Integration Over Balance and the Best of 2025

In this holiday episode of the DealQuest Podcast, I'm taking a moment to connect with you directly. Rather than diving deep into deal mechanics, I want to share some reflections on the year, point you toward episodes worth revisiting, and introduce a concept that has fundamentally changed how I approach both business and life over the past 15 years.

This time of year tends to bring stress for many people. I've heard troubling statistics about increased rates of heart attacks and strokes during the holiday season. End of year deals closing, family obligations, gift buying, travel, running your company. When you look at all these things as separate competing demands that need to be balanced, it creates tension. But there's another way to think about it that has served me well since I gave up the balance conversation entirely.

A THANK YOU TO THE DEALQUEST COMMUNITY

First, I want to express genuine appreciation. It's easy to say platitudes at the end of the year about how much we appreciate our clients, how much I appreciate this audience, all the guests who have come on. But I mean it. Whether you listen religiously every week or catch episodes that match your specific interests, your engagement makes this work meaningful.

We have some listeners who haven't missed an episode. We have others who pick and choose based on the guest or topic. Both approaches work. The episodes I'm about to recommend might be ones you missed or ones worth a second listen if you have downtime during the holidays.

DAVE HERSH ON THE PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND SUCCESSFUL EXITS

One of my favorite interviews from the entire podcast was Episode 381 with Dave Hersh. I had brought Dave in to speak at the EO Deal Exchange conference, and his honest, authentic exploration of his journey stopped me in my tracks. He built Jive from an open-source project to a NASDAQ IPO, then spent time as a board partner at Andreessen Horowitz.

What makes Dave's conversation essential is his willingness to share the hard truths. The challenges that came after his exit. The identity issues that plague founders. His concept of the inner board meeting, where you identify which internal parts are driving major decisions, offers a framework I've never heard articulated so clearly. If you've ever thought about what happens after you sell your company, or why some founders struggle even after life-changing exits, this one deserves your attention.

BOB BUSH'S REMARKABLE JOURNEY

Episode 377 with Bob Bush fascinated me from start to finish. His path from East St. Louis to working with governments and sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East and Africa shows what's possible when you bring together entrepreneurial drive with a mission for social impact.

Then there's Mutombo Coffee. Bob started the company with the late Dikembe Mutombo before Mutombo passed. They're creating bridges of financial sustainability for women farmers in the Congo while building a legitimate coffee business. His approach to what he calls Social Enterprise 2.0, commerce rather than charity, demonstrates global deal-making that creates genuine value. Definitely want to hear Bob's story and check out their coffee.

JODI HUME ON AVOIDING EXIT REGRET

Episode 366 with Jodi Hume connects directly to themes Dave Hersh covered from a different angle. Jodi works with founders to help them get clear on what they actually want before they sell. Her perspective on regret management, being absolutely clear on why you're selling and what matters most beyond the money, could save entrepreneurs years of post-exit struggle.

The statistic that up to 85% of founders have some regrets around their exit stopped me. Not everyone gets depressed, but that's a lot of people who wish they had done something differently. Jodi's frameworks for avoiding that outcome make this conversation worth your time.

HIKARI SENJU ON STRATEGIC BOOTSTRAPPING

Episode 354 with Hikari Senju on building AI-powered companies through strategic bootstrapping performed exceptionally well this year. The stats show it was one of our top episodes. His entrepreneurial approach offers a different lens on funding decisions. When so many voices push founders toward raising capital, Hikari's perspective on building sustainable businesses without giving up control resonates with a certain kind of entrepreneur.

WHAT'S COMING IN 2026

We have exciting content planned. In early January, my partner Brian Meegan and I will kick off the year with an episode discussing what we're seeing for 2026 in the deal landscape. Brian hasn't been on the podcast since joining me as a partner a couple years ago, so this will be a great opportunity to share perspectives on where we think things are heading.

We're also planning special series similar to what we did with leading aggregators and integrators in the RIA space. This time we're looking at different segments within that industry, plus some series focused on other industries entirely. The regular weekly episodes will continue alongside these deeper dives.

WHY I GAVE UP THE BALANCE CONVERSATION

Now let me share something that has fundamentally shaped how I operate. About 15 years ago, I gave up the conversation around balance. The word I use instead is integration. It's become more popular to say this now, but back then it wasn't.

