#64 Chris Younger - Entrepreneur-First Investment Banking

The Wall Street Lab

Chris co-founded Class VI in 2005 with a mission to Enable the Entrepreneurial Spirit. Prior to Class VI, Chris spent more than 20 years gaining experience in executive management, marketing, sales, law, and mergers and acquisitions. Chris was a co-founder and President of Expanets, the nation’s largest provider of converged communications solutions. During his tenure with Expanets, Chris led the acquisition and integration of 27 companies, ranging in size from $2 million to over $1 billion in annual revenues, ultimately leading to its acquisition by Avaya in late 2003. Prior to Expanets, Chris was an associate with the law firm of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati, and clerked for the Honorable Jesse Eschbach of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit. Chris is a graduate of Miami University and Harvard Law School and has also studied at The London School of Economics. In this episode we talk about buying and selling entire business of several perspectives as Chris has experience in both. We explore the process of selling a business, where to find buyers, getting the timing right, and; most importantly, getting the business itself ready for sale. We talk about different mistakes entrepreneurs make, how to avoid them, and then get the best possible price for the business. We also dive into the effects of covid on the M&A market, differences between boutique investment banks vs. large Wall Street Banks, and Chris offers some career advice.