by Don Bravaldo

As vice president of an Atlanta-based financial services firm, Brett Virgin has attended networking dinners at clubby steakhouses. He’s enjoyed outings to Braves games. And he’s participated in his share of charity golf events. But none of these compares to the joy of fly fishing a sparkling North Georgia creek with a group of CPAs, lawyers and business owners. For the past several years, I’ve had the pleasure of inviting Brett and other business associates to share my lifelong love of fly fishing at Mountaintown Trout, an exclusive, private trophy trout club located near Ellijay, Georgia. 

At age eight, my grandfather introduced me to the sport, which I’ve pursued for decades in the U.S. and abroad. Years later, I found a way to combine fly fishing with my other great passion, dealmaking. 

A key element in successful dealmaking is connecting people with mutual interests and goals. While these relationships are usually forged around a conference table or on the back nine, we’ve discovered a thrilling alternative—fly fishing at a stunning location. 

“The High Church of Fishing”

Several times each year, we welcome a select group of clients, prospects and professional partners (CPAs, wealth managers, bankers, lawyers and BCA team members) to Mountaintown for a day of catch-and-release fishing. Following some basic instruction, the participants divide into groups of three or four to try their hand at the sport described by newsman Tom Brokaw as “the high church of fishing.” 

The outings bring together individuals with shared—and sometimes diverse—interests, a carefully curated mix of business owners and professionals. As they learn to select a fly, cast, wait patiently for a strike and set a hook, the guests get to know one another, revealing common ambitions and experiences, not necessarily related to business.

The chance to participate in a spectacular outdoor adventure has delighted many, including those new to fly fishing. Adds Brett Virgin, an avid outdoorsman who’s been with Pinnacle Executive Benefits since 2013, “The experience is like heaven for somebody like me. It’s all about having fun at a gorgeous place with interesting people.” A highlight of one BCA trip was watching a member of his group catch his first fish. The connection continued after the men returned to Atlanta; that first-time angler eventually became Brett’s client.

In 2019, Michael Gossling, president of DoMyOwn.com, an online, DIY lawn and pest control business, partnered with BCA to sell his business to a Fortune 500 company. He has since joined several of our excursions to Ellijay. Says Michael, “The fly-fishing trip is a wonderful opportunity to get away from the office and enjoy God’s beauty. I’ve met some great people. Don and the guides instruct us, and they make it easy to catch on!”

With four children and a business to run, Michael doesn’t have the time for a regular golf commitment. Fly fishing a couple times a year is doable, plus it’s good for his soul, providing camaraderie and the chance to escape from work pressures. 

The experience has been equally meaningful for members of my team, including BCA senior vice president Mark Heyman. Admitting that he “knew nothing about fly fishing and didn’t really get it” before his first time on the water, Mark now eagerly anticipates the trips. “There’s a thrill to it that’s comparable to the experience of helping a client land a deal. I fell in the creek my first time, but now I can catch six or eight fish in an afternoon. And I love knowing that they go back in the water,” he says.

I’ve long maintained that M&A is not a game of individual athletic performance. Doing something as intricate as selling a business involves many people and many moving parts. If we can introduce our clients and friends to others who can help them achieve their goals, I’m delighted.

Many Common Elements  

After many years of fishing and dealmaking, I’ve concluded that bringing in a fish has quite a bit in common with bringing in a deal. Among similarities between the two:

The role of intelligence. Essential to fly fishing is advance work, gathering information and creating a plan to ensure a successful outcome. A plan needs to address everything from where to go, to when to go, what gear to pack and whether to fish from the shore or boat. In much the same way, intelligence gathering is at the heart of a sale or acquisition—regulatory issues, financial performance and culture are critical factors. And like a successful deal, a fish rises to a fly only after considerable planning, patience and skillful execution. 

The impact of changing conditions. Just as weather, water temperature or river sediment can influence the behavior of fish, deals can rise or fall on volatile factors like supply chain shocks, inflation, interest rate changes, stock market performance, the loosening or tightening of capital markets and geopolitical shifts.

The importance of timing. A successful catch hinges on how and when a fly fisher reacts to a strike indicator: respond at the right second, or risk losing the fish. Similarly, precise timing is key for a business owner pursuing an M&A exit strategy. While market timing may be frowned upon by professional wealth managers advocating diversified portfolio theory, it is an essential component of a private business owner’s exit strategy. So is recognizing a hot M&A and private capital market like the current one. Industry timing can also be vital for dealmaking, with many highly fragmented industries now targeted for private equity consolidation. Industry consolidation often brings a sudden temporary spike in valuations for a particular industry as buyer demand surges. 

The risk of unseen obstacles. Slippery rocks and tangled underwater branches pose unseen risks to landing a trophy-sized fish. Invisible obstacles like these can also tank the selling or buying of a private business: customer or supplier concentrations; key employee departures; nontransferable customer or supplier relationships; poor accounting and recordkeeping; actual or threatened litigation; unanticipated poor financial performance; and unplanned and unanticipated tax consequences.

The value of good guidance. In both fishing and M&A, an expert guide can make the difference. Even as an experienced fly fisherman, I perform better with a guide, especially in unfamiliar waters or when chasing new species. The same can be said for buying or selling a significant business asset. Though going solo may be tempting for some business owners, there’s proven value in leaning on pros for the access, insights, staffing and relationships required to run a professional sale process to maintain confidentiality, maximize valuation, optimize structure and successfully close a deal. 

Whether you’re on the river or at a conference table in a negotiation to sell your business, it’s a matter of knowing you’ve put in the hard work to prepare for the best possible outcome, proactively implementing your plan and working it to a successful conclusion. And whether the goal is a trophy fish or a flawless sale and exit, it’s essential to place yourself at the right time in a target-rich environment.

Cocktails and Fish Tales

At the end of the day of fishing, the groups come together, pull off their waders and, over cocktails, share stories of monster catches and the ones that got away. There’s plenty of good-natured trash talk. And there’s also a sense of connection, as newly minted and experienced fly-fishers make plans to continue conversations begun on the water.

If our guests come away having caught fish or not, I love knowing that we’ve provided a memorable, some would say magical experience with plenty of opportunities for connection. As the novelist and outdoorsman Zane Grey said, “If I fished only to capture fish, my fishing trips would have ended long ago.”

DON BRAVALDO, CPA, founded Bravaldo Capital Advisors in 2006 to provide full-service investment banking to middle-market clients, a segment underserved by larger advisory firms. As managing partner, Don has led BCA through successful transactions across a wide variety of industries. Prior to founding Bravaldo Capital Advisors, Don led the middle market group at a Southeastern M&A advisory firm and oversaw all North American mergers and acquisition activity for Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc. Earlier in his career as an auditor with Bennett Thrasher & Co., PC and Arthur Andersen LLP, Don coordinated financial reporting engagements and provided business consulting services to clients throughout the Southeast in industries including construction, service, manufacturing and health care.