Conference Program - Business Transitions Forum Atlantic : Business Transitions Forum

Conference Program — DRAFT

2022 CONFERENCE CHAIR

Jon Spencer

Managing Director, TriWest Capital Partners

Welcome to the 1st annual Business Transitions Forum in Winnipeg. We are excited to be back to in person events and thrilled to be expanding the conference to Winnipeg! We are bringing together entrepreneurs and experts sharing their insights and stories about the process of selling, growing, and transitioning businesses. You will learn from experts and connect with peer groups who will offer valuable insights to help you with transition strategy – whether you’re just beginning to think about it or well-advanced down the path.

Enjoy the conference!

All Days VIP Welcome Reception Conference Workshop

OCTOBER 12, 2022 | VIP WELCOME RECEPTION FOR BUSINESS OWNERS

OCTOBER 13, 2022 | CONFERENCE PROGRAM

7:15AM - 8:00AM

Registration, Networking & Continental Breakfast

8:00AM – 8:10AM

Welcome & Forum Overview by Conference Chair

Chair: Jon Spencer, Managing Director, TriWest Capital Partners

8:10AM - 8:40AM

Opening Keynote: Economic Outlook and Impacts for Entrepreneurs

What do economic conditions and market trends look like in a world recovering from COVID? How will a post-pandemic future impact supply chains? What are the outlooks for interest rates, unemployment, recessionary impacts and more?

This session will provide insights into both a macro view of the economy, as well as provide insights on regional and industry sector differences. You will also get an understanding of the current mergers and acquisitions environment and factors which might impact it in the future.

8:40AM – 9:15AM

Your Guide to Creating a Saleable Business

No plan to sell? No problem: These strategies will help you run a better business (that’s more acquirable)

As a business owner or leader, your goal is to create shareholder value while keeping your options open to sustain, grow, and protect your organization and the choices available to you. While you may have no plan to sell – operating and growing your business as if you are getting ready for an acquirer will help you add considerable value AND reveal a multitude of options you may not have considered. You never know if, or when, there may come a knock on your door.

This session will help you understand the areas in your business that can make it more interesting to acquirers. We’ll also help you understand risk areas – allowing you to prioritize which parts of your business need attention now. You will walk away with:

One
Two
Three

9:15AM – 10:15AM

Growth and Scaling Strategies that Provide the Greatest ROI

Strategies to Quickly Expand Your Business

The best time start growing your company was yesterday. Every entrepreneur has dreams and ideas to expand their business, but the big question is knowing the right time to jump… where and how high?

Business growth plans such as developing new products or services, expanding customer markets, increasing sales initiatives, opening new locations, increasing revenue streams, automating work processes and acquisitions are all exciting plans. Before rushing into expansion, however, business owners need to assess if they are ready for growth. When business starts to scale up, systems can begin to crack under the pressure. Weaknesses can be exposed that can’t always fix them once the journey’s started.  

This session will:

Compare different “textbook” growth strategies and help you surface which ones are the best and most practical for you
Help you understand the difference between business growth and scaling
Help you create objectives as part of developing a strategy for growth

10:15AM – 10:45AM

Networking & Coffee Break

10:50AM – 11:50AM

Concurrent Sessions: 1A – 1C

1A: Taking (Some) Chips Off The Table

This session will address Management Buyouts and Partnerships with Minority Investors

COVID has prompted a surge in non-traditional M&A deal structures, accelerated deals and rapid changes in business needs and opportunities. After this rollercoaster ride – perhaps you want to re-risk your business, while still maintaining control?

There are a number of transition options that aren’t reliant on a large amount of cash, and can take a variety of different forms, such as a management buyout or buy-in (MBO/MBI), acquiring minority stakes or entering cooperative arrangements through joint ventures, alliances, or partnerships as a success strategy. 

This session will cover topics such as:

Strategies for MBO/MBI or investors
Different types of financing options to increase cash flow and growth opportunities
Factors to consider in an alternate financing structure can help you grow
Trends in alternative deal structures that don’t require a total sale of your business

1B: Growth By Acquisition: What You Need to know Before Buying a Business

Considerations For Acquisitive Entrepreneurs

Implementing an outbound M&A strategy at your company is a high-value, high stakes game. How can you establish your M&A Mindset? The M&A process is intensive, with many steps – it can often take many months to identify acquisition targets, initiate and close transactions – all while you’re still operating your business. Learn how to operate and run your business while embedding process that will improve M&A outcomes.

