CGK Business Sales

Why CGK?

Why Choose CGK Business Sales? Selling businesses is not easy. Fact: Less than 20% of all business on the market sell. We sell 80%-90%. Why don’t we sell 100%? We sell every viable business. EVERY, SINGLE ONE. The ones we don’t sell unexpectedly start to flounder. Since selling your business will likely be one of the largest financial transactions in your life, can you trust this process to those with inferior track records, financial skills, educations, or credentials? If you were sick, you’d want the best doctor. If you were sued, you’d want the best attorney. Why would you want anything less … Read More

Business Valuation

Three Business Valuation Methods You Need to Know About Business owners who are ready to sell their business will often wonder, what is my business worth? This is likely the first question they'll ask themselves since it is the most important; the value of the business determines how much they can obtain if they sell the business. There are a number of different business valuation methods that are in use today, but three that any business owner will want to know about are the asset approach, the income approach, and the comparable transactions approach. Asset Approach to … Read More

Sell My Business

How Do I Sell My Business? "How do I sell my business", a business owner may think? Business owners who are ready to move onto something different, retire, or ready to simply enjoy life will want to prepare to sell their business as early as possible. However, selling a business does take some time and proper planning to ensure everything is done properly and that there are no issues with the sale. Start Planning for the Sale as Early as Possible When a business owner decides to retire or to start a new business, the first thought they often have is, will it be possible to sell my business? While starting … Read More

Greg Knox has spent his 20-year career in finance and business, including a diverse background in middle-market investment banking, private equity, a multi-billion dollar hedge fund, and institutional trading, at such institutions as Deutsche Bank, T. Rowe Price, and Wachovia Bank. Mr. Knox also has experience as a multiple-time business owner, giving him unique insight into a founder's mindset. Previous to his work at CGK, Greg spent multiple years as a middle-market mergers and acquisitions investment banker and at a lower-middle market private equity firm. Mr. Knox has a BA degree in Business Administration from Franklin & Marshall College and a Master of Business Administration from Cornell University. Greg currently holds the FINRA Series 79, 63, & 55 licences. He is a CFA Exam Level III Candidate in the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program and a Level II Candidate in the CAIA program.

Derik Polay has over fifteen years of experience with distressed securities and markets worldwide and seven-plus years of upper-management positions at small and middle-market businesses. Derik's previous experience includes Managing Director at IFI Capital and as a Senior Vice President for Fulcrum Capital where he focused on distressed investments and securities. Previously, as a top producer at APS Capital, Derik helped grow the business. Before his finance career, Derik had important positions in management roles and as a consultant, where he increased productivity, the quality of various products and services, and communication within major manufacturing, auto supply, and telecommunications companies. An Austin resident, Derik is an M&A Advisor for CGK’s Austin and San Antonio branches. Mr. Polay holds a Bachelor of Science from DePaul University in Finance.

Eric Lewis has over 17 years of experience in the financial industry. He has worked for a breadth of companies ranging from investment banks to proprietary trading firms. While spending the last 10 years in the energy business, he has built a physical commodities business and traded financial products. He has also created valuation models for physical assets, projects, and companies. His financial career has led him to work for Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Cargill, and TD Options, along with a few private financial firms. Eric is also the owner and founder of a digital marketing company. A Houston resident, Eric is an M&A Advisor for CGK’s Houston branch. Eric holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Jason Clendaniel has been in “business” since he was seven years old. Whether mowing lawns, delivering papers or shoveling snow, Jason learned business from the ground up. His professional career is multi-faceted and well-rounded. He has 20 years of experience in leadership and finance; ten years as a Naval Officer and ten years leading his own businesses. He has over ten years of experience working with S&P 500 companies in Sales, Business Development, Mergers and Acquisitions. He also spent a year working with a Fortune 500 Company as an internal consultant and Industrial Engineer. He has a deep understanding of finance, operations, business development and business valuation. A Plano resident, Jason is an M&A Advisor for CGK’s Dallas branch. Jason holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics with Honors from the United States Naval Academy.

Mr. Thomas “Jay” Lennon is an Air Force veteran, combat aviator, and distinguished leader with 26 years’ experience leading multi-million dollar projects, finance, and organizational transitions, inside and outside of the government. National and international leaders consistently seek Jay’s counsel and vision for some of the most complex and sensitive defense issues. Mr. Lennon’s extensive background in system acquisitions, procurement, organizational function, including facility construction, and real estate provide him with an outstanding background to support a wide variety of requirements. A Colorado Springs resident, Jay is an M&A Advisor for CGK’s Denver and Colorado Springs branches. Jay holds a Bachelor of Science from the United States Air Force Academy and two Master’s degrees in National Security Policy and Military Science with a focus on Leadership, System Acquisitions and Project Management.

