Interviews

An Interview with M&A Source Member, Sam Thompson

Tell us about your pre-M&A career and how it led you to doing this work?

My previous life has been in the hospitality world. I founded and was owner operator of a conference and event management company for 29 years. As I grew the business I brought on three partners. We found ourselves managing various services for major events such as the Final 4, US Open, Republican Convention, Super Bowl and many large corporate and association conventions. When managing events you are always double and triple checking EVERYTHING. We made sure to think through contingency plans as Murphy’s Law prevailed…anything that can go wrong will go wrong. This experience has served me well as an M&A advisor. In 2010, I started planning my career change. I first worked on removing myself from my business. My three partners were doing a great job in their individual roles and once they knew I was planning on leaving they were open to taking on some of my duties. I also started attending IBBA Conventions to learn more about the transactions industry. I sold my shares back to the business in 2012. When I left the business was right around $16M in revenue with 150 employees. I immediately joined a Minneapolis M&A firm and started my new career as an M&A Advisor in 2013. I have found my previous experience as a business owner has helped me tremendously when advising business owners that are ready to sell.

What personal characteristics and strengths have supported your success in this industry?

I have Churchill’s quote, “Never, Never, Never Give Up” in my office and I live by that. Having owned a small business that was deeply affected during 9/11 and the Great Recession I learned how to maneuver through difficult times and come out ahead when all seemed lost. This attitude has helped as an M&A Advisor as most transactions oftentimes need to be redirected to get to the finish line.

What is your greatest M&A accomplishment?

This past year I was able to sell a business for one of my clients at 89% above his expecting price. Needless to say he was ecstatic. The auction process I used was from a class I took at M&A Source. I now use this same process on all of my transactions and the results are always at or above clients expectations.

With regard to the majority of your engagements, do you work as a team or do you handle things on your own?

I always have support help from my employees yet almost all of my transactions I deal directly with the business owner. We have two other advisors in our firm and they deal directly with their clients with support help too. On occasion M&A advisors within our firm may team up together.

Do you just do M&A or do you provide other services – valuations, consulting, etc.?

We mainly offer M&A advising representing the sellers. Many of our engagements will include a valuation for fee, which we deduct from our success fee at closing. There are situations where just a valuation is needed yet that is a very small percentage of our sales.

What is the biggest mistake you have made when working on a deal?

I would say early on in my M&A Advising career I had taken on a client that brought in the buyer. Because of the previous relationship that the buyer and seller had they were communicating at times without me. The seller ended up agreeing to some aspects of the deal with the buyer that they regretted. I quickly learned, no matter what the situation, that I need to be in on all meetings and calls with the buyer and seller.

What are the three most important qualities that you think a good M&A advisor needs to have?

I would say patience is so important. I’m still learning this. In my previous career once a client said let’s go to contract, the meeting or conference usually happened and our services were used. In M&A it never is a done deal until all closing documents are signed and the money is in the bank. Second would be to continue to learn the skill of negotiating. Success in this industry comes to those that can negotiate well. Third would be honesty. I’ve found if you are truthful in everything you do people will trust you and they will want to do business with you (as quoted by Zig Ziglar).

What is your most interesting deal that you are working on today?

I’m working on a manufacturing business with four partners, three of which are not active and are doing nothing for the business except costing the company money. The active owner (my main client) has single-handedly done amazing things with this business to get it where it is financially succeeding. He’s the most honest guy you’d ever want to meet and he’s interested in staying on with the business (he’s in his 50’s). This business is, as you may expect, drawing a lot of attention from buyers. It’s one of those feel good stories when you see what this one owner has done through hard work and determination. It feels good to know I can help someone like this be successful in an M&A transaction.

How long have you been an M&A Source member and what do you get out of your membership?

I joined IBBA in 2010 when I still owned my event business. I eventually started doing larger transactions and made the decision to have membership with both IBBA and M&A Source in 2016. By far the education that is offered by M&A Source has tremendous value. I also find the people at the conference are quality people and i enjoy the networking.

As a seasoned M&A advisor, what changes and trends do you see on the horizon that will impact on M&A?

I do think we may eventually see the Boomer Tsunami. Where baby boomers that own businesses will have a maximum exodus. This was the talk when I first became an M&A advisor and the tsunami is yet to hit. I think a main reason is baby boomers just like to work. Knowing the youngest boomer will be 65 in 2030 I do think the next 5-7 years will be very active with boomers deciding it’s time to exit.

What advice would you give to new people entering the profession? 

It’s an exciting industry and stay grounded. Continue to get as much M&A education as possible as you can never know too much in this industry. The key is to be networking constantly. I’m always fascinated at how a certain connection, that I didn’t think would go anywhere was the reason for a lead.

Please tell us something about yourself that has nothing to do with your M&A career?

I have a wonderful wife of 36 years and three beautiful daughters and a son-in-law. We have one grandson that is two years old. Our family LOVES to travel and we started a tradition last January to visit a warm climate for a month in January (remember, we live in Minnesota). The first destination was Costa Rica which is where our photo was taken. We’ve yet to decide where we’ll go in January of 2025. We have many ideas!