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  • 56 | Cynthia Hetherington - How to Uncover the Truth Before You Sign

    56 | Cynthia Hetherington - How to Uncover the Truth Before You Sign
    2026/08/18
    What if the person across the table is telling you a story, and the real story is the one you never checked?J. Michael Fischer Jr. sits down with Cynthia Hetherington, founder and CEO of the Hetherington Group, and the author of the textbook investigators and agencies learn OSINT from. She helped investigate two of the largest Ponzi schemes in American history and trains thousands of professionals a year.She breaks down open source intelligence for dealmakers: the human red flags no financial statement shows, why culture decides whether a founder thrives or becomes someone else’s employee after a sale, the poor man’s due diligence you can run in an afternoon, and how AI and deepfakes are changing who you can trust.If you have ever shaken a hand and hoped you read the person right, this is the perspective founders get only after the damage is done. Listen now.Timestamped Highlights[00:00] – The story behind the story, and why the deal you are told is never the whole deal[03:41] – From public librarian to running an intelligence operation out of New Jersey[05:33] – What OSINT actually is, and why every business owner should care[07:01] – I can find out anything about anyone, and what that means for your next handshake[08:21] – The simple search that would have exposed Bernie Madoff years earlier[11:54] – The two checks that tell you almost everything about a company[14:03] – Why the comments section is a gemstone before you sign anything[19:19] – Inside her team’s overwatch role at the 2026 World Cup[27:33] – The expert missing from most deal tables, and the data they surface[29:38] – The one thing that decides whether a founder thrives after a sale[32:34] – The poor man’s due diligence you can run in a single afternoon[35:31] – How AI makes a mediocre operator look like a rock star across the table[37:02] – Turn the machine against them, and fact-check the deal with AIMentioned ResourcesACG New Jersey (Corporate Growth Awards)GoogleStandard & Poor’sDun & BradstreetFlock SafetyAonNew Jersey State PoliceUrban Area Security Initiative (UASI)FIFA World Cup 2026PerplexityClaudeChatGPTOSINT: The Authoritative Guide to Due Diligence by Cynthia HetheringtonAbout the GuestCynthia Hetherington is the founder and CEO of the Hetherington Group, a consulting, publishing, and training firm specializing in due diligence, corporate intelligence, and cyber investigations. A former librarian turned open source intelligence pioneer, she has led national and international investigations, helped investigate two of the largest Ponzi schemes in American history, and trains more than 7,000 investigators, attorneys, and security professionals every year. She is the author of OSINT: The Authoritative Guide to Due Diligence.🔗 LinkedIn | WebsiteImportant LinksFeel Fully Alive: The 5 Dimensions of Vitality gives you the framework to thrive. Get your copy here.Stay Ahead in Business: Michael shares strategies to boost your financial decisions. Read his latest blog.Grow Your Wealth: Book a call with DBD Investment Bank.Going Beyond the Deal is an original podcast brought to you by J. Michael Fischer Jr. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
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    42 分
  • 55 | Understanding the Regret of Business Owners

    55 | Understanding the Regret of Business Owners
    2026/08/11

    What if the hardest part of selling your business is the Monday morning after the deal closes?

    The Exit Planning Institute found that 76% of business owners who sell regret it within a year. In this solo episode, J. Michael Fischer Jr., Managing Director at DBD Investment Bank, explains why that regret is almost never about the money.

    Michael breaks down the gap between a successful transaction and a successful transition. Why the business becomes part of an owner’s identity. What happens on the first Monday when nobody is waiting on a decision. And the personal questions every owner should answer years before an offer arrives.

    If a sale is anywhere in your future, this is the work most owners only do too late. The check does not always fill the hole. Listen now.

    Timestamped Highlights

    [00:06] – The number he cannot stop thinking about, and what it really says about selling

    [02:52] – Why a successful transaction does not create a successful transition

    [03:35] – The thing a business provides that money can never replace

    [04:31] – When the company stops being an asset and becomes part of who you are

    [06:46] – The first Monday after the sale, when nobody is waiting on you

    [07:31] – Why selling a business can feel like moving through grief

    [08:23] – The questions owners always ask, and the more important ones they skip

    [10:38] – The owner who wanted to slow down, then could not sit still

    [13:10] – The dangerous belief that the sale will solve everything

    [14:21] – Why the owners who got exactly what they wanted still struggle

    [16:04] – The one difference between owners who thrive and owners who drift

    [18:55] – The single question about an ordinary Monday that changes everything

    [22:37] – Why a sale is a door, not a finish line

    Mentioned Resources
    • Exit Planning Institute

    Important Links
    • Feel Fully Alive: The 5 Dimensions of Vitality gives you the framework to thrive. Get your copy here.
    • Stay Ahead in Business: Michael shares strategies to boost your financial decisions. Read his latest blog.
    • Grow Your Wealth: Book a call with DBD Investment Bank.

