The Attraction of Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition.   These Briefs are shorter, topic-focused episodes released throughout the season — quick insights on key legal and business issues designed to fit your schedule.   Whether you are a business owner preparing to pass the torch or a next-gen leader stepping into new responsibility, this conversation offers practical insights and a deeper look at the opportunities hidden within the challenges of succession.

With over 35 years of SBA lending experience and the past 9 years focused solely on Mergers and Acquisition lending, Bruce Marks helps buyers finance lower middle market M&A transactions. Bruce works with financial buyers, searchers, and corporate buyers seeking financing for business acquisition transactions. He specializes in transactions with enterprise values between $3 and $8 million dollars and has closed over 1,200 SBA transactions.

In this episode of Business Talk with Chalfin, Bob sits down with Megan Helzner, Principal at CFAR, to explore one of the most critical — and complicated — topics in family enterprise: succession. With more than 15 years of experience working across family-owned businesses, nonprofits, healthcare, and higher education, Megan brings a unique systems-based perspective to navigating leadership transitions. Together, Bob and Megan dive into the emotional and operational complexities of succession planning, from governance and generational dynamics to strategy and communication. Whether you're a business owner preparing to pass the torch or a next-gen leader stepping into new responsibility, this conversation offers practical insights and a deeper look at the opportunities hidden within the challenges of succession.

For this conversation, Bob talks with Gad Allon, the Jeffrey A. Keswin Professor and Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions, and the director of the Management and Technology Program at The Wharton School. He received his PhD in Management Science from Columbia Business School in New York and holds a Bachelor and Master degree from the Israeli Institute of Technology. Gad is an award-winning educator, teaching courses on scaling operations and operations strategy. He has also been an innovative leader in many educational technology initiatives. He is the co-founder of ForClass, a platform that enables professors to drive higher student engagement and accountability in their classrooms. Professor Allon regularly consults firms both on service strategy and operations strategy.

In the next episode of Business Talk with Chalfin, Bob is joined by Rebecca Greenbaum, Professor of Human Resources Management at Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, to explore the consequences of a profit-at-all-costs mindset in business. When organizations prioritize financial gain above all else, what happens to workplace ethics, employee well-being, and long-term sustainability? Rebecca, an expert in behavioral ethics and dysfunctional leadership, shares insights from her research on how these factors shape workplace culture, decision-making, and business outcomes. Don’t miss this deep dive into what happens when only profits matter.

On the newest podcast episode of Business Talk with Chalfin, Bob talks with Gregg Coodley, MD, author of American Salvation, How Immigrants Made America Great. Gregg Coodley grew up in Philadelphia. He graduated Summa Cum Laude in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1981. He graduated from the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine in 1985. He did a residency in primary care internal medicine at Cambridge City Hospital in Massachusetts. In 1990 he moved to Portland, Oregon to become first an Assistant and then an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Oregon Health Sciences University. He became the Chief, University Section, Division of General Internal Medicine. He won awards for teaching and humanism and published research, particularly on HIV and nutrition. In 1997 he left the University to found the Fanno Creek Clinic, an independent primary care clinic in Southwest Portland. The Clinic now includes almost twenty physicians and recently saw its 50,000th patient. The Clinic received the Small Business of the Year award in Portland and pioneered innovations such as being the first medical clinic in Oregon to add solar power. Coodley continues a busy primary care practice while managing the Clinic.

For this episode of Business Talk with Chalfin, Bob talks with Andy Kapryn, Partner and Investments Leader for Corient. Previously, Andy was a Partner and Co-Chief Investment Officer at legacy firm RegentAtlantic and has more than 15 years of experience in investment research and portfolio construction. Andy focuses his research on public markets investments and touches on all major asset categories—fixed income, equities and alternative strategies. Andy provides regular commentary for financial news media and appears on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, Yahoo Finance and Fox Business News. His analysis and commentary have been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the Financial Times and other major publications. Andy graduated with a BA in Economics and Political Science from Drew University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst® charterholder and a member of the CFA Society New York.  

For this episode of Business Talk with Chalfin, Bob talks to Dane Czaplicki, CEO of Members Wealth LLC. Dane co-founded Members’ Wealth with a team of exceptional individuals. He has over 20 years of experience in financial services including investment analysis, portfolio construction, operations, service, trading, sales, management, and leadership.

