Learning Workshop w/Bobby Achettu – M&A

Tuesday March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day!)

10am-1pm with lunch & happy hour afterwards from 1-2pm

Behind the Deal: A Founder & His Investment Banker Deep Dive

Tools, insights, and real‑world lessons to prepare you for a future exit

Selling a company is one of the most consequential decisions a founder will ever make: emotionally, financially, and operationally. Even the strongest leaders discover that the process reveals complexities you simply can’t see until you’re inside it.

In this interactive workshop, you’ll hear the same transaction told from two sides: the founder who built the company and the investment banker who guided the deal. This isn’t a lecture. You’ll explore the transaction from both perspectives and work through structured, hands‑on worksheets that equip you with practical tools to bring back to your organization.

Your Guides – Bobby Achettu: Founder, Operator, Seller

A 12‑year EO member and former Chicago Chapter President, Bobby founded his company in 2009 and scaled it to 120 employees, earning five consecutive Inc. 500 rankings. In 2022, he sold to a strategic after a rigorous 10‑month process involving dozens of intro calls/in-person meetings, multiple expressions of interst, one signed LOI, and a diligence sprint that tested every part of the business.

Seth Deutch: Investment Banker, Operator, Deal Architect

Seth grew up in poverty and used sports as his way out, eventually playing Division I basketball at Rice University. He later became president of a major business unit inside a Fortune 500 company, overseeing more than 10,000 employees and driving both organic and inorganic growth. Today, he is the CEO of Sampson Partners, leveraging his experience leading 100+ transactions to advises founders through the most important transaction of their lives.

Over the course of three hours, we’ll walk through the four stages of a transaction:

1. Decisioning: Should you sell, and when?

• How founders know it’s time
• Industry consolidation signals
• Personal vs. business readiness
• The hidden costs of waiting too long

2. Deal Sourcing: Finding the right banker and the right buyer

• What a banker really does
• What buyers look for early
• How Bobby and Seth aligned on strategy and valuation

3. Diligence: The most intense 90 days of your career

• What diligence really feels like
• Avoiding deal‑killing landmines
• What buyers obsess over

4. Post‑Transaction: Life after the wire hits

• Integration realities vs. expectations
• Cultural challenges
• What founders wish they’d done differently

Together, Bobby and Seth will walk you through the wins, mistakes, surprises, and lessons that only come from living a deal end‑to‑end.

And by the way, there are worse ways to spend St. Patrick’s Day than leveling up your exit strategy.

RSVP By: 3/12/26.

Attendees: EO, EOA, SAP & Prospects