Event Overview
The summit provided business owners with tools and knowledge for strategic transaction preparation.
- 100+ leaders, including business owners and industry specialists, participated.
- The summit covered preparing for and implementing M&A processes, raising capital, and potential changes of control.
- Industry experts, keynote speakers, institutional investors, and entrepreneurs shared insights.
Focus Areas
- Explored the increasing role of private equity in the middle-market.
- Provided a “crash course” on raising outside capital and the M&A process.
- Shared a preparation Roadmap to help companies navigate decisive moments.
Key Discussions
- Panel discussions with entrepreneurs who have partnered with institutional investors.
- Insights into self-preparation, tax planning, business valuation, financial preparation, and operational improvements.
- Emphasis on early planning for optimal financial health and operational streamlining.
- Discussions on due diligence, legal structuring, tax implications, and succession planning.
- Importance of assembling a team of advisors (tax, legal, investment banking, M&A).
On March 24th – 25th, 2025 CriticalPoint hosted over 100 attendees for its inaugural Business Summit at the Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes, California. The event was an incredible success, bringing together current business owners and industry specialists to discuss how best to prepare for and implement a process, engage with institutional investors for any capital raise, or a potential change of control. This exclusive event provided invaluable insights from industry experts (including wealth managers, sell-side preparation, finance and accounting, legal, debt capital markets, etc.), keynote speakers, institutional investors, and successful entrepreneurs who shared their firsthand experiences in navigating monetizing a portion of their business.
CriticalPoint was strategically built to sit at the nexus between Wall Street and Main Street. Given the expanding role private equity is playing in the market and the increasing investment appetite for closely held private businesses that have never interacted with institutional investors, the need for solid advice has never been greater. Building on the firm’s reputation as a thought leader in the middle-market, CriticalPoint’s founder, Matt Young, conceived of this Business Summit as a “crash course” on raising outside capital and the broader M&A process for business owners who have reached a point where they may explore a potential transaction.
The summit kicked-off with a panel discussion with entrepreneurs who have partnered with institutional investors, highlighting a wide spectrum of objectives and outcomes. This panel set the tone for a day filled with education, collaboration, and networking. Attendees had the opportunity to engage with a diverse group of business owners and advisors. The discussions revolved around the necessary steps business owners must take before initiating a transaction, ensuring they maximize the value of their businesses and achieve the most favorable outcomes.
Keynote speakers and panelists delivered thought-provoking presentations, offering strategic insights into self-preparation, tax planning, business valuation, financial preparation and EBITDA adjustments, operational improvements, and market positioning. These industry leaders emphasized the importance of early planning, ideally years in advance, to optimize a company’s financial health, streamline operations, and establish a solid foundation that appeals to potential buyers. These panels provided a dynamic forum for in-depth conversations, allowing attendees to ask pertinent questions and receive actionable guidance tailored to their specific circumstances. The discussions highlighted the significance of due diligence, legal structuring, tax implications, and succession planning, reinforcing that selling a business requires a well-thought-out strategy rather than a last-minute decision. Moreover, speakers underscored the importance of assembling a comprehensive team of advisors—including tax professionals, legal experts, investment bankers, and M&A specialists—who collectively play a critical role in ensuring a smooth and successful transaction.
Overall, the 2025 Business Summit at Terranea Resort was a resounding success, providing business owners with the tools and knowledge required to strategically prepare for their unique transaction goals. We appreciate the many advisors and specialists that helped make this event a success and we have already started preparations for next year’s summit, which we trust will be even bigger and better.
To learn how CriticalPoint can help your business and for information on the 2026 Business Summit, please contact us.
Written By:
Managing Director, Head of Deal Origination
About CriticalPoint
Headquartered in Los Angeles, CriticalPoint is a leading full-service financial M&A firm that uniquely combines the best of investment banking, private capital, and valuation service offerings. CriticalPoint executes, sources, and invests in deals across a wide variety of industries for the traditionally underserved middle market. Since our founding in 2012, our mission has been to serve the needs of owners, entrepreneurs, management teams, and stakeholders with our experience, knowledge, and expert judgment, to help them realize their companies’ greatest potential. From our deep-rooted foundation in private equity and investment banking, and our devotion to deal origination and business development, combined with being entrepreneurs at heart, we believe we are differentiated and well positioned to help companies wherever they are in their life cycle.
