At the Waldorf Astoria | Beverly Hills, CA (Oct 10)
On October 10, we hosted an intimate M&A & Exit Lab at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills, bringing together nine agency owners who are serious about acquisitions and building toward a real exit.
This wasn't a large conference. It wasn't designed to be.
It was a carefully curated room of operators actively working through the mechanics of buying businesses, structuring deals, and reverse-engineering the exit they want to build toward.
The goal was simple: help attendees leave with clarity, momentum, and the exact next steps to move forward on M&A - whether that means sourcing their first deal, sharpening their evaluation process, or finally mapping the acquisition strategy that leads to their ultimate exit.
The day was built around execution: deal sourcing, evaluation frameworks, valuation mechanics, financing structures, diligence, integration planning, and exit reverse-engineering.
And because the experience matters, we made sure every detail reinforced the premium, focused nature of the day:
- Each guest received a welcome package including a branded t-shirt, local Beverly Hills chocolate, branded leather notebook, and pen
- Every attendee received a comprehensive physical binder - packed with frameworks, checklists, and templates designed for immediate use in live deal structuring
What follows is a recap of the full-day agenda and why this intimate format consistently creates momentum for agency owners who are serious about M&A.
Full-Day Agenda Highlights
We structured the day to move from mindset → pipeline → deal mechanics → execution, so attendees left with both clarity and actionable next steps.
Morning: Foundations + Deal Flow
- M&A mindset + exit thinking: how to "begin with the end," understand buyer types, and focus on the valuation drivers that actually matter
- Deal sourcing + pipeline build: the core sourcing channels, plus a hands-on work session where attendees started building a repeatable pipeline and drafted real outreach
- Quick-fit evaluation: how to run an efficient first call, what to look for early, and what to request before committing to deep diligence
- Valuation + deal structure fundamentals: how price and terms work together, and how smart structure reduces risk
- Financing overview: practical options like SBA, seller notes, earnouts, and equity rollover - when they fit and when they don't
Midday: Connection
- Lunch networking: time to compare notes, workshop live scenarios, and build relationships with other acquisition-minded agency owners
Afternoon: Diligence, Integration, and the Exit Path
- Due diligence with a "kill the deal" lens: how to pressure-test risk, ask sharper seller questions, and avoid falling in love with the opportunity
- Integration planning: what the first 100 days needs to cover to protect clients, team, and margins
- Exit reverse-engineering: mapping how the right acquisitions stack into the business (and exit) you ultimately want
- Commitments + action plans: each attendee left with 3 concrete next steps to execute immediately
What Attendees Said After the Lab
The feedback reinforced exactly what we designed the Lab to deliver: practical value and real momentum.
One attendee shared:
"Friday's event was fantastic. A ton of value and great people."
Another highlighted the strategic clarity they gained:
"Thank you so much for inviting me to this conference. It was so helpful in terms of framing my thinking for so many upcoming projects both in the short-term and long-term. I really enjoyed it."
This is the kind of focused, high-impact experience we aim to create at every M&A & Exit Lab: small rooms, serious operators, and conversations that move deals forward.
Future Labs are announced first to our community of agency owners building this path together.
Why This Format Works
A one-day lab creates what most agency owners are missing:
- Focus (no multitasking, no distractions)
- Reps (role plays, real exercises, real outputs)
- A room (people who are actually doing deals or preparing to)
Most agency owners don't stall because they lack information. They stall because they've never built the muscle. Reading doesn't create momentum. Execution does.
What Comes Next
When the right operators get in the room, M&A stops being abstract.
Because the bottleneck for most owners isn't intelligence. It's execution.
You can "learn M&A" indefinitely and still avoid the first uncomfortable step: outreach, deal criteria, underwriting, a real pipeline.
Or you can compress months of uncertainty into a single day, work real scenarios, get your thinking sharpened, and leave with next steps that actually get done.
That's why we run these Labs. They're built to create momentum.
If acquisitions or an eventual exit is on your horizon, don't default to more content.
Get in the room.
Learn about upcoming M&A & Exit Labs
Not ready yet?
- Join the community of agency owners building leverage and long-term value through acquisitions
- Join the FREE 21-Day Email Course for clarity on buy vs. build, valuation, and acquisition strategy
