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  • G&A: This Week in G&A: M&A Moves, AI Infrastructure, Growth Through Friction; The Sosh = Melinda Emerson

G&A: This Week in G&A: M&A Moves, AI Infrastructure, Growth Through Friction; The Sosh = Melinda Emerson

This week’s Signal digs into what’s reshaping the M&A landscape, how AI is driving not just supporting real expansion, and why founders who listen to feedback (and friction) are the ones building legacies. Let’s build what holds.

AuthorAuthor

Gia Cilento & Ronald Skelton
June 24, 2025

Overview

Growth. Identity. Infrastructure. This Is How Founders Build

No exits without clarity. No deals without depth. No growth without grit. This issue sits right in the tension between potential and payoff, risk and realization.

From small-cap targets waking up the M&A world to AI’s double-edged role in fraud and scale, and founders turning borrowing, feedback, and employee experience into real leverage, it’s a wide-angle signal. If you're serious about building with durability, there’s something here for you.

Why This Matters:
Founders who understand the systems beneath the strategies will shape the next decade. AI is infrastructure. M&A is identity. Growth is a choice if you can build what holds.

Read on. The signal’s loud this week.

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This Week's Signal

by Gia Cilento

1. M&A as Infrastructure and Identity

Unlock Value Across the M&A Lifecycle
A sharp look at how disciplined strategy, not just deal-making, delivers return. Deloitte’s playbook reminds us: confidence is built at the executive level, and timing without vision is just luck. Read more

Fears New Fees Could Kill Takeover Deals
In Australia, regulatory pressure threatens to stall a historic wave of productivity-focused acquisitions. A reminder: policy is identity work, too. What a government values shows up in what founders are allowed to build. Read more

Five Small-Cap Takeover Candidates
Small is where the heat is. ASX deals surged in 2024, and this look ahead makes it clear, identity-led acquisitions at the lower market cap are not just a trend. They’re a signal. Read more

2. AI Beneath, Around, and Inside Growth

AI in 2025: Driving Business Transformation and Growth
This one’s definitive. The transformation is here. 92% of companies are increasing AI investment across every function. It’s architecture in motion. Read more

The AI Paradox: Supporting Growth While Fueling Fraud
AI is a growth driver, but it’s also a risk amplifier. This breakdown from BILL’s 2025 report exposes how the same systems that help scale can simultaneously invite instability. Read more

Why I Use AI Agents, and How They Can Help Transform Your Business
AI agents aren’t just automating, they’re architecting. From context-aware execution to agentic decision loops, this piece shows the infrastructure shift in motion. Read more

3. Growth from Friction and Feedback

Flipping the Script: How Negative Feedback Fuels Business Growth
From Tanzanian markets to corporate HQs, feedback is friction, but it’s also fuel. This story is a masterclass in emotional alchemy and operational listening. Read more

Employee Experience Economy: Why it’s the Key to Growth
Customer experience is table stakes. Employee experience is leverage. Russell Howe puts workforce engagement at the center of sustainable expansion. Read more

Why Businesses Should Consider Borrowing as a Tool for Growth
Growth needs fuel, and debt, done right, can be catalytic. This piece reframes borrowing not as burden but as opportunity, especially for mid-sized plays. Read more

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🧩 In the News

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🎧 In the Pods

Featuring Original Reviews by Ron Skelton and Team

Business Brokerage 101: Why Now Is the Time to Get Into M&A
Host: The Short Take
More than middlemen—business brokers are frontline witnesses to generational wealth transfers, founder exits, and life-altering deals. Sharp, raw, and surprisingly personal.
Review by Ronald Skelton: Business Brokerage 101: Why Now Is the Time to Get Into M&A

How a First-Timer Pulled Off a $52m Acquisition | Nick Huber Interview
Host: Acquiring Minds + Minds Capital
Nick Huber breaks down the $52M deal that turned him from operator to owner. No venture capital, just sweat, structure, and unshakeable belief. This is acquisition in the real world.
Review by Ronald Skelton: How a First-Timer Pulled Off a $52m Acquisition | Nick Huber Interview

Know Your Worth: The Rise of the External Buyer
Host: Carson Group
Succession isn’t simple anymore. This episode strips away the myths and shows what founders need to consider before handing over the reins. It’s blunt—and brilliant.
Review by Ronald Skelton: Know Your Worth: The Rise of the External Buyer

Private Equity in 2025: Boom, Bust, or Bluff?
Host: M&A Advisor Podcast
O’Keefe and Beers don’t hold back. From private debt to policy shifts, this is the episode you play twice if you want to track what’s really changing in PE.
Review by Ronald Skelton: Private Equity in 2025: Boom, Bust, or Bluff?

