Going Beyond the Deal

J. Michael Fischer Jr | DBD Investment Bank
  • 5.0 (77)
  • Investing
  • Updated Semiweekly

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.

  1. 2d ago

    59 | Jessica Walsh – How One Problem Became the World's Smallest Injector

    If this was useful, the letter goes further: one short insider note each week on what I'm seeing in live deals right now. It's free, it's two minutes, and replies come straight to me. Join at thejmichael.com/letter. What if the fix for a life-or-death problem was small enough to fit in the tiny pocket of your jeans? Jessica Walsh has a severe allergy, the kind where the wrong exposure becomes an emergency. Prescribed a bulky EpiPen, she taped it to her arm just to go running. Rather than live with it, the founder and CEO of Rx Bandz built a better one. She sits down with J. Michael Fischer Jr. to trace how one problem became MiniJect, an auto-injector half the size of a traditional one, then a platform the U.S. military is backing to deliver medications from pain relief to treatments that stop bleeding. She cut open her own EpiPen to see inside, built a team of specialists, and learned to stop talking and listen to patients. If you have ever learned to live with a problem, don't miss this. Listen now. Timestamped Highlights[03:48] – The bee sting that started it all, and the line that turned a patient into a founder [04:50] – Before any of this, she built wireless networks where there was nothing [05:48] – The leap most people never make: leaving a funded job with an amazing budget [07:23] – Why she works on this like her life depends on it, because it does [08:02] – The calls from mothers, and the story that makes this bigger than one person [09:15] – What happened when the military asked, what else can you deliver [10:03] – MiniJect explained like you are the patient: cap off, press, done in under half a second [11:18] – Why it did not stop at epinephrine, and the IV drug they moved to one injection [13:12] – Drone warfare, no medic, and doing drug math under fire in night vision goggles [14:30] – Built to survive Special Forces and a kid's backpack, military-grade protection for families [16:40] – The DIY moment: putting her own auto-injector in a vise and cutting it open [17:11] – From napkin sketch to a manufacturable device, and the New Jersey partners who made it real [19:46] – The New Jersey funding program she could not believe was real [23:23] – The million-dollar question: the pivot that only happened when she stopped talking and listened Mentioned ResourcesEpiPenBechtelWeiss-AugAscendiaPrince Sterilization ServicesBD (Becton Dickinson)MedtronicBioNJNew Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), Innovation Evergreen Fund About the GuestJessica Walsh is the founder and CEO of Rx Bandz, a biotech developing the next generation of patient-centric auto-injectors to deliver a wide range of injectable medications. After a severe allergic reaction to a bee sting left her carrying a bulky EpiPen, she set out to build a better solution and created MiniJect, an ultra-compact auto-injector less than half the size of a traditional one. Before founding Rx Bandz, she built wireless telecommunications infrastructure with Bechtel, work that taught her to move into new territory and navigate the regulatory hurdles and milestones a hard build demands. Today her platform is designed to serve patients, EMS, and the U.S. military. 🔗 LinkedIn | Website Important 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.

