find the right business or franchise to acquire. His experience includes flipping houses, securing SBA loans for clients, and even starring in an HGTV house-fl...
Mark as Played
Watch Here: https://youtu.be/31r3dCWdUtA

About the Guest: 
Rob Richmond is a dealmaker, strategic advisor, and founder of Synergy Groups. With decades of experience in technology, business acquisitions, and rollups, Richmond has developed a reputation for structuring creative and sustainable deals. His ability to optimize businesses before acquisition, leverage vendor financing, and create high-value group exits has positioned him as...
Mark as Played
Watch Here: https://youtu.be/e3HHrrIc4Hc

About the Guest: 
Bryan Clayton is the CEO and co-founder of GreenPal, a tech platform connecting homeowners with lawn care professionals. Before launching GreenPal, Clayton built and sold a successful landscaping business with over 150 employees. He’s an advocate for using technology to modernize service-based businesses and believes AI will dramatically reshape industries in the coming years...
Mark as Played
Watch Here: https://youtu.be/XLZjRoLivJw

About the Guest:
Dolores Hirschmann is the founder of Masters in Clarity, a business strategist, speaker coach, and acquisition entrepreneur. With a background in marketing and communication, she helps business owners clarify their message to scale and exit successfully. She previously ran one of the largest TEDx events on the East Coast and co-founded a company that she later sold to Grant C...
Mark as Played
Watch Here: https://youtu.be/ZCwj--I0XU0

About the Guest: 
Alina Rivera is a business valuation expert and the founder of Advising Puerto Rico, a firm specializing in business advisory, financial planning, and fractional CFO services. With a background in auditing, forensic valuation, and advisory work for global firms like BDO, she helps business owners understand the true worth of their companies and prepare for growth, financing, ...
Mark as Played
Watch Here: https://youtu.be/IUebHfz3G-c

About the Guest: 
Sanket Bhasin is an experienced entrepreneur and the managing partner of Spring Street Capital, a New York-based software-focused search fund. He has successfully built and exited two tech businesses and is now focused on acquiring and scaling vertical software companies in the energy and healthcare sectors. His expertise in scaling businesses, combined with his strong belief...
Mark as Played
Watch Here: https://youtu.be/JhloU4oKlDg

About the Guest: 
Todd Sullivan is the co-founder of ExitWise, a platform designed to help business owners maximize the value of their exits by connecting them with the best investment bankers, M&A attorneys, and advisors in their industry. A former entrepreneur with multiple exits—including deals with Microsoft and CBS—Sullivan is on a mission to level the playing field for founders and e...
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