On the first episode of Business Talk with Chalfin, Bob discusses the real estate market and where we go from here with Lesley Deutch, Managing Principal at John Burns Real Estate Consulting. Lesley Deutch leads all custom consulting projects in the Southeast. She has more than 25 years of experience consulting with executives in the finance and real estate industries throughout North America. She works across a wide spectrum of industries including apartments, for-sale housing, high-rise development, urban projects, single-family rental, building products and commercial developments. Previously, she spent eight years on Wall Street working in public finance for Lehman Brothers and as a Vice President in the Global Real Estate division of Bankers Trust and Deutsche Bank, where she authored reports on real estate and economic conditions in the major US metropolitan areas and conducted due diligence for the investment bank, the CMBS team, and the Deutsche Bank Mezzanine Fund. She then moved to the research team at RREEF (owned by Deutsche Bank), writing quarterly updates on RREEF’s existing properties and due diligence reports for acquisitions on the East Coast. Lesley holds a B.S. from the Wharton School and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

This podcast episode of Business Talk with Chalfin, Bob talks with Mori Taheripour.  Mori is a globally recognized negotiation expert, an 11-time award-winning faculty member at the Wharton School, a highly sought-after speaker, and the author of Bring Yourself: How to Harness the Power of Connection to Negotiate Fearlessly.  With more than 20 years of experience in negotiations, DE&I, and sports business, Mori’s impressive roster of clients includes Fortune 100 companies, major sports leagues, leading charitable institutions, and government agencies.

During this episode of Business Talk with Chalfin, Bob talks with Zeke Hernandez, the Max and Bernice Garchik Family Presidential Associate Professor. at The Wharton School. Zeke publishes pioneering research in two broad areas. In the first, explores how immigration patterns affect the investment choices, strategic decisions, and performance of firms in foreign markets. The linkage between immigration and economic growth in this first line of work has crucial implications for immigration policy. In the second area of research, he studies how firms strategically design corporate strategies through alliances, acquisitions, and divestitures to enhance their innovation and performance.  His book, the Truth About Immigration, can be found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Immigration-Successful-Societies/dp/125028824X

For this episode of Business Talk with Chalfin, Bob talks with Lisa Forrest, Head of Live Oak Bank’s Searchfund Lending, about SBA lending considerations. Lisa Forrest is a seasoned banking professional with over 35 years of experience. Renowned for her expertise in SBA and Conventional lending products tailored to the unique needs of SMBs in the lower middle market, she specializes in guiding searchers and SMB acquirers through transactions of up to $25M in enterprise value.

During this episode of Business Talk with Chalfin, Bob talks to Robert Herzog, the CEO and founder of ZogSports and ZogCulture. After working as a consultant for a decade, Rob founded ZogCulture and ZogSports, two companies that focus on building real personal connections, caring communities, and a sense of play (whether at work or after hours). 

For this episode of Business Talk with Chalfin, Bob talks with Kevin Kaiser about value versus price.  Kevin is Senior Director of the Harris Family Alternative Investments Program and Adjunct Full Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He was Professor of Management Practice and on the Finance faculty at INSEAD since 1992. Kevin’s research has focused on private equity, corporate restructuring and financial distress, more recently oriented around corporate governance and management for value creation. In addition to his research in academic and practitioner journals and newspapers, he has co-authored two books, The Blue Line Imperative, with David Young, and Becoming a Top Manager, with Michael Pich and I.J. Schecter.

In honor of the start of baseball season, this week's podcast episode of Business Talk with Chalfin is Baseball: How the National Pastime Paralleled US History with Tony Morante.   With a professional journey intertwined with the iconic Yankees franchise, Tony's expertise extends far beyond the confines of the diamond. As the former head of the Yankee Stadium tours department and a proud inductee into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame for his insightful book, Baseball, the New York Game: How the national pastime paralleled US History, Tony possesses a wealth of baseball knowledge that listeners are sure to find captivating.    

For this episode of Business Talk with Chalfin, Bob talks with Lauren Knausenberger, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer of SAIC, a premier Fortune 500® technology integrator driving our nation’s technology transformation, with annual revenues of $6.9 billion and approximately 24,000 employees.

During this podcast episode of Business Talk with Chalfin, Bob talks with Thomas Vladeck, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Gradient Metrics and Recast.   Recast is built by scientists, for marketers and is committed to using the world’s most advanced techniques and technologies to solve the most important problems in marketing measurement.

For this podcast episode of Business Talk with Chalfin, Bob talks with Billy O'Neill and Sean McIlroy, '23-'24 Club Board Co-Presidents about The 2024 Wharton EtA Summit   The Wharton ETA Summit brings together MBA students, search fund entrepreneurs, investors, faculty, and other participants in the ETA ecosystem to connect and exchange insights. This year’s conference will feature more networking opportunities and panel topics ranging from all areas of searching, investing, and operating.

For this episode of Business Talk with Chalfin, Bob talks with Andrew Brenner, the Head of International Fixed Income at National Alliance Securities, about central bankers and the economy. Andrew is frequently interviewed on Fox Business, Bloomberg, Schwab, and CNBC.  

With over 35 years of SBA lending experience and the past 9 years focused solely on Mergers and Acquisition lending, Bruce Marks helps buyers finance lower middle market M&A transactions. Bruce works with financial buyers, searchers, and corporate buyers seeking financing for business acquisition transactions. He specializes in transactions with enterprise values between $3 and $8 million dollars and has closed over 1,200 SBA transactions.