  2. Sep 1

    58 | Best of: Selling Your Business

    If this was useful, the letter goes further: one short insider note each week on what I'm seeing in live deals right now. It's free, it's two minutes, and replies come straight to me. Join at thejmichael.com/letter. What if the biggest financial moment of your life comes down to everything except the number? In this collage episode of Going Beyond the Deal, host J. Michael Fischer Jr., Managing Director at DBD Investment Bank, gathers the moments that hit listeners hardest on the subject founders think about most and prepare for least: selling the business. Michael breaks down why a $50 million offer can mean two very different lives, why structure not price decides what you keep, and why the best buyer is rarely the highest bidder. Three guests add hard-won perspective: Jeff Parnell on preparing years early, Nio Queiro on the company buyers dream of, and Zach Kuehne on the small decision that changed everything. If you are weighing your own next chapter, growth, capital, or a sale, start here. Listen now. Timestamped Highlights[00:00] – Why a calm process is a sign of strength, not hesitation [01:21] – The financial moment this best-of is built around, and what most owners get wrong [01:51] – Why a $50 million offer can mean two completely different lives [02:38] – An exit, or a job with a closing dinner: the difference founders miss [03:34] – Not the fine print, the deal: how structure quietly decides what you keep [04:46] – Jeff Parnell on the runway you need before a sale, and being honest with yourself [05:22] – The owner who waited an extra 10 years and left $10 million on the table [06:15] – Nio Queiro on the company every buyer dreams of [07:56] – Why the best buyer is almost never the highest bidder [08:31] – The questions nobody writes into the LOI, and why you diligence the buyer [10:05] – Legacy or obligation: the line families confuse constantly [11:21] – Zach Kuehne on the small choice, 700 miles from home, that changed everything [13:46] – The old line Michael keeps coming back to, and why the champagne always runs out Featured GuestsJeff Parnell, on preparing a business and its owner for a sale years in advance. | Episode 15 - How to Prepare Your Business for the Next Generation Nio Queiro, on what makes a company a buyer magnet and why nothing moves faster than your comfort level. | Episode 33 - Stop Losing Value: Uncommon Tools for Building a Buyer Magnet Zach Kuehne, on leading a legacy business and the small decisions that shape a career. | Episode 11 - How to Lead a Legacy Business into the Future Important 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.

  3. Aug 25

    57 | Why the Highest Offer Is Rarely the Best Deal

    If this was useful, the letter goes further: one short insider note each week on what I'm seeing in live deals right now. It's free, it's two minutes, and replies come straight to me. Join at thejmichael.com/letter. What if the highest offer is the worst thing that could happen to everything you built? There is a moment near the end of almost every deal when the owner goes quiet. The number is good, sometimes better than they imagined, and still stops them cold. In this solo episode, J. Michael Fischer Jr., Managing Director at DBD Investment Bank, explains why the highest bid and the right home for your company are two different things. Michael breaks down the four buyers who might want your business, strategic, private equity, family office, and individual, and what each means for your people, your name, and your life after the close. He shows why one buyer hands the leverage to the other side, and why competition is about terms, not just price. Do not start with your number. Start with what winning looks like the morning after the deal closes. Listen now. Timestamped Highlights[01:09] – The quiet moment at the end of almost every deal, and what it really means [01:50] – The question owners spend decades avoiding until it is too late [02:57] – The strategic buyer, why they can pay the most, and what it costs you [04:14] – The hidden downside of synergy, and whose job disappears first [04:52] – Private equity, the bad rap, the hype, and the truth in between [06:00] – Rolled equity and the second bite of the apple that can beat the first [07:20] – Why private equity may buy you a partner and a scoreboard, not a retirement [08:31] – The family office that might own your company for 20 years, or forever [09:15] – The one thing to understand before you take anyone's money [09:50] – The individual buyer nobody talks about, and the one thing they offer [12:43] – The game you play once against someone who has played it 100 times [13:15] – Why four good buyers flip the leverage back to your side Important 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.

  4. Aug 18

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

    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 AI Mentioned 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 Hetherington About 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 | Website Important 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.

  5. Aug 11

    55 | Understanding the Regret of Business Owners

    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 ResourcesExit Planning Institute Important 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.

  6. Aug 4

    54 | Ivan Nikolov - Why Human Connection Becomes Your Most Valuable Skill

    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 Rand About 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 | Website Important 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.

  7. Jul 28

    53 | Laurel Whitney - How to Beat Coke and Pepsi Without an Ad

    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 life Mentioned ResourcesSimply PushTribe Sweet TeaJohnson & JohnsonGiggles Play StationAutomatic MerchandiserCoca-ColaPepsiUSDA Smart Snacks in School guidelinesOklahoma School Nutrition Association About 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 | Website Important 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.

  8. Jul 21

    52 | David Crawford - How AI Gives Busy Founders Their Time Back

    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 path Mentioned ResourcesChatGPTClaudeGeminiSalesforceHubSpotDealCloudKnight FrankeBayACG (Association for Corporate) Growth)Goldman SachsJP Morgan About 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 | Website Important 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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About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    J. Michael Fischer Jr | DBD Investment Bank
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    60
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    Copyright © 2025 DBD Partners LLC
  • Show Website
    Going Beyond the Deal