    Going Beyond the Deal is an original podcast brought to you by J. Michael Fischer Jr. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
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    17 分
  • 54 | Ivan Nikolov - Why Human Connection Becomes Your Most Valuable Skill

    54 | Ivan Nikolov - Why Human Connection Becomes Your Most Valuable Skill
    2026/08/04
    What happens to you, not just your business, when AI can do the expert work you built your career on?Ivan Nikolov spent his career in fitness and mindset coaching before co-founding Parallon AI, a company built to hand a business’s most repetitive expert work to machines. In this conversation with J. Michael Fischer Jr., the two go past the usual AI efficiency talk to a harder question: what happens to people when the work itself starts to disappear?Ivan lays out his post-labor thesis, why he believes businesses will soon grow without adding headcount, and how Parallon’s paper-to-system approach pulls knowledge out of people’s heads and into AI that can coach anyone through the task, with a human still approving the result. They also get personal, from raising kids who may never need a job to finding meaning when achievement is no longer the point.If you run or advise a business and you are trying to figure out what AI actually means for your people, this is the rare conversation that treats the human cost as seriously as the upside. Listen now.Timestamped Highlights[00:00] – Most AI talk asks what the tech can do. This one asks what happens to the human.[02:37] – Bulgaria to Malaysia to Spain: the unlikely path that led Ivan into AI.[04:09] – The one question that told Ivan whether a client would actually change.[08:47] – Why the real AI story is not time saved, but a post-labor world.[10:16] – The mindset shift on AI’s pace: today is the slowest it will ever be.[11:24] – A philosopher’s warning: within a year it may feel like a new species arrived.[13:27] – When the price of almost everything falls to near zero, the rules change.[14:44] – What is left when career stops mattering: connection, contemplation, learning, art.[17:59] – The hard middle: can you survive the messy years to reach the upside?[26:13] – Inside Parallon AI: paper to system, with the human still in the loop.[30:55] – From typing SOPs in Notion to a voice note that becomes an AI skill.[35:57] – The million-dollar question: the tiny moment that quietly changed everything.Mentioned ResourcesMindvalley Claude NotionTelegram Loom Vishen Lakhiani, founder of MindvalleyJohn Ziss, co-founder of Parallon AIAtlas Shrugged by Ayn RandThe Fountainhead by Ayn RandAbout the GuestIvan Nikolov is co-founder of Parallon AI, a company that helps businesses move repetitive expert work into AI systems while keeping a human in the loop to approve the output. Born in Bulgaria, he competed in natural bodybuilding, immigrated to the United States at 28, and spent 16 years building a career in fitness training and mindset coaching. He later spent two years at the edtech company Mindvalley in Malaysia as a community manager and facilitator, and now lives in Spain, where he continues to coach on the side while building Parallon AI.🔗 LinkedIn | WebsiteImportant LinksFeel Fully Alive: The 5 Dimensions of Vitality gives you the framework to thrive. Get your copy here.Stay Ahead in Business: Michael shares strategies to boost your financial decisions. Read his latest blog.Grow Your Wealth: Book a call with DBD Investment Bank.Going Beyond the Deal is an original podcast brought to you by J. Michael Fischer Jr. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
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    41 分
  • 53 | Laurel Whitney - How to Beat Coke and Pepsi Without an Ad

