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Going Beyond the Deal

Going Beyond the Deal

Von: J. Michael Fischer Jr | DBD Investment Bank
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Welcome to Going Beyond The Deal. The show for founders, business owners, and professionals who want to grow smarter, achieve bigger exits, and build a legacy that lasts. Your host is no other than, J. Michael Fischer Jr – connector, life-long student of personal growth, and Managing Director at DBD – a bespoke investment bank that helps businesses handle big financial moves. Each week, we look beyond the numbers and the deals to talk about what really drives success. You'll hear from entrepreneurs, strategists, and top performers about the mindset, habits, and decisions that help businesses — and people — keep moving forward. If you're getting ready to sell, raise capital, or just level up — you're in the right place.Copyright © 2025 DBD Partners LLC Management & Leadership Persönliche Finanzen Ökonomie
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  • 51 | What I'd Do 24 Months Before I Sold My Business

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

    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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    19 Min.
  • 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
    Jul 7 2026
    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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    39 Min.
  • 49 | Michael Balsamo - How to Stop Your Restaurant From Bleeding Cash

    49 | Michael Balsamo - How to Stop Your Restaurant From Bleeding Cash
    Jun 30 2026
    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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    39 Min.
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