Event Schedule
- 7:30 A.M. Registration, Coffee & Networking
- 8:00 A.M. Breakfast Grand Ballroom
- 8:15 A.M. Kickoff & Introductions Grand Ballroom
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8:30 a.m. — 9:15 a.m. Dealmakers’ Roundtable: The good, the bad & the ugly Grand Ballroom
Presented By: Fifth Third Bank
Three of Northeast Ohio’s top CEOs and dealmakers share firsthand experiences on how to identify opportunities, structure deals and integrate operations. They will offer insight and advice on how to face — and handle — unforeseen challenges, manage the due diligence process, and take advantage of the golden opportunities that accompany any M&A transaction.
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9:30 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Building Buyer-Ready Businesses Ambassador Room
Presented By: SunTrust Bank & RSM
If you want to grow through acquisitions, you need to get your corporate house in order. Join a conversation of entrepreneurs and M&A experts as they discuss ways to not just be prepared to buy companies but also how to best identify target organizations and conduct effective due diligence.
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Panelists:
Ed Weinfurtner
Managing Partner / CEO & Co-Owner
Blue Olive Partners, LLC / Great Day Improvements, LLC
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9:30 a.m. — 10:15 a.m. Unlocking the Value of Your Business: Planning ahead to achieve your goals Gold Room
Presented By: Citizens Capital Markets and BDO
When it comes to selling your company, if you don’t prepare in advance you will be doomed to either run into trouble or leave money on the table. A roundtable of entrepreneurs, private equity leaders and experts discuss how to unlock hidden value and achieve your financial goals when it’s time to sell.
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10:45 a.m. — 11:30 a.m. Strategic Capital: Raising capital to fuel your organization’s growth Ambassador Room
Presented By: U.S. Bank & Skoda Minotti
Financiers, business owners, and M&A experts challenge the conventional norms by exploring where to seek out, secure and incorporate capital into your company to finance accelerated growth.
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10:45 a.m. — 11:30 a.m. Entrepreneurship, Mentoring & Investing After Liquidity Gold Room
Presented By: Baker Hostetler and BNY Mellon Wealth Management
You’ve sold your business and taken money off the table … so, what’s next? Serial entrepreneurs discuss life after selling their businesses and how investing in and serving as mentors for scale-ups and other growing companies helps pay it forward.
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11:40 a.m. - 12:00pm KJK Entrepreneur Pitch Session Grand Ballroom
Four early-stage “scale-up” organization entrepreneurs will present information about their future business plans in front of a panel of expert judges. This interactive Q&A session will explore each organization’s financial and operational structure. It will result in one entrepreneur being selected to receive an investment to help accelerate the growth of his or her company. The judging panel will unveil its selection at the end of the day.
- Noon Lunch Grand Ballroom
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12:30 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. Luncheon Keynote - Case Study: 1871 Grand Ballroom
Smart Business Publisher Dustin Klein sits down with Betsy Ziegler, CEO of Chicago-based incubator 1871, to explore why it has become the most successful example of a public/private partnership in America. The discussion will tackle how an ecosystem that includes entrepreneurs, incubators, venture capitalists, private equity firms, and M&A advisers sets a national example for how public/private partnerships like 1871 can impact local economies, generate accelerated job creation, spur business hypergrowth and change a region’s fortunes.
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1:30 p.m. — 2:15 p.m. A Deep Dive on the Buy-Side Ambassador Room
Presented By: Tucker Ellis LLP and S&T Bank
Join a group of entrepreneurs and M&A experts as they share lessons learned — what’s worked and what hasn’t — with acquisitions. The conversation will include a 360-review of several successful — and not-so-successful — deals.
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1:30 p.m. — 2:15 p.m. Targeted Sales: How to determine to whom to sell your business Gold Room
Presented By: First National Bank and Oswald Companies
Active investors, entrepreneurs and business owners explore a key question any owner wrestles with when it comes to selling the company: To whom should I sell? They’ll explain how to conduct a detailed analysis of strategic buyers, private equity, investors, and even your management team, to identify the best fit for your company’s future.
Moderator:
Christopher M. Clegg
Senior Vice President Commercial Banking Team Leader - Cleveland
First National Bank
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2:30 p.m. — 3:15 p.m. Financing Sources Lessons learned from raising more than $15 billion in growth capital Ambassador Room
Presented By: Chemical Bank
Four of the region’s top dealmakers discuss lessons learned from growing businesses, working with financing sources and creating value. These entrepreneurs and corporate executives will discuss the current market conditions for raising capital and describe how they financed their acquisitions, operations and expansions. Their stories and experiences include traditional bank financing, friends and family capital, venture capital, private equity, public equity, debt … and everything in between.
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2:30 p.m. — 3:15 p.m. Pre-, During and Post-Liquidity: What you need to know Gold Room
Presented By: Roetzel & Clark Shaefer Hackett
When it comes to the most important M&A transaction of your business life, most people are woefully unprepared. Entrepreneurs, wealth managers and M&A advisers take a look at best practices and mistakes made when preparing for — and completing — liquidity events.
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3:30 P.M. Cocktail Reception & KJK Entrepreneur Pitch Session Winner Grand Ballroom
Connect with the sponsors, speakers, host committee and attendees as we recognize the KJK Pitch Session Winner Announced.
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5:00 P.M. Adjourn
Thank you for attending!