So you founded the firm in 2002, and you just sold it 20 years later. So now when we talk to our clients, which now include private equity groups, we can just have a much more sophisticated relationship conversation where we can sell them a whole bunch of different things. These guys do IPOs and SPACs and fixed-income trading and all these things that we never had at our disposal. So we’ve got the ability to compete in a more meaningful way.Īnd the other thing is we just have so much more to sell. We just picked up a whole team out of Huron on the healthcare side, which is a sector we love. And we get to do different, more aggressive things. These guys are amazing to work with, super entrepreneurial and aggressive. It’s a bit like a dream come true for us because the culture is so good. What are you most excited about for your partnership with B. We felt like if we didn’t grow, we were gonna die. And there are others that try to build something with some brand value. There are those that keep it small and try and milk it for cash flow. We just felt like we could use that money so much better by hiring or investing. In 20 years, we never took a dividend out of the business. You know, we never took a dividend in 20 years’ time. And what do you think are some of the most important decisions you made along the journey? We just made good decisions every day, worked our asses off, and here we are 20 years later, almost to the day, and it worked out. So you go to Base Camp two, and you still keep going, and next thing you know, you’re ascending the summit. You go to Base Camp one, and you’ve made some good decisions, and it’s working out. There’s, you know, the guy who says, ‘Hey, I’m gonna climb Mount Everest, and I’m gonna build a company like Ontra and take it to the top.’Īnd there are other types of entrepreneurs who just build it by accident. You know, Troy, in my opinion, there are two types of entrepreneurs. No, that was never really part of the plan. I’m curious - when you started the firm, did you have this big vision of building a large successful investment bank that might have a big exit like this? So, fast forward to today, you’ve built one of the most respected investment banks in the middle market, and you just had a huge exit to B. And now, when the stakes actually matter to the client, it’s a lot more motivating. I think it was that moment that was a real eye-opening moment for me because I realized it wasn’t banking I didn’t enjoy anymore. So what was the impetus to make the final decision - I’m not gonna go back to a bulge bracket, and I’m gonna start my own firm. And so doing the same thing in banking at Merrill was great, but when you have a real emotional connection, it really sticks. I really realized it’s not what you do or how you do it that matters, it’s why you do it. We closed the deal, and we were at the closing dinner, and he turned around to me and said because of us and what we did, his autistic son would never have to worry again. We had this one deal a few years ago in Chicago where we had this entrepreneur who had an autistic son. And then we started FocalPoint, and our principal thing is we help founders sell their companies. I met my business partner, Duane, and we started our firm.Īnd it’s funny, you know, I got to a point in banking where I had just had enough because it felt like a job, and there was no real emotional connection to it. And so I quit, and I came out to LA and went to grad school. I was doing banking for my whole career, and I got to the point where I kind of hated it. Well, as I think you know, she’s an English bull terrier. Say hi to Nishen, we’re gonna go for a walk today. We’re going to learn a little bit about what it takes to build a market-leading investment bank and what’s going on in the M&A markets today. We’re about to meet up with Nishen Radia, the founder and CEO of FocalPoint investment bank. I’m here in beautiful Los Angeles, California, with my dog, Lola. I’m Troy Pospisil, founder and CEO of Ontra.
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