How to Deal with the Deal: The Human Side of M&A

Whether you’re selling a business or buying into one, it’s a big deal. And when the stakes get high, so do emotions. On this episode, we dive into the human element of mergers & acquisitions. What’s it like to sell your business? How do you navigate change? What can you do to build trust?

Fortunately, we spoke with two people who have experienced the whole spectrum of M&A transactions. Father and son team George & Joshua Robertson run GrowCo Capital, an investment firm based out of Fort Worth, Texas. But before they were in venture capital, they ran their own businesses, including National HME. Hear the story of how George and Josh navigated the strategic partnership and eventual sale of their family business, and the lessons they now bring to the buy-side. We’ll explore how to manage your emotions, communicate with employees, and set a clear vision, so that everyone can win. 

So listen in and find out: how do you deal with the deal?

Highlights:

• The Robertsons’ family background (2:05)
• Planting the seeds for National HME (4:40)
• National HME: the early years (7:43)
• Why the Robertsons went looking for strategic partners (8:54)
• How they chose partners (10:02)
• Managing emotions (12:06)
• How George and Josh adapted to new partners (14:22)
• The golden nugget (16:41)
• Communicating with employees (18:03)
• Saying goodbye to the company you’ve built (19:23)
• Having values at your core (21:47)
• George and Josh on the buy-side (22:53)
• Using what they’ve learned (23:57)
• Channeling emotion towards a goal (26:13)
• MasVida Health and the future for the Robertsons (28:17)

Links:

• Cadence Bank Website
• Cadence Bank Twitter
• Cadence Bank LinkedIn
• GrowCo Capital
• George Robertson LinkedIn
• Joshua Robertson LinkedIn
• MasVida Health
• Forbes - Emotions Matter When Selling Your Company
• Harvard Business Review - Dealing with the Emotional Fallout of Selling Your Business
• LinkedIn - What CEOs must do to lead successful mergers and acquisitions

Feedback:

If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, [e-mail] or [e-mail].

What is In Good Companies?

Starting and running a business or managing one isn’t for the faint of heart. You’re balancing internal and external forces in a continually changing landscape. You’re building strategies, and banking on the future – no matter what it holds. This is where Cadence Bank’s In Good Companies comes in. We share our wealth of knowledge, and insights from noted industry experts, to guide you through the forces shaping business today.

We’re back for Season 6, and this time, we’re setting our sights on the future of work. We’re asking the big questions, like:

What will your career look like in 2030? Or 2050, even?
How is ESG shaping the future of companies?
And how can we leverage AI to our advantage?

We bring together experts from across the board, from Silicon Valley to multinationals like EY, to help you stay on the cutting edge of business. And we get to know those who are building the future of our companies; because at Cadence Bank, we want to hear the human side of every success story.

Hosting our stellar range of guests this season is our new host, Ari Marin. He is a Cadence Bank Senior Vice President and family enterprise advisor, whose specialty is consulting with family-owned and small businesses. Ari’s idea of “good company” is being around creative, insightful people with unique and inspirational stories. For Season 6, he brings in his curiosity and ambition to In Good Companies, to lead discussions with our guests, and bring listeners across the U.S. all the information they need, in one place, in under 30 minutes.

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