Demystifying Technology by the MacLaurin Group

Have you noticed unusual activity in the M&A market recently? Learn how the market has changed and which topics we now need to focus on as a result. Tune into our recent podcast discussing the 2021 Deal Points Study with Lisa Hedrick. Lisa, a partner with Hirschler law firm, is not only an M&A attorney but also leads one of the working groups responsible for the American Bar Association’s Private Target Mergers and Acquisitions Deal Points Study. You might remember hearing Lisa on our podcast at the beginning of 2020. During that time, it was a seller-friendly market. What has changed since last we talked?

Would it surprise you to know the main currency in PE in addition to money is human capital? Curious what can be a deal breaker for both PE firm and portfolio? Listen to our CEO, and best selling author of the private equity book “Courage to Lose Sight of Shore”, Kelley Powell and Leon Brujis, Partner of Palladium Equity Partners discuss what backing a successful entrepreneur looks like.

It’s that time of the year again. Curious to learn more about the new surge of developers and how that affects technology? Jim Milbery of ParkerGale joins Alan, Ryan and Cormac for another year of discussion around the new data results from Stack Overflow’s 2021 Developer Survey. A few key takeaways from this discussion… 💡 An increase in professional developers in the self-employed/independent contractors category 💡 JavaScript continues its streak as the most commonly used programming language, but new kids are coming into the block 💡 While AWS continues to be the most used cloud platform, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure are making in roads

Every developer should have this in their toolbox. DbSchema, a database designer, gives a visual representation of your database. A database represents not only raw data, but the relationship between that data. DbSchema articulates this relationship in a visual and accessible manner that breaths fresh life into usually dull diagrams. This makes it easier for everyone, especially non-developers, to comprehend and contribute to what is seen as many outside, as a dark art. Thank you Dragos Pruteanu for creating a vital piece of software. It was great having you on the podcast. 🎙 Watch here - https://youtu.be/mLCtAu7Q0iY 👉 Check out this podcast on Medium - https://medium.com/maclaurin-group/dbschema-podcast-37-9f7e3fa7311e

Cybersecurity is not just about protecting the data. It is also making sure that your core systems are readily available at all times. Alan and Jim set US/Canada relations back 200 years while discussing the evolving state of cybersecurity with Dom and Christian of Cyber SC. Spoiler, this is no longer the domain of larger corporations. Our friends from north of the border discuss the importance of cybersecurity due diligence during the PE deal process, cybersecurity roadmap creation and fulfillment, the security crutches that companies lean on to their own detriment, and outsourced cybersecurity leadership. View on Medium View on YouTube

Are you a sucker for a good technology survey? We are too! Listen to hear what surprised us in our yearly review of the Stack Overflow developer survey. Ryan and Alan are joined by industry expert, Partner of ParkerGale and fellow podcaster of the Private Equity Funcast, Jim Milbery.

It scales with you, is easily manageable, and has incredible recovery capabilities, saving you time, money, and worry -- Alan and Ryan discuss Aurora, the MySQL and Postgres compatible database-as-a-service from Amazon AWS which has done wonders for managing and scaling databases in production.

Legacy is something that you leave behind with the expectation that you are paving a path for the success of others. So why do we fear the word ‘legacy’ when referring to code? Jim Headley sits down with Andrea Goulet of Corgibytes who explains that legacy code is not always something to fear, but something that can be built upon and improved. View on Medium

Would you like to get an insider’s view of the current M&A seller’s market? Lisa Hedrick, Partner at Hirschler and Issue Group Leader for the American Bar Association’s biannual “Private Target Mergers & Acquisitions Deal Points Study”, provides valuable insight into this extensive report’s most significant acquisition trends. Discover what this could mean for your business or portfolio companies. View on Medium

Is it a painful, manual, time consuming, or non-existent process for your IT team to trace a problem back to its source? In this podcast, Alan and Ryan discuss the importance of good logging practices and outline three litmus tests to evaluate if your enterprise logging system is heading in the right direction.