Identifying and comparing acquisition strategies for your business
Financing acquisitions
Examples of successful and failed acquisitions

1C: Your Family’s Business: Building a Successful Multi-generational Organization

Family businesses are unique in that transitioning them to the next generation is a complex, often deeply emotional, endeavour. How do you prepare for a generational business that is resilient, while keeping the legacy you have built intact. Building capacity in the next generation needs to begin early on, and you may also need to consider outside, non-family executives.

What measures do you need to be taking to professionalize your family owned and operated firm?
How are you supporting a shift in leadership?
How do you ensure you have the right governance in place?

11:50AM – 12:50PM

Networking Lunch

12:50PM – 1:20PM

Luncheon Keynote: Motivational Speaker (Cultivating the Entrepreneur Mindset) OR Panel of Acquirers as luncheon keynote.

Fireside chat with a high-profile entrepreneur who scaled their business then sold his/her business. The discussion will also discuss how they lead their teams, drove innovation and the change in mindset after the close.

1:30PM – 2:20PM

Concurrent Sessions: 2A – 2C

2A: Negotiation Tactics for Both Buyers and Sellers

Buyers and sellers sit on the opposite side of the same coin but with the same goal of ‘getting the deal done’. Skillful negotiation of best deals and terms is an essential component of any deal process – its not just about the money.

Learn key negotiating tactics and techniques that can help any buyer or seller work towards success when trying to close a business investment, growth capital, or M&A transaction. This panel will also discuss and elaborate on best practices, industry myths and misconceptions, and alternatives for consideration in designing a process to structure your transaction for a fair price.

Through an interactive discussion you’ll learn:

Why price isn’t everything
How to decide on the breadth and nature of a sale process
Why timing and deal tension matters, and how to create it
Which terms have an impact on price, and which do not
The roles an advisor can play through the sale process, and when and how to manage them

2B: Are You Ready to Sell? Understanding the Emotional Rollercoaster

Knowing if you can afford to sell, and when you are ready to take the leap is the most difficult decision for many business owners. In addition to building a comprehensive succession plan and ensuring your organizational structure will not leave you with a giant tax bill, it is important to address the other factors to ensure a happy and prosperous life after the close. Have you considered what life looks like after the close? The ability to shift from an entrepreneurial mindset to a capital management position requires planning and with the right preparation and enough time to implement. There are a number of opportunities to maximize the money in your pocket and ensure your financial success long after the close.

This session will look at real-world examples:
How to structure your company well in advance of a potential sale or recapitalization
Help you consider all of your business options to reap the benefits and avoid pitfalls
Tactics to avoid major post-sale surprises
Tips for shifting from an entrepreneur mindset

Wealth management tips and managing former business expenses post-transition

2C: Your Closet, Your Skeletons: Common pitfalls during the due diligence phase when buying or selling a business

Mergers and acquisitions typically have extensive due diligence by the buyer. Tackling due diligence during an M&A transaction is an overwhelming task, but essential for closing a successful, equitable and efficient deal. Before committing to the transaction, the acquirer will want to ensure that it knows what it is buying and what obligations it is assuming, litigation risks and intellectual property issues, liabilities, problematic contracts, and more.

Understand what both buyers will be looking for, and what sellers need to have prepared in terms of:

This panel will cover a 10 point due diligence checklist and the key information a company must acquire from their target before moving forward with a deal in terms of:

Legal
Commercial
Financial
Human Resources (HR)
Intellectual Property
Information Technology
Environmental, Health and Safety (EH&S)
Tax
Marketing
Compliance and Regulatory Matters

2:20PM - 2:40PM

Afternoon Networking & Coffee Break

2:45PM – 3:20PM

Determining the Value of Your Company and How to Increase It!

Do you really know what your business is worth? What do buyers or investors look for when considering a deal and how are the COVID years calculated in the valuation? Where can you add the most value to your organization? What areas of growth will provide the greatest ROI? Most business owners don’t get nearly what they should because they weren’t prepared or focused on the wrong things that are important to buyers, and this can gravely affect the value of your company.

As a business owner, it’s imperative to focus on the specific areas of your business that drive value, even if you have no immediate intention of selling.

Common methodologies to establish the value of your company
Common (and uncommon) value drivers

3:20PM - 4:00PM

Closing Keynote: +Transition Stories: The Good, The Bad & The Different

Hear from a panel of business owners who have gone through transition with their business and now have the opportunity to reflect on the process in the rear-view mirror. This panel will share insights on what they wish they had known at the beginning of their transition journey and their key learnings for their next endeavours. What would they change, if anything, if they were to do it all again? How much growth did their business experience prior to selling? These business owners will help build and broaden your frame of reference by sharing their own war stories and tales from the trenches.