    53 | Laurel Whitney - How to Beat Coke and Pepsi Without an Ad
    2026/07/28
    What if the smartest business you ever build is the one you never planned to sell?Laurel Whitney has done what most founders only imagine once. She is the co-founder and CFO of Push Beverages, but before that she built and sold the largest independent vending company in New Jersey, and before that she opened and sold a 22,000 square foot children's entertainment facility. In this conversation with J. Michael Fischer Jr., she talks about what it actually feels like to build, sell, and start over.They get into the 2008 recession that accidentally created Push, why she named a soda the secret weapon she never wanted to share, how she protected her employees through an exhaustive sale, and why she refuses to put her drinks on supermarket shelves. She also breaks down Simply Push, the school-ready line built to beat sugary alternatives, and what building companies alongside her husband really takes.If you have ever wondered what happens after the deal closes and the next morning arrives, this is the founder's view most people never get. Listen now.Timestamped Highlights[00:15] – The three businesses she built before most founders finish one[06:38] – Why she opened a 22,000 square foot play space after having kids[07:32] – Selling the vending company to a multi-billion dollar buyer[09:22] – The soda they built only for themselves, and never meant to sell[10:20] – The 2008 shift that told them to launch four flavors[11:18] – The pizzeria and gas station calls that turned a secret into a business[12:32] – Inside an exhaustive due diligence she worked through on vacation[12:57] – The one contract term she refused to sign without[16:43] – Forty-nine states, and the samples headed to Alaska[17:12] – The wrapped Sprinter van that sold Push door-to-door[19:14] – The USDA rule that decides what schools can sell[23:09] – Why Push will never be a supermarket brand[28:06] – Her one rule for couples who want to build together[30:58] – The small choice that changed the entire trajectory of her lifeMentioned ResourcesSimply PushTribe Sweet TeaJohnson & JohnsonGiggles Play StationAutomatic MerchandiserCoca-ColaPepsiUSDA Smart Snacks in School guidelinesOklahoma School Nutrition AssociationAbout the GuestLaurel Whitney is the co-founder and CFO of Push Beverages, a New Jersey-based beverage company now selling seven product lines across 49 states. She handles the finance, production, and logistics side of the business, which she co-founded with her husband. A serial entrepreneur, she began her career in public relations at Johnson & Johnson, founded and sold Giggles PlayStation, a 22,000 square foot children's entertainment facility, and built the largest independent vending company in New Jersey before selling it in 2013. Push Beverages is a certified women-owned company, and its Tribe Sweet Tea was named Product of the Year by Automatic Merchandiser.🔗 LinkedIn | WebsiteImportant LinksFeel Fully Alive: The 5 Dimensions of Vitality gives you the framework to thrive. Get your copy here.Stay Ahead in Business: Michael shares strategies to boost your financial decisions. Read his latest blog.Grow Your Wealth: Book a call with DBD Investment Bank.Going Beyond the Deal is an original podcast brought to you by J. Michael Fischer Jr. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
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    35 分
  • 52 | David Crawford - How AI Gives Busy Founders Their Time Back

    52 | David Crawford - How AI Gives Busy Founders Their Time Back
    2026/07/21
    What if the hardest-working person in the room is actually the one getting the least done?J. Michael Fischer Jr. sits down with David Crawford, CEO of Anco AI and the chief operating officer behind Fischer’s advisory work, books, speaking, and this podcast. Fischer thought he had no time problem. He was disciplined, guarded his calendar, and outworked the room. Then David asked one question that changed how he sees his days.They break down the idea of the one main thing, the difference between real work and friction, and the custom systems they built to clear it out. That includes a personal CRM Fischer actually owns and a four-layer AI operating system that runs the admin so he can spend his hours on connection.If your calendar is full but the needle is not moving, this is the conversation most people only have after they burn out. You do not need more hours. You need the right ones. Listen now.Timestamped Highlights[00:01:27] – The one question David asked that dismantled how Fischer saw his time[00:02:25] – The manual work quietly eating hours it never deserved[00:06:26] – From plumber’s helper and line cook to managing director in New York[00:09:50] – The multi-million company down the road that does exactly one thing[00:11:20] – Why the new book almost got shot down, and how it survived[00:13:44] – The data question that reveals your real main thing[00:15:02] – I do not work for a living, I live for a living[00:16:37] – The admin work AI can quietly take off your plate today[00:19:53] – One dinner, twenty-five CEOs, and the call-logging game nobody wins[00:25:32] – The four layers of an AI operating system, explained simply[00:31:18] – Why trust is the one thing AI will never replace[00:32:52] – The chance meeting on a viewing that changed David’s entire pathMentioned ResourcesChatGPTClaudeGeminiSalesforceHubSpotDealCloudKnight FrankeBayACG (Association for Corporate) Growth)Goldman SachsJP MorganAbout the GuestDavid Crawford is the founder and CEO of Anco AI, where he builds custom AI operating systems, automations, and workflow tools that help founders and business owners remove friction and scale. Based in Manchester, England, and originally from Glasgow, Scotland, he began his career as a chartered surveyor and investment surveyor at Knight Frank before leaving to build businesses of his own. He now works closely with J. Michael Fischer Jr. as his personal chief operating officer across his advisory work, books, speaking, and content.🔗 LinkedIn | WebsiteImportant LinksFeel Fully Alive: The 5 Dimensions of Vitality gives you the framework to thrive. Get your copy here.Stay Ahead in Business: Michael shares strategies to boost your financial decisions. Read his latest blog.Grow Your Wealth: Book a call with DBD Investment Bank.Going Beyond the Deal is an original podcast brought to you by J. Michael Fischer Jr. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
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    39 分
  • 51 | What I'd Do 24 Months Before I Sold My Business

    51 | What I'd Do 24 Months Before I Sold My Business
    2026/07/14

    What if the price you get for your business was mostly decided before you ever called a banker?

