Michael Levison

When Jon Cross founded Pondera Solutions in 2011, his goal was to reduce fraud in U.S. government programs like Medicaid and unemployment insurance. By 2020 Cross and his partners had built Pondera to more than $9 million in annual recurring revenue when they received an offer from Thompson Reuters for a reported $124 million. In this wide-ranging interview, you’ll learn how to take some chips off the table while still benefitting in the upside of a majority re-capitalization, Recruit experienced employees for less than market, and more.

Mark Ferrier built the marketing agency TRAFFIKGROUP to more than $2 million of EBITDA before it was acquired by the private equity group Onex in an eight-figure exit. In this first of a two-part interview, Mark shares the story of how he got started in the marketing agency world and how a rift with his former partners left him on the wrong end of a $2 million lawsuit. You’ll learn how to get alignment with your majority partners, buy out your partners, and more.

Mark Ferrier founded the marketing agency TRAFFIKGROUP and grew it to over $2M in EBITDA before agreeing to be acquired by the private equity group Onex in an eight-figure exit. Mark decided to sell when a friend revealed that most founders end up wishing they had sold 50% sooner for 25% less. This episode is packed with wisdom for service-based businesses, including how to drive employee engagement with a “Holy Crap” fund, buy out minority partners, and more.

This week, we continue our series called Inside the Mind of an Acquirer. We started this special series of interviews with acquirers because we want you to understand the perspective of the person across from you in a negotiation to buy your business. This week, we sat down with Bakari Akil, who has acquired two $30 million businesses and now teaches Cornell MBA candidates about entrepreneurship through acquisition. You’ll learn how to accelerate growth through acquisition, and more.

J.B. Sauceda built a logistics company that helped brands like Howler Brothers ship online orders. At their peak, Sauceda’s company had a 150,000 square foot warehouse, 150 employees and was on track to hit $14 million in annual sales when a fateful meeting at an industry conference led Cart.com to make an acquisition offer Sauceda couldn’t refuse. In this episode, you’ll discover how to recruit hourly workers, write job descriptions that garner attention, and more.

Josh Anhalt started GreenPath Energy in 2007 to help oil and gas companies detect methane leaks in their pipes. Over the years, Josh tried and failed to sell his company three times only to have each deal thwarted for a different reason. By 2023 GreenPath was generating more than $8 million in revenue when they finally agreed to be acquired by a competitor for around 7 times EBITDA, 90% of which was paid in cash with the balance paid in stock of the acquirer. In this episode, you’ll learn how to avoid having your deal fall apart at LOI, negotiate with a competitor, and more.

Jason Cohen is the founder of both SmartBear and WP Engine, both companies that have achieved a valuation of more than $1 billion, making them “unicorns” in the parlance of Silicon Valley. This is our first installment in a series we’re referring to as Legends of the Deal, which will chronicle the life lessons of extraordinary achievers in the world of value building. In this episode, you’ll discover how to spot burnout before it’s obvious, get past your freedom line, distinguish between your company’s values and its purpose (and why you need one more than the other), and more.

Chip Conley built the world’s second largest boutique hotel chain to 3500 employees, but after a near death experience, Chip realized he wanted out. Chip went on to become Airbnb’s Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy, where he mentored co-founder Brian Chesky. Conley went on to create MEA — the Modern Elder Academy — the world’s first ‘midlife wisdom school’. In this episode, you’ll discover how to avoid a midlife crisis, ensure you’re happy after you sell, and much more.

Greg Romanzo and his partners spent 17 years growing a freight forwarding business. As the company expanded to 200 employees, the partners faced a realization: their decisions now impacted 200 families. This responsibility became overwhelming, and they decided to sell. In this episode, you’ll discover how to avoid the lifestyle company trap, protect your business model in the face of changes in your industry, create a great culture with multiple owners, and much more.

Kiran Merchant spent decades as a consultant to the aviation industry, so when a boss refused to grant him an $8,000 raise, he decided to leave his employer to start his own aviation consulting firm. Two years later, he sold Merchant Aviation to Aeroport de Paris, one of the largest aviation companies in the world for a high single-digit multiple of EBITDA. In this episode, you’ll learn how to attract senior-level employees when you don’t have a large budget, make your company appear much bigger than it really is, and more.