Matthew Zienty has 17 years of financial industry experience in areas ranging from institutional equity trading, currency trading, financial sales, RIA valuations, & compliance. He has worked for such notable firms as Deutsche Bank, SunAmerica Securities & AIG Financial Advisors. Subsequent to AIG F.A., Matt worked for AIG’s largest Managing Branch Office as Vice President, responsible for the oversight of 45 sales offices, nationwide, and responsible for managing the firm’s litigation/arbitration issues. During his affiliation with AIG Financial Advisors, Matt was selected by their Executive Leadership Team to serve on the Management Advisory Committee for Compliance. Matt has held the Series 3, 4, 7, 24, 53, 63, & 66 licenses, and the IACCP Designation. A Scottsdale resident, Matt is an M&A consultant for CGK’s Phoenix branch. Matt holds a B.S. degree in Justice Studies from Arizona State University.

David Smoot has 15 successful years in finance and sales for Fortune 500 companies and owning his own small businesses. His leadership roles include finance and sales, managing multi-million dollar product launches, training new managers, and growing business revenue at some of the largest companies in the world. He has received five President’s Circle Awards in three different industries. This award is only given to the top 2% of associates. David also has 7 years of diverse entrepreneurial experience through his ownership of several businesses. A Baltimore resident, David is an M&A Advisor for CGK’s Baltimore and Washington D.C. branches. David holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from Towson University and an MBA with honors from Mount Saint Mary’s University.

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Wes McDonough has over 16 years of experience in both entrepreneurship and corporate finance. Previous to CGK, Wes held numerous positions, including accounting, payroll, billing, project management, and IT/Application Support at a privately-held, global talent solutions firm based in Tennessee. Wes’s entrepreneurial spirit started at a young age and originated in music, where he studied, composed, and performed from his earliest days. Developing this talent into a successful music career, he found himself touring the East Coast, self-releasing an album that sold 5,000+ units and attracting major record label attention in the 10 years during and following college. In doing so, he learned valuable business principles by managing, booking, promoting, and marketing himself and his band. Now, as a 10+ year resident of Nashville, Wes still follows his passion for music, building his song catalog by collaborating with other artists/writers and playing writer’s nights around the ‘Music City’. Wes has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a minor in Vocal Performance from Towson University. As valedictorian of his high school senior class, Wes attended Towson on the Maryland Presidential Scholarship. Wes is an M&A Advisor for CGK’s Nashville branch.

Matthew Mistica has more than 10 years of experience in finance and entrepreneurship. Matthew has 7 years of experience in Corporate Finance working for Chevron Corporation and Shell Oil as a financial analyst with various upstream drilling business units and downstream refinery margin optimization. In recent years, Matt’s entrepreneurial spirit drove him to start, grow, and eventually sell (with CGK) a very successful biohazard remediation and hoarding removal company, with locations in Houston and Austin. He graduated at the top of his class with a Bachelor of Science from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo concentrating in Finance with a minor in Economics. During his oil and gas tenure, he obtained his MBA from the University of Houston focusing in Business Management, and he was the recipient of the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence. Matthew is an M&A Advisor for CGK’s Houston branch.

Lance Hupfeld brings over 25 years of experience in sales and business development management to CGK Business Sales. With a broad array of valuable experience, Lance has deep knowledge in healthcare consulting, revenue cycle management, physician practice management, and employee benefits, with both regional and national companies. Key performance metrics include contract negotiations, strategic partnerships, and client development. Mr. Hupfeld also brings the added experience of owning and operating multiple business entities. Highlights include building and selling a business as a franchisee of a nationally recognized franchisor. Lance was the main liaison/principal responsible for orchestrating the sale of his last two companies. Mr. Hupfeld holds a BA degree from McDaniel College and is a licensed Life and Health agent. Lance is Director of Business Development for CGK Business Sales.

When Hiring A Mergers and Acquisitions Advisor…

You’ve worked hard over the years to build a business that would take care of you and your family. Now, you think it might be time to sell your business. This is a decision that most business owners do not take lightly. They are proud of what they’ve built and would like to see their employees and customers treated well by the next owner. Most often, the Seller would also like to receive full value and good terms for what they’ve built. It’s hard building a business. Unfortunately, it’s easy to mess up the mergers and acquisitions process. It seems that in these late stages of a nine-year bull market, everyone and anyone thinks that they have the knowledge and know-how to sell businesses. It’s easy to “hang a sign”, as they say. The problem is, most practitioners do not have the education, backgrounds, or experience to do so. They are glorified, Sunday real-estate agents. We hear about it from frustrated buyers all the time: “I think the business broker I talked to was 20 years old.” “I’m not sure they had any financial experience, whatsoever.” “In order to sign up the deal, the broker gave … [Read More...]

Things Needed To Sell A Business

Many potential business sellers call us and ask what they need to begin the process of selling their business. So, what do you need if you are a seller? Good and up-to-date financial records Good financials are extremely important to the process of selling a business. While these do not need to be audited, they still need to be accurate. This means, at the very least, having a CPA do your tax returns and prepare any interim (year-to-date) financials. If you put yourself in the position of a buyer, they are making a large financial commitment to buy your business and will spend thousands of dollars on due diligence. Many qualified buyers may walk away from the negotiating table if the financials are sloppy or not prepared by a professional. This usually includes at least the last three years of business tax returns, income statements, and balance sheets, plus any interim financial statements. These need to be within the last 90 ninety days to be relevant to most buyers and financing sources. 2. Information on the operations of the business This includes the sales process, the human capital in the business, and how any processes occur to make products … [Read More...]