    A founder called J. Michael Fischer Jr. last year, excited, ready to sell the company he had spent almost 20 years building. Michael had to tell him the hard truth. The price he was going to get had already been mostly decided, not by the market or the buyer, but by what he did or failed to do in the 24 months before he picked up the phone.

    In this solo episode, Michael lays out six moves he would make at least two years before selling any business. Clean up your numbers so a buyer can trust them. Make yourself removable so the company is not just you. Fix customer and supplier concentration. Lock in the people a buyer is really paying for. Grow into the sale instead of dressing up earnings. And get your house in order, your money, your taxes, your family, and your head.

    If you are one, two, or three years from the most important financial moment of your life, this is the perspective most founders only get after it is too late. The two years before you sell are the two years that pay you. Listen now.

    Timestamped Highlights

    [00:10] – The founder who called ready to sell, and the truth Michael had to tell him

    [02:19] – Six moves worth more than any multiple, starting 24 months out

    [04:33] – Why messy books make a buyer question you, not just the numbers

    [06:50] – When clean financials sell harder than any pitch you could make

    [08:58] – The moment being needed stops being a compliment and starts being a risk

    [11:45] – The concentration that quietly gets built into your price

    [13:36] – The people a buyer is really paying for

    [14:58] – Why a stronger team makes the business worth more, not less

    [17:04] – The earnings mistake that makes your story weaker, not stronger

    [19:54] – Your real number versus the one that sounds good at dinner

    [25:01] – The number that was not available the first day he called

    Important Links
    • Feel Fully Alive: The 5 Dimensions of Vitality gives you the framework to thrive. Get your copy here.
    • Stay Ahead in Business: Michael shares strategies to boost your financial decisions. Read his latest blog.
    • Grow Your Wealth: Book a call with DBD Investment Bank.

    Going Beyond the Deal is an original podcast brought to you by J. Michael Fischer Jr. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
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    20 分
  • 50 | Gary Kellstrom Jr. - The Solo Founder Betting Everything on a UVC Breakthrough

    50 | Gary Kellstrom Jr. - The Solo Founder Betting Everything on a UVC Breakthrough
    2026/07/07
    What if the most dangerous thing in a hospital room is the air itself?Gary Kellstrom Jr. spent 17 years in the medical device industry before betting everything on one idea. He is founder and CEO of Geared Power Biotech, the Wayne, New Jersey startup behind BioGuard UVC, a wearable device that inactivates airborne pathogens in exhaled breath before they reach anyone else.With J. Michael Fischer Jr., Gary explains why he stopped trying to filter the air and started attacking the source. They get into the pivot from a transmission prototype to a pandemic era mask, the FDA Safer Technologies Program, a previous exit that went wrong, and the hard middle of holding patents, awards, and congressional support with no revenue yet. Gary also opens up about his years as a Skip Barber racing driver and what racing at the limit taught him about control.If you want to see what conviction looks like before the win is guaranteed, this is the founder story most people never hear in real time. Listen now.Timestamped Highlights[00:00] – The wearable device built to neutralize pathogens in your breath before they reach anyone else[02:50] – What 17 years inside a medical device giant really taught him[08:28] – The dinner where three neighbors handed him 90,000 dollars without being asked[09:34] – The pandemic pivot that turned a transmission company into a biotech[10:08] – The previous exit that got reverse engineered out from under him[10:58] – Why losing control on paper can still leave you in control[13:52] – How the mask works, and why the chambers matter more than the light[15:06] – The UVC dose that kills Covid, and the 10 times more he applies[17:11] – The emergency room problem that got doctors excited[18:25] – Every win you can imagine, and still pre-revenue. How he holds it together[22:00] – The FDA path that skips the clinical trial, and why it matters[24:09] – From hot rods to pro racing, and where the obsession started[28:43] – What racing at the limit taught him about running a company[31:39] – The hospital statistic that makes the whole market obvious[36:32] – The small decision that quietly changed everythingMentioned ResourcesCrossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. MooreBD (Becton Dickinson)Stevens Institute of TechnologySAPFDA Safer Technologies Program (STeP)NJMEP (New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program)NJBIA (New Jersey Business and Industry Association)HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ)New Jersey Business Action CenterNJEDA (New Jersey Economic Development Authority)Skip Barber Racing SchoolIROC (International Race of Champions)Trans Am Series, SCCA Pro racingWatkins GlenEY Entrepreneur of the YearBioNJNew Jersey Commission on Science and TechnologyAbout the GuestGary Kellstrom Jr. is the founder and CEO of Geared Power Biotech, a Wayne, New Jersey medical device startup developing BioGuard UVC, a wearable, filter free device that uses germicidal UVC light to inactivate airborne pathogens in exhaled breath at the source. A mechanical engineer and Stevens Institute of Technology graduate, he spent 17 years in the medical device industry and is a serial entrepreneur with a prior exit. BioGuard UVC has earned the inaugural Coolest Thing Made in New Jersey award, congressional support, and acceptance into the FDA Safer Technologies Program, and Gary was named a 2026 EY Entrepreneur of the Year New Jersey finalist. He is also a former Skip Barber pro series racing driver.🔗 LinkedIn | WebsiteImportant LinksFeel Fully Alive: The 5 Dimensions of Vitality gives you the framework to thrive. Get your copy here.Stay Ahead in Business: Michael shares strategies to boost your financial decisions. Read his latest blog.Grow Your Wealth: Book a call with DBD Investment Bank.Going Beyond the Deal is an original podcast brought to you by J. Michael Fischer Jr. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
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    40 分
  • 49 | Michael Balsamo - How to Stop Your Restaurant From Bleeding Cash