Founders don’t always know what’s changing until someone sends them the signal. If this issue brought clarity, share it with someone who needs it. 

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The Sosh

Who to follow this week: Melinda Emerson

Known as “SmallBizLady,” Melinda Emerson is a powerhouse in small business strategy. As CEO of Quintessence Group, she helps Fortune 500s like FedEx, Verizon, and Visa connect with small business customers, while also mentoring entrepreneurs through real growth. Her blog reaches 3M+ readers, and her media presence spans CNBC, MSNBC, Forbes, and Inc. Author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, she’s Forbes’ #1 must-follow woman entrepreneur on Twitter and a trusted voice for sustainable success.

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🏢 The Big Guys

Couchbase (NASDAQ: BASE), a developer data platform company, has announced its acquisition by Haveli Investments in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.5 billion. Stockholders will receive $24.50 per share, representing a 67% premium to the March 27, 2025, closing price and a 29% premium to the June 18, 2025, closing price. The deal includes a go-shop period until June 23, 2025, allowing Couchbase to consider alternative proposals. Upon completion, expected in H2 2025, Couchbase will become private. The transaction requires stockholder and regulatory approvals. Haveli Investments sees Couchbase as strategically positioned in the AI-driven enterprise data market, with plans to expand its market leadership and enhance its database solutions.

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SMB Acquisitions Entrepreneurs (buying / Selling of businesses) Networking - 1st and 3rd Tuesday each month, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM EDT - Event by Ronald Skelton
This is a business networking event, not a presentation. You will be asked to introduce yourself, tell us about what type of business you'd like to buy, grow, or sell, and what help, if any, you need. The objective is to build teams, share ideas and resources, and help each other succeed. Check it out…

The Future of Work - September 2-5, 2025 - 46th Annual Training Event, The Hilton Orlando, Orlando, FL
For over four decades, America’s SBDC has hosted its annual professional development event for its business advisors and SBDC network professionals. This national event brings together over a thousand SBDC professionals and around fifty sponsors and exhibitors for learning, networking, and engagement. Check it out…

2025 Leadership In Dealmaking Summit - September 16 & 17, 2025 – New York, NY
Featuring:  International M&A thought leadership sessions, M&A Connects Networking and One-on-One Meetings, 16th Annual International M&A Awards, and 16th Annual Emerging Leaders Awards. Check it out…

3rd Annual M&A Summit - 2025 - September 17, 2025 - JW Marriott Minneapolis Mall of America, Bloomington, MN
From broad perspectives on deal-making to insightful tips on exiting a business, attendees gained a wealth of knowledge. Want in? Don’t miss our 2025 Summit. Check it out…

Start Or Grow Your Dream Business - October 15th & 16th, 2025 - Las Vegas Convention Center & April 29th & 30th, 2026 - Miami Beach Convention Center
For over 20 years, The Business Show has been providing a platform for entrepreneurs looking to start a business or SMBs looking to grow and develop their business, the show has helped thousands of business owners. Whether you're looking to start a business or are currently running a small business, you will find all the advice and guidance you need to take your business to the next level! Check it out…

The Power of the Unpredictable - November 5-6, 2025 - Jacob Javits Convention Center
Since 2004, the World Business Forum New York gathers thousands of senior executives to learn from a program of world-class business thought leaders. Check it out…

2025 Future of Dealmaking Summit - November 18 & 19, 2025 – New York, NY
Featuring: Financing, restructuring, and M&A thought leadership sessions, M&A Connects Networking and One-on-One Meetings, and the 24th Annual M&A Advisor Awards. Check it out…

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🔭 Strategic Throughline

This week’s signal revealed how value is built through clarity, structure, and intentional growth.

From M&A shaped by regulation and vision, to AI systems expanding both capability and responsibility, to founders scaling through feedback, strategic debt, and workforce design, momentum now flows through aligned architecture.

The edge belongs to those who engage reality with precision, build systems that endure, and choose coherence as strategy.

As cycles evolve, we’ll keep surfacing what reinforces long-term value across identity, capital, and execution.

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Until Next Week

Founders don’t always know what’s changing until someone sends them the signal.

If this issue brought clarity, pass it to someone in your circle who needs a clean read on where we are and where we’re going.

Questions, sponsorships, or topics you want us to explore? Reach out:
Gia Cilento on LinkedIn
Ronald Skelton on LinkedIn

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