Episodes

What does it take to become a successful entrepreneur? Join us in this two-part series of The Deal Room Podcast as Chris Rolls, Managing Partner at PieLAB Capital, shares hard-won wisdom from his entrepreneurial journey. He and host, commercial lawyer Joanna Oakey, talk through business sales and acquisitions, how to start and invest in businesses, as well as approach entrepreneurship with purpose. In part one of this series, Chris Rolls, a serial entrepreneur, shares his early business experie...

For this, The Deal Room Podcast episode we have another Ask Me Anything session, this time with the founder of BSale, Vanessa Lovie. Vanessa recently talked about innovations in the broking industry and the main ways to gain enquiries (check out Episode ###). Vanessa asked what the biggest struggle is when selling a business and also about the importance of Due Diligence - one of the biggest steps in a seller’s exit. Our Ask Me Anything sessions are where our host, Joanna Oakey answers your ques...

Welcome to the second half of our Shareholder Agreements series. Today, we return with Simon Bedard, the Founder and CEO of Exit Advisory Group. In this episode, we continue our discussion on Shareholders' Agreements. Our host, Joanna Oakey and guest Simon Bedard highlight the critical role of Shareholder Agreements in navigating disagreements and exits. In this episode, we also emphasise the dangers of relying on templates and the need to work with a commercial lawyer to ensure your agreement i...

In this episode, part of a series we’ll be doing on Shareholders Agreements, we speak to Simon Bedard, the Founder and CEO of Exit Advisory. Simon along with our host Joanna Oakey talk about Shareholder Agreements and discuss the importance of Shareholder Agreements in the context of business deals. Simon and host, Joanna Oakey, soundboard different opportunities for including shares in your contracts and then touch on the importance of both commercial and legal aspects. They also chat through h...

Joanna Oakey, Commercial Lawyer, and Host of The Deal Room Podcast share her insights on business sales vs. share sales with real-life examples of business owners navigating their exit pathway, in this new episode. Visit the Buy Grow Exit website Did you enjoy this solo podcast? Tell us what you want us to talk about next Connect with our Legal Eagles! Book a Lawyer Now! [EP 240] Business Sale or Share Sale: Which Best fits your position? | Aspect Legal

In this episode, our host Joanna Oakey has an Ask Me Anything session with Glen Carlson of Dent Global. Joanna and Glen discuss employee contracts, the right deal team for negotiations and how to balance ultimate protection with the needs of a business owner to make the sale successful. Connect with Glen Carlson Dent Global Questionaire and Scroecard Quiz Buy Grow Exit Connect with our Legal Eagles! Book a Lawyer Now! Send us an Ask me anything question! [EP 239] Ask Me Anything: Employee contr...

We have a three-part series for you. In this episode, Part One, we talk to serial entrepreneur, Jean-Eric Plamondon from Canada. Jean takes us through his unusual journey through acquisition and the unintended opportunities he found in growth through acquisition. Jean also shares why he went through multiple acquisitions and the lessons learned during them. Connect with Jean-Eric Growth Strategy CA Connect with our Legal Eagles! Book a Lawyer Now! [EP 238 ] An unusual acquisition story and the ...

In this episode of The Deal Room Podcast, we speak to the fabulous Vanessa Lovie, the Managing Director of Bsale.com.au. Over 20 years, Vanessa and her team at Bsale have been connecting buyers and sellers, and keeping the industry across news. Vanessa's dedication to small business and marketing has seen her team assist thousands of clients to list their businesses for sale in Australia. [EP237] What is Happening in the Business for Sale Marketplace | Aspect Legal

In this episode, we feature a recent discussion on what’s happening in M&A within the medical space. Joanna Oakey chats with AIBB members, Sally Stuart, Chris Babich and Larry Green, business brokers with a wealth of knowledge on current trends in medical practice sales and acquisitions. Together they discuss the recent wave of baby boomers retiring - will it continue? They also share small practice owners' take on industry issues (including government support). Our guests also share with us the...

For this The Deal Room Podcast episode we have another Ask Me Anything session. In this episode, our host Joanna Oakey has an Ask Me Anything session with Cameron Ryan of Xcllusive Business Brokers - who recently helped us dive into the topic of EBITDAC (if you’re not sure what that is check Episode 227). Joanna and Cameron discuss staff entitlements, contracts and best practices brokers can do and/or provide to make a transaction more seamless and successful. Our Ask Me Anything sessions are w...

Part 2 of our series on the evolution of business broking in Australia sees us return to our discussion with Max Kurz and Mike Smith, the founding fathers of the Australian Institute of Business Brokers (AIBB). We touch on the bad habits from the property industry that can easily get brought into the broking industry and also drill into the importance of discipline in the business broking sector. Max and Mike then share a few relevant war stories from their time in business broking. [EP 233] In...

This week we have another exciting two-part series of the deal room featuring two gentlemen who could be dubbed the ‘founding fathers’ of the Australian Institute of Business Brokers (AIBB), Max Kurz and Mike Smith. Max and Mike with our host Joanna Oakey reflect on the fascinating changes they have seen in the broking industry and its processes, from the time they first stepped into the industry to the present day. They drill into how AIBB was formed, the significance of education and training ...

