"Every time I get off the phone with you, I feel better... but I don't call because I don't want to pay the billable hour."

Alexandria Seydel heard this from clients constantly when she was practicing M&A law. So she made a simple offer: "What about once a month you buy me lunch and we go for 90 minutes and you get my brain."

Those lunch conversations changed everything. Alexandria realized she was more energized talking business strategy than drafting legal documents. Now as founder of Ripples Edge Advisors, she helps business owners prepare for exits before they're forced to sell.

Most owners think exit planning means getting financials in order and hoping for the best. Alexandria starts differently. She has clients close their eyes and picture life five years after selling: What does your typical day look like? Who are you spending time with? What gives you purpose?

Those answers determine whether you should target private equity (focused on returns) or strategic buyers (who care about legacy and team). The visioning exercise prevents what Alexandria sees constantly: post-exit depression, even among sellers who make life-changing money.

Right now she's watching clients in tech-adjacent industries get multiple serious offers in the same week. Legal tech, agricultural tech, climate tech - traditional industries adding technology are hot. But success isn't just about timing the market.

"If you were to go to Bali for three weeks, would your business run without you?" That's Alexandria's test for exit readiness. Most entrepreneurs think they're prepared until they actually try stepping away.

In our conversation, Alexandria breaks down her exit readiness assessment, explains why the visioning exercise matters more than most tactical work, and shares what's driving current M&A activity in her clients' industries.

• • •

FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE:
https://www.coreykupfer.com/blog/alexandriaseydel

• • •

FOR MORE ON ALEXANDRIA SEYDEL
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandria-seydel/
Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ripples-edge-advisors/
Website: https://www.ripplesedgeadvisors.com/

FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFER
https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/
https://www.coreykupfer.com/

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders converge, share insights and challenges, and success stories. Equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support necessary to navigate the complex yet rewarding world of dealmaking. Dive into the world of deal-driven growth today!

Think investors who don't re-up for your next round are doing you a favor?

Not the case!

Most entrepreneurs see this as rejection. But here's what Sahil Patel discovered after 11 years building and selling ER Express: Sometimes the BEST thing that can happen is getting misaligned investors out of your cap table.

His family office investors knew service businesses. But SaaS? Different game entirely.

"The way you look at a SaaS business, you really have to look at unit economics. If you just look at the whole cost, it looks terrible."

The result? A year of treading water while growth stalled.

But here's where it gets interesting: Those same investors offered him a management buyout with seller financing. NON-RECOURSE.

Eight quarters of consecutive growth followed.

We'll dive deep into this (and so much more) in this episode of the DealQuest Podcast!

• How to identify when investor misalignment is killing your business
• Why timing is the entrepreneur's biggest enemy (not money)
• The crisis pivot that doubled his total addressable market
• Building performance-based business models that guarantee results
• And much more

Whether you're navigating complex investor relationships or building systems for sustainable growth, this conversation provides frameworks every business leader needs.
• • •

FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE:
https://www.coreykupfer.com/blog/sahilpatel

• • •

FOR MORE ON SAHIL PATEL
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sahilanamipatel/
https://www.spiralyze.com/

FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFER
https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/
https://www.coreykupfer.com/

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders converge, share insights and challenges, and success stories. Equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support necessary to navigate the complex yet rewarding world of dealmaking. Dive into the world of deal-driven growth today!

JP Morgan's latest M&A report reveals something fascinating: despite ongoing uncertainty, global deal volumes hit $2.2 trillion (up 27% year-over-year).

Here's what caught my attention:
- Mega deals increased 57% because bigger players can thrive when smaller competitors freeze up.
- Cross-border activity actually grew 24% despite rising protectionism as companies use M&A to position around trade uncertainties rather than avoid them.
- And get this - AI infrastructure needs will drive $1 trillion in spending over the next 5 years, with data center capacity needing to increase 100-fold.

Technology M&A surged 42%, financial services up 56%, and even media jumped 51% as consolidation becomes a survival strategy.

The bottom line? Uncertainty isn't going away, but markets remain remarkably resilient. Smart deal-makers are learning to operate effectively in permanently uncertain conditions rather than waiting for clarity that may never come.

Listen to my full breakdown on this solo DealQuest episode.

• • •
FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE:
https://www.coreykupfer.com/blog/JPMorgan2025
• • •

FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFER:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/
http://coreykupfer.com/

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders converge, share insights and challenges, and success stories. Equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support necessary to navigate the complex yet rewarding world of dealmaking. Dive into the world of deal-driven growth today!

Ever wonder how great dealmakers got their start?

Some began with childhood lemonade stands. Others learned through necessity when family circumstances required quick business education. A few discovered their talents through door-to-door sales or car flipping as teenagers.
But here's what's fascinating: every successful dealmaker has an origin story that reveals the early development of skills that would later drive millions in transactions.

In this best of compilation from the DealQuest Podcast, you'll hear from over a dozen successful business leaders sharing their very first deals - from Thomas Samuelson negotiating his way out of Philadelphia to Sunny Vanderbeck subcontracting lawn care in elementary school.

What you'll discover:

• How childhood businesses teach fundamental negotiation principles
• Why early sales experiences translate directly to deal success
• The common patterns that predict future dealmaking ability
• How adversity often accelerates business skill development
• And much more

Whether you're developing your own deal skills or helping others recognize their potential, these stories provide insights into how business instincts develop and grow.