    49 | Michael Balsamo - How to Stop Your Restaurant From Bleeding Cash
    2026/06/30
    What if most restaurants fail for reasons that have almost nothing to do with the food? Half of them close, and last year nearly 10,000 shut down across America.In this episode, J. Michael Fischer Jr. sits down with Michael Balsamo, founder and CEO of The Sage Advisory Group, to unpack why. Michael grew up in his family's Italian restaurant on Long Island, worked every job from the dish pit to the dining room, and spent 25 years in the industry before building Sage to give independent owners the systems most never have. They get into the three forces every restaurant must manage, the pre-opening mistakes that sink first-time owners, and why trust, not money, is the new currency of business.Thin margins, scarce talent, and passion alone will not keep the lights on. Listen now.Timestamped Highlights[00:03:38] – Growing up behind the line in a family Italian restaurant that lasted 25 years[00:07:08] – Why he walked away from taking over his dad’s restaurant[00:10:01] – The number most owners never hear: how many restaurants quietly close every year[00:11:12] – The three forces every restaurant has to manage, and where most lose control[00:13:33] – The single biggest challenge the industry has faced since COVID[00:14:31] – The pre-opening trap that can flip your P&L upside down before you open[00:15:51] – The three kinds of owners who call Sage, and the best time to reach out[00:18:21] – What actually happens in the first two weeks of a restaurant checkup[00:23:57] – How to fix a struggling restaurant without scaring off your guests[00:25:33] – Why the new currency of business is trust, not money[00:27:42] – Hiring hard: the first move that decides whether your team stays[00:29:59] – The 4th of July mistake that taught him never to manage on impulse[00:33:10] – The habit that keeps him grounded after 25 years in a brutal business[00:35:28] – The small thing that felt like nothing and ended up changing everythingMentioned ResourcesFordham UniversityJohnson & Wales UniversityCon EdisonLenny’s Clam BarBR GuestBLT SteakRunning Your Restaurant With Intention (Michael Balsamo’s upcoming book, working title)About the GuestMichael Balsamo is the founder and CEO of The Sage Advisory Group, a hospitality advisory firm that works hands-on inside independent restaurants to build the financial and operational systems most owners have never had. He grew up in his family’s Italian restaurant on Long Island, earned his degree and MBA from Fordham University, and spent more than 25 years across the industry, from the dish pit to leading teams at respected New York restaurant groups, before founding Sage. He is currently writing a book on running a restaurant with intention.🔗 LinkedIn | WebsiteImportant LinksFeel Fully Alive: The 5 Dimensions of Vitality gives you the framework to thrive. Get your copy here.Stay Ahead in Business: Michael shares strategies to boost your financial decisions. Read his latest blog.Grow Your Wealth: Book a call with DBD Investment BankGoing Beyond the Deal is an original podcast brought to you by J. Michael Fischer Jr. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
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    40 分