We’ll be hanging up our headphones for a few weeks of downtime over the summer break. We just wanted to say thank you to all of you who listen and to all our fabulous guests - We loved our discussions with brokers, industry thought leaders and business owners as well, chatting through your stories and digging into your knowledge - we know that what you share with us is so valuable, so thank you for taking the time to jump on and record. We’ll be back in 2023 with some exciting news, some fresh ...

We have another episode of our innovation series. This time we have Keiran James, a registered Business Valuer and the Co-founder of Businesssales.com.au, talking about some of the big issues he identified in the business broking industry and the innovative ways they’ve been dealt with. Keiran and our host Joanna Oakey also dig into some of the fears on the side of business brokers as they're driving deals forward and how Keiran and his team used innovative approaches to overcome them. Connect ...

We have another Ask Me Anything episode for you this week! Farzin Hesari of LINK Business Brokers - asks our host Joanna Oakey two juicy questions. Joanna’s response captures the best way to approach emotions in negotiations and the importance of committing to your process, plus a little on daring to think differently. Connect with Farzin Hesari [EP 228] Innovation and Disruption in Business Broking Send us an Ask me anything question! Book a Lawyer Now! [EP 231] Ask Me Anything – What is the b...

In this week’s Fireside Chat episode, we talk to Glen Carlson the co-founder of Dent Global and the Key Person of Influence Accelerator. Glen shares his take on the newly released book Buy Grow Exit written by our host Joanna Oakey. Along with some insightful sneak peeks from the book, he shares how this book was very relevant to where DENT is now. Joanna also talks us through what pushed her to write BUY GROW EXIT and how she wanted this book to be a guide book for business owners - where they ...

In this episode of The Deal Room Podcast, we speak with Nicole Segal, Special Counsel at Aspect Legal. Nicole, with our host Joanna Oakey, drills into the difference between acquiring a franchise vs standard business. They talk about the key benefits of doing this, the critical parts of a franchise agreement and also touch on the Franchising Code of Conduct and its very recent changes. Connect with Nicole Segal Book a Lawyer Now! [EP 229] Acquiring a franchise vs standard business? – key differ...

Innovation is absolutely critical to any business, but particularly to the business broking industry - which has such an impact on people's lives as they buy and sell businesses. In today’s episode, we speak with Farzin Hesari of LINK Business Brokers Melbourne and Tasmania about his take on innovation. Farzin talks about innovation within the broking industry, how to be disruptive in the industry, how to plan innovation, and commit to innovation from a business perspective. He also shares with...

Today we have on the show, Cameron Ryan from Xcllusive Business Brokers talking about an interesting new term - EBITDAC. What is EBITDAC you say…? Cameron and our host Joanna Oakey dig into this concept and how it may be relevant to you and your business. Connect with Cameron Ryan Book a Lawyer Now! [EP 227] What the heck is EBITDAC? The brand new acronym in business sales | Aspect Legal

In this episode of The Deal Room Podcast, we talk to Bri Williams, a Behavioural Specialist and the Managing Director of People Patterns. Bri and our host Joanna Oakey drill into how to negotiate in difficult situations and deal with difficult personalities to ultimately get the deal done. They discuss why Behavioural Science can be used in this context and share tips on how to deal with different types of people. They have a detailed discussion about DISC profiles, how to recognise emotion in a...

In this episode, we have Nigel Barcham the Founder & Managing Director at Perigon Group, a market-leading specialised recruitment firm. Nigel is responsible for setting the vision and strategy, leading the organisation and running all aspects of Perigon Group's operations. For this discussion we talk about some of the decisions that Nigel has made when growing Perigon that related to his ultimate exit. He talks us through an overview of how exit came to mind, what the lead up to sale was like a...

In this episode of The Deal Room podcast, we talk about the ins and outs of grants in relation to the SME sector and the acquisition of businesses with the CEO and Founder of GrantReady, Adrian Spencer. Adrian has more than 18 years of experience in the grants space, and together with our host Joanna Oakey, he drills into the grants process including a roadmap that people can follow to ensure they can be effective in finding and securing grants. He also gives us a quick rundown of the top things...

In this episode, we talk to Zoran Sarabaca of Xcllusive Business Sales. We talk about what you need to know when buying distressed assets - an opportunity we may be seeing more of in these volatile times. If you are in the market to buy a business of any description or if you are in the market specifically for distressed assets, this episode is definitely not to be missed! [EP 223] Buying distressed assets with Zoran Sarabaca | Aspect Legal

Today we talk about the importance of understanding your most likely buyer - whether that is a corporate or an individual with a return guest, Roy Levy from Core Business Brokers. Roy is a Corporate Advisor, specialising in business divestments, mergers and acquisitions in the mid-tier market ( and can also assist in the SME market) across Australia and New Zealand. Connect with Roy Levy Contact our Legal Eagles! [EP 222] The importance of understanding your most likely buyer – corporate vs ind...