When you think about balance, you're thinking about all these separate parts that compete with each other. The deals you're trying to close, running your company, family obligations, holiday events, travel. It feels disjointed. Everything is pulling in different directions. If you look at it as a challenge of how you balance all these separate things, you've already set yourself up for stress.

Integration creates a different lens entirely.

THE INTEGRATION DINNER

My wife and I recently had dinner with Molly and Allen who run an organization we support. We love the cause and we love the people. If we loved the cause but didn't connect with the people, we wouldn't support it. If we loved the people but the cause didn't resonate, same thing.

So what might seem like an obligation, going out during a busy December, becomes an evening where we enjoy phenomenal food, great conversation, and get to support something meaningful. Relaxed, fun, productive. That's integration. We did it close to where we live here in Marina del Rey. Not a burden. A pleasure that happens to serve multiple purposes.

DESIGNING LIFE FOR INTEGRATION

Even where we live reflects this thinking. We moved to Marina del Rey, California from New York about ten years ago. Rather than buying a standalone home out here, we chose a high-end building. I'm not saying this to impress anyone. The point is understanding why that decision serves integration.

Maintaining a home, worrying about security when traveling, dealing with all the maintenance issues. Those things don't integrate well with how I want to operate. But living in a secure building where I can submit a maintenance ticket through a portal, where I don't have to think about safety when I'm away, that frees me to do what I actually want to do.

I work from home when we're out here. I'm fifteen minutes from LAX, twenty minutes at most in an Uber. I can walk my dog along the promenade whenever I have a break. I can step out on my patio and look at the water. My cold brew moment each morning, looking out at the marina, puts me in a good state of mind before I jump into negotiations on M&A deals or whatever challenges the day brings.

That's all integration. Every choice supports how I want to live and work rather than creating friction between competing demands.

INTEGRATION IN DEALS AND RELATIONSHIPS

Imagine having clients you genuinely love spending time with. Holiday events stop feeling obligatory because you actually want to be there. You can bring together people you work with, causes you support, and clients you admire because they're all phenomenal people who energize you. Maybe you introduce them to each other. Not to pressure anyone into anything, but because it would be a great evening whether business comes from it or not.

The great deals, the great mergers, the great acquisitions have a component that brings culture together. They're integration plays. The ones that fail typically have integration problems at their core. I've seen this pattern repeatedly over 35 years of dealmaking. There are lessons here that extend far beyond the transaction.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT MEDIUM

I chose the podcast medium over writing a weekly column, which I've been offered, because this is in my passion. I love talking deals. I love this format. I would not love having to write every week. Being interviewed by reporters works for me, so I do that. But a mandatory weekly column would feel like work rather than an extension of who I am.

That's an integration conversation. Figure out what forms of contribution and creation actually energize you rather than drain you, then build around those.

CLARITY AS A FILTER

When you have clarity about what integrates in your life, it creates a filter for decisions. Just like the whiteboarding sessions we do for clients who are looking to become buyers in M&A transactions, getting clarity on what structures and models work for you has you making decisions more efficiently and effectively. It reduces stress and creates peace of mind.

The same applies to life design. What can you integrate as you head into the new year? What choices would make things smoother rather than feeling like you're constantly juggling competing priorities?

If you can answer those questions, you'll enter 2026 with a different energy. That's what I want for the DealQuest community.

Thank you for all your support this year. I appreciate each of you who listen, engage, and apply these ideas in your businesses and deals. Here's to continued success and freedom in the new year.

Listen to the full episode of DealQuest Podcast: [Available on all major podcast platforms]

EPISODES MENTIONED IN THIS HOLIDAY SOLOCAST
Episode 381 - Dave Hersh: The Psychology Behind Successful Exits
Episode 377 - Bob Bush: From East St. Louis to Global Dealmaking and Mutombo Coffee
Episode 366 - Jodi Hume: Founder Regret, Exit Clarity and What Money Can't Buy
Episode 354 - Hikari Senju: Building AI-Powered Companies Through Strategic Bootstrapping

FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFER
https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/
https://www.coreykupfer.com/

Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast.

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