• • •
FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE:
https://www.coreykupfer.com/blog/originstories
• • •

FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFER:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/
http://coreykupfer.com/

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders converge, share insights and challenges, and success stories. Equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support necessary to navigate the complex yet rewarding world of dealmaking. Dive into the world of deal-driven growth today!

Most people think private equity means gutting companies and squeezing margins.

Neal Cobb is proving them wrong.

After raising over $20 million and scaling his delivery startup to 100,000 drivers before selling to 7-Eleven, Neal could have retired. Instead, he's building something that challenges everything we think we know about private equity.

At Equity X, they're acquiring legacy businesses and turning them into employee-owned enterprises. No quick flips. No cultural destruction. Just long-term value creation where employees actually benefit from the success they help create.

In this DealQuest conversation, Neal shares how he went from running dice games in high school to building a white-label delivery empire to reimagining what private equity can be. His insights on partnerships, timing deals, and betting on people over ideas will change how you think about business growth.

Neal's approach reveals what happens when you prioritize people and culture alongside profits.

This is a perfect listen for business leaders exploring acquisition strategies and sustainable growth models.

• • •

FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE:
https://www.coreykupfer.com/blog/nealcobb

• • •

FOR MORE ON NEAL COBB
https://www.linkedin.com/in/neal-cobb-4a4084179/
www.equityx.co

FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFER
https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/
https://www.coreykupfer.com/

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders converge, share insights and challenges, and success stories. Equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support necessary to navigate the complex yet rewarding world of dealmaking. Dive into the world of deal-driven growth today!

Eighty percent of business owners have eighty percent of their net worth locked in their business.

But only twenty percent of businesses survive to see their tenth birthday.

This conversation will change how you think about building enterprise value forever.

Scott Beebe didn't just build a successful consulting practice...

He proved that the secret to enterprise value isn't your product, your market, or your marketing.

Scott is the founder of Business on Purpose and certified exit planning advisor who has helped hundreds of business owners liberate themselves from chaos while building sellable assets.

In this DealQuest Podcast episode, I sat down with Scott to uncover the real drivers of enterprise value and why most businesses fail the ultimate test.

In our conversation, we explored:

• The eighty percent rule that destroys most businesses
• Why your product isn't actually your product
• The enterprise value litmus test every owner should know
• How to break free from "hero complex" that kills scalability
• The five meeting types that build culture and systems
• Cash domination strategies that put owners in control

And much more!

Whether you're planning an exit in two to three years, building for long-term growth, or struggling with operational chaos, this conversation provides actionable frameworks for immediate implementation.

• • •

FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE:
https://www.coreykupfer.com/blog/scottbeebe

• • •

FOR MORE ON SCOTT BEEBE
Company: https://www.businessonpurpose.com
Assessment Tool: https://www.businessonpurpose.com/healthy
Books: "Let Your Business Burn" and "The Chaos Free Contractor"

FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFER
https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/
https://www.coreykupfer.com/

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders converge, share insights and challenges, and success stories. Equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support necessary to navigate the complex yet rewarding world of dealmaking. Dive into the world of deal-driven growth today!

Most business leaders believe they need significant capital to pursue growth deals.

This assumption limits their strategic options.

The reality is that dozens of deal structures are available to businesses of every size, yet most entrepreneurs only explore a fraction of what's possible.

From acqui-hires that appear to be acquisitions but are actually strategic hiring initiatives, to licensing agreements that generate ongoing revenue, to joint ventures that create value for all parties involved.

This episode of the DealQuest Podcast explores the full spectrum of deal opportunities:
• The crucial distinction between mergers and acquisitions and why it matters for your strategy
• How to structure transactions with zero upfront capital requirements
• Why licensing represents the most underutilized revenue opportunity for many businesses
• Employee retention strategies that function as internal deals
• And much more

Essential listening for business owners seeking to understand their complete range of strategic growth options.

• • •
FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE:
https://www.coreykupfer.com/blog/languageofdeals
• • •

FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFER:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/
http://coreykupfer.com/

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders converge, share insights and challenges, and success stories. Equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support necessary to navigate the complex yet rewarding world of dealmaking. Dive into the world of deal-driven growth today!

Hikari Senju did something different. While everyone else was chasing VCs, he built Omneky to millions in revenue first.

After seeing AI generate art at MIT, this Harvard CS grad knew the future. But when investors didn't bite in 2018 ("AI is vaporware," "advertising is too competitive"), he didn't give up. He bootstrapped.

Two years. Living hand-to-mouth. Building real revenue.

His philosophy: "Build a company that deserves capital."

The result? When he finally raised money, he had leverage. He was selecting partners, not begging for checks.

Three insights from our conversation that reinforce critical deal principles:

1. Strategic exits: He took less money from his first sale to learn inside a funded startup. That buyer became his first investor in Omneky.
2. The deserve capital test: Growing 3x with strong margins? Investment should be obvious. If not, keep building.
3. Infinite game thinking: Every deal starts a relationship. Your vendor today might be your investor tomorrow.

From selling art to grandma at 7 to serving Fortune 100s with AI.

• • •

FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE:
https://www.coreykupfer.com/blog/hikarisenju

• • •

FOR MORE ON HIKARI SENJU
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hisenju/
Omneky: www.omneky.com

FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFER
https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/
https://www.coreykupfer.com/

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders converge, share insights and challenges, and success stories. Equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support necessary to navigate the complex yet rewarding world of dealmaking. Dive into the world of deal-driven growth today!