Ryan Burch and Alan Williamson talk about how you can utilize different types of messaging queues to decouple applications, with a focus on the three main players in AWS -- SQS, SNS and Amazon MQ. They then dive deeper into how to securely access these and other AWS services while your applications are running inside of AWS without having to pass around the equivalent of usernames and passwords. View on Medium

We all have fear. As he faces harsh criticism while writing “Dynamic Proxies in Java”, Dr. Heinz Kabutz says that there seems to be this perception in which we always have to look like we know what we are doing and that we have to have it right all the time. The key takeaway -- Accept feedback from people that you respect and do not allow negativity to determine your self-worth in your career. View on Medium

MacLaurin Group was a proud Gold Sponsor of this year's ACG Richmond Capital Conference. While there, we hosted a series of short conversations with experts in the private equity space to discover their outlook and areas of excitement as they look toward the coming year. We are joined by Gretchen Perkins, of Huron Capital, as she discusses with Alan Williamson investment strategies for both the traditional buyout versus non-control equity. Gretchen goes deeper into how their Flex Equity fund helps business owners, who have no intention of selling, increase capital without debt. This is especially helpful for business owners seeking add-on acquisitions to accelerate growth and achieve their preferred valuation. View on Medium

Are you confident that your sales team has the knowledge to spot when deals will move with the appropriate velocity to get them across the line? Robin Green, President of Sandler Training, talks with Alan Williamson and Jim Headley about advising companies to develop methodology and data-driven sales processes as they expand. Robin emphasizes the three key ingredients needed in the recipe to increase sales — build better habits, reinforce positive beliefs and execute innovative strategies.

MacLaurin Group was a proud Gold Sponsor of this year's ACG Richmond Capital Conference. While there, we hosted a series of short conversations with experts in the private equity space to discover their outlook and areas of excitement as they look toward the coming year. How does a founder flawlessly navigate a competitive sales process? Jim Headley sits down with Brian Alas of Boxwood Partners, a boutique investment bank in Richmond, to share advice with founders for effectively conveying to potential buyers key business drivers and future opportunities. It starts with understanding your numbers to accurately articulate your story, value, and succession plan in a deal process. View on Medium

MacLaurin Group was a proud Gold Sponsor of this year's ACG Richmond Capital Conference. While there, we hosted a series of short conversations with experts in the private equity space to discover their outlook and areas of excitement as they look toward the coming year. When choosing a transaction advisory partner, it is important that the firm has a dedicated practice with people that possess a significant deal & industry experience. Sidney Glick of Cherry Bekaert, a full service accounting firm, offers a unique perspective about substantial changes over the last five years in the M&A space, specifically relating to financial and accounting due diligence. View on Medium

MacLaurin Group was a proud Gold Sponsor of this year's ACG Richmond Capital Conference. While there, we hosted a series of short conversations with experts in the private equity space to discover their outlook and areas of excitement as they look toward the coming year. It is not always about valuation in a seller’s market - trust in a right-fit partner plays a key role. Lisa Hedrick and Andrew Lohmann of Hirschler, a Richmond-based law firm, sat down with Jim Headley to talk about the legal trends and common pitfalls in the deal process for first-time sellers, the psychology of buying and selling, when in the process you should introduce legal representation, and the impact of reps and warranties on the process. View on Medium

MacLaurin Group was a proud Gold Sponsor at this year's ACG Richmond Capital Conference. While there, we hosted a series of short conversations with experts in the private equity space to discover their outlook and areas of excitement as they look toward the coming year. In this episode, Jim Headley sits down with Liza Bowersox, recognized by the American Society of Appraisers as an Accredited Senior Appraiser and Vice President of Venture First to discuss how she approaches valuation for a company to become transaction ready. View on Medium

MacLaurin Group was a proud Gold Sponsor at this year's ACG Richmond Capital Conference. While there, we hosted a series of short conversations with experts in the private equity space to discover their outlook and areas of excitement as they look toward the coming year. In this episode, Alan Williamson interviews Jack Surma of Tecum Capital, a PE fund prescribing mezzanine debt, minority equity, and control equity, named by Inc. Magazine as one of the Top 50 Founder-Friendly Private Equity Firms. Amidst a highly competitive market for deal sponsors, Jack describes the relationship-focused capital provider mentality as first institutional capital in a deal -- and differentiation as a long-term partner. View on Medium

MacLaurin Group was a proud Gold Sponsor at this year's ACG Richmond Capital Conference. While there, we hosted a series of short conversations with experts in the private equity space to discover their outlook and areas of excitement as they look toward the coming year. In this episode, Alan Williamson speaks with Jonathan Brabrand, Managing Director of Fahrenheit Advisors, Entrepreneur and author of “The $100 Million Exit: Lessons for Every Business Owner” expected publication April 2020. How does a business owner know they want to sell? Is it worth investing in a second level management team before selling? Jonathan shares insight into how he advises business owners on the necessary steps to become more attractive to private equity to sell their businesses. View on Medium