Brian Matthews, CEO at ITEL This episode is sponsored by the M&A Science Academy, DealRoom, and FirmRoom. To join our growing online community of M&A practitioners, mascience.com/academy. Don’t forget to use code “podcast” at checkout. Ready to take your M&A to the next level with software made to manage each stage of the deal process? See how DealRoom can facilitate your next deal at dealroom.net. FirmRoom provides 80% cost savings over VDRs that bill by page and delivers a far better user experience. Sign up in under 2 minutes by going to firmroom.com. Episode Timestamps 00:00 Intro 04:20 Value chain ecosystem approach 08:23 Real-life example of a value chain ecosystem 12:05 Emphasis on the exit planning 13:51 Traditional bank exit 16:50 Benefits of an ecosystem approach 18:47 Bringing fresh perspectives 21:56 Ecosystem Playbook 23:58 How to create a value chain ecosystem 30:22 Considering the maturity of partner ecosystems of companies 37:19 Valuation 38:32 Best practices on deal execution 40:14 Transparency rules 42:18 Reading between the lines 43:09 Craziest thing in M&A