3 or 4 entrepreneurs that have gone through transition (and growth)

4:00PM – 5:00PM

Cocktails & Conversation Networking Reception

Program, Schedule, and Speakers Subject to Change Without Notice

OCTOBER 14, 2022 | ENTREPRENEUR WORKSHOP (ADD-ON OPTIONAL)

Program, Schedule, and Speakers Subject to Change Without Notice

OCTOBER 13, 2022 | CONFERENCE PROGRAM

7:15AM - 8:00AM

Registration, Networking & Continental Breakfast

8:00AM – 8:10AM

Welcome & Forum Overview by Conference Chair

Chair: Jon Spencer, Managing Director, TriWest Capital Partners

8:10AM - 8:40AM

Opening Keynote: Economic Outlook and Impacts for Entrepreneurs

8:40AM – 9:15AM

Your Guide to Creating a Saleable Business

No plan to sell? No problem: These strategies will help you run a better business (that’s more acquirable)

One
Two
Three

9:15AM – 10:15AM

Growth and Scaling Strategies that Provide the Greatest ROI

Strategies to Quickly Expand Your Business

The best time start growing your company was yesterday. Every entrepreneur has dreams and ideas to expand their business, but the big question is knowing the right time to jump… where and how high?

This session will:

Compare different “textbook” growth strategies and help you surface which ones are the best and most practical for you
Help you understand the difference between business growth and scaling
Help you create objectives as part of developing a strategy for growth

10:15AM – 10:45AM

Networking & Coffee Break

10:50AM – 11:50AM

Concurrent Sessions: 1A – 1C

1A: Taking (Some) Chips Off The Table

This session will address Management Buyouts and Partnerships with Minority Investors

This session will cover topics such as:

Strategies for MBO/MBI or investors
Different types of financing options to increase cash flow and growth opportunities
Factors to consider in an alternate financing structure can help you grow
Trends in alternative deal structures that don’t require a total sale of your business

1B: Growth By Acquisition: What You Need to know Before Buying a Business

Considerations For Acquisitive Entrepreneurs

Identifying and comparing acquisition strategies for your business
Financing acquisitions
Examples of successful and failed acquisitions

1C: Your Family’s Business: Building a Successful Multi-generational Organization

What measures do you need to be taking to professionalize your family owned and operated firm?
How are you supporting a shift in leadership?
How do you ensure you have the right governance in place?

11:50AM – 12:50PM

Networking Lunch

12:50PM – 1:20PM

Luncheon Keynote: Motivational Speaker (Cultivating the Entrepreneur Mindset) OR Panel of Acquirers as luncheon keynote.

1:30PM – 2:20PM

Concurrent Sessions: 2A – 2C

2A: Negotiation Tactics for Both Buyers and Sellers

Through an interactive discussion you’ll learn:

Why price isn’t everything
How to decide on the breadth and nature of a sale process
Why timing and deal tension matters, and how to create it
Which terms have an impact on price, and which do not
The roles an advisor can play through the sale process, and when and how to manage them

2B: Are You Ready to Sell? Understanding the Emotional Rollercoaster

This session will look at real-world examples:
How to structure your company well in advance of a potential sale or recapitalization
Help you consider all of your business options to reap the benefits and avoid pitfalls
Tactics to avoid major post-sale surprises
Tips for shifting from an entrepreneur mindset

Wealth management tips and managing former business expenses post-transition

2C: Your Closet, Your Skeletons: Common pitfalls during the due diligence phase when buying or selling a business

Understand what both buyers will be looking for, and what sellers need to have prepared in terms of:

This panel will cover a 10 point due diligence checklist and the key information a company must acquire from their target before moving forward with a deal in terms of:

Legal
Commercial
Financial
Human Resources (HR)
Intellectual Property
Information Technology
Environmental, Health and Safety (EH&S)
Tax
Marketing
Compliance and Regulatory Matters

2:20PM - 2:40PM

Afternoon Networking & Coffee Break

2:45PM – 3:20PM

Determining the Value of Your Company and How to Increase It!

As a business owner, it’s imperative to focus on the specific areas of your business that drive value, even if you have no immediate intention of selling.

Common methodologies to establish the value of your company
Common (and uncommon) value drivers

3:20PM - 4:00PM

Closing Keynote: +Transition Stories: The Good, The Bad & The Different

3 or 4 entrepreneurs that have gone through transition (and growth)

4:00PM – 5:00PM

Cocktails & Conversation Networking Reception

Program, Schedule, and Speakers Subject to Change Without Notice

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Conference Program — DRAFT

Gaurav Anand

Mike Baker

Daniel Bernard

Steve Chen

Mike McIsaac

Don Montgomery

Kelly Nicolson

Sean Pisarski

Mackenzie Regent

Vernon Sabeski

Jon Spencer

Mark Stephenson

Steve Williams