Episode 391: How to Maximize Your Company's Sale Value with Greg Waller

From sandblasting pipe yards at 17 to advising on $10-200M M&A transactions, Dr. Greg Waller shares proven strategies for maximizing business exit value, managing buyer expectations, and why the best time to prepare for sale is 3 years before you're ready.

In this episode of the DealQuest Podcast, host Corey Kupfer sits down with Dr. Greg Waller, who advises clients on complex business valuation and buy-side and sell-side M&A transactions. Greg is the managing partner of Cornerstone Valuation and a partner and managing director of Transact Capital, leading a 20-person team focused on the lower middle to middle market. Given his academic and entrepreneurial background, he jokingly refers to himself as the Blue Collar Scholar.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

In this episode, you'll discover why professional buyers and owner-operators require completely different M&A processes, how to set realistic expectations about the gap between business value and market price, and why starting exit preparation 3 years in advance dramatically impacts final sale outcomes. Greg explains how private equity-backed platforms are blurring the traditional lines between financial and strategic buyers, what makes labor-intensive businesses particularly attractive in the current market, and the cultural complexities that emerge in international transactions. You'll also learn why the most successful exits often begin as casual conversations years before any actual sale decision.

GREG'S JOURNEY:

Greg's path to M&A advisory started in Youngstown, Ohio at age 17. He walked into a pipe yard with a 4-inch piece of pipe, half sandblasted and coated, half rusty. He showed the crew his before-and-after demo and landed a contract to blast the entire yard over 18 months. That first deal led to years painting elevated structural steel, bridges, water tanks, and radio transmission towers.

The industry changed when EPA regulations around lead-based paint removal came in. Working on a bridge one day, a coworker with cracked hands from years of painting looked at Greg and said, "Look at my hands, look at my face. What are you doing? You're a smart boy, why don't you go back to school?" That conversation took the rest of the season to sink in, but Greg eventually left the painting business and pursued his MBA at Ohio University.

Faculty members encouraged him to pursue a PhD. His initial reaction was "Are you crazy? Why would I ever want to do a PhD?" But they convinced him, and he earned his PhD in finance at Purdue University. During his 20 years in academics at Ohio University and Virginia Commonwealth University (until May 2025), Greg maintained entrepreneurial ventures including valuation work as an expert witness, real estate development, buying his father's distribution company, and building a restaurant operating group.

THE BLUE COLLAR SCHOLAR:

Greg's unique combination of blue-collar operations experience and academic expertise gives him a perspective most M&A advisors lack. As he puts it, "I'm as comfortable talking to the janitor as I am to a board of directors, and just being able to put yourself in those shoes and having done it really gives you a different perspective." Having been under the hood of companies across virtually every industry through ownership and valuation work, he can get into the head of sellers in ways that matter when emotions run high and expectations need managing.

KEY INSIGHTS:

The M&A market divides into two buyer pools requiring vastly different processes. Professional buyers (private equity and strategics) respond to structured competitive auction processes with rigorous due diligence. Owner-operators typically engage through market-making platforms where price leads the conversation. Understanding which buyer type you're targeting shapes everything about your approach.

Value and price represent fundamentally different concepts. Greg uses GameStop as his example: price went through the roof despite no fundamental change to the company, then crashed. Setting realistic expectations upfront with clients about valuation ranges prevents painful surprises when market realities emerge. The critical question: "If this thing ends up pricing at the lower end of the range, are we still good to go?"

The consultative approach produces the best outcomes. Greg's most successful deals were "3 or 5 years in the making" where he identified value drivers early, helped clients clean up their operations, and positioned them properly before market entry. The best time to start thinking about hitting the market is 3 years ago.

Private equity-backed platforms now dominate middle-market transactions, acting like strategics by bolting on competitors but bringing institutional capital discipline. This hybrid model has made the traditional financial versus strategic buyer distinction increasingly blurry.

Labor-intensive businesses with skilled workforces are commanding premium multiples as immigration policies create labor challenges. Service providers to infrastructure industries and staffing companies are particularly hot. With massive private equity dry powder and 2024's weak M&A activity, the ingredients point toward a robust 2026 market.

Perfect for business owners planning exits in the next 3-5 years, entrepreneurs considering M&A advisory relationships, and anyone interested in understanding how blue-collar operations experience combined with academic expertise creates differentiated advisory value.

FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE: https://www.coreykupfer.com/blog/gregwaller

FOR MORE ON GREG WALLER:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/h-gregory-waller-7193bb60/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573615328301

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.

Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders converge, share insights and challenges, and success stories. Equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support necessary to navigate the complex yet rewarding world of dealmaking. Dive into the world of deal-driven growth today!

Episode Highlights with Timestamps

[00:12:39] - Introduction: Greg Waller's credentials and Blue Collar Scholar background
[00:16:32] - First deal at 17: Landing the pipe yard sandblasting contract
[00:20:04] - The bridge painter who told him to go back to school and career transformation
[00:29:05] - How blue-collar and academic backgrounds create unique M&A advisory perspective
[00:30:48] - Two buyer pools: Professional buyers versus owner-operators and their different processes [00:35:57] - Value versus price conversation and the GameStop example
[00:47:05] - "The best time to start thinking about hitting the market is 3 years ago"
[00:48:21] - Why the line between financial and strategic buyers is increasingly blurry
[00:50:15] - International deal complexities and cultural differences
[00:54:19] - Market outlook for 2026: Labor challenges driving premium multiples
[00:57:40] - What freedom means: Clean conscience and ability to chart your own destiny

Guest Bio

Dr. Greg Waller advises clients on complex business valuation and buy-side and sell-side M&A transactions. He is the managing partner of Cornerstone Valuation and a partner and managing director of Transact Capital, leading a 20-person team focused on the lower middle to middle market ($10-200M enterprise value range). His key industry verticals include human resource companies, staffing, industrials and infrastructure, healthcare, technology, and consumer products.

Greg holds a PhD in finance from Purdue University and, until May 2025, was a tenured professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he taught courses and published research on corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance. He previously taught at Ohio University. Greg is the son of a blue-collar entrepreneur and owned and operated an industrial painting company specializing in elevated structural steel infrastructure before pursuing his academic career. He has also been a partner in a real estate development firm and restaurant operating group, and now owns his family's industrial painting equipment distribution company. Given his academic and entrepreneurial background, he jokingly refers to himself as the Blue Collar Scholar.

Host Bio

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

Show Description

Do you want your business to grow faster? The DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer reveals how successful entrepreneurs and business leaders use strategic deals to accelerate growth. From large mergers and acquisitions to capital raising, joint ventures, strategic alliances, real estate deals, and more, this show discusses the full spectrum of deal-driven growth strategies. Get the confidence to pursue deals that will help your company scale faster.

Related Episodes

Episode 350 - Tom Dillon: Understanding Business Valuation and Exit Planning Realities
Episode 325 - Kelly Finnell: Using ESOPs in Ownership Succession Planning
Episode 330 - Pete Mohr: Building Enterprise Value and Exit Readiness
Episode 339 - Solocast 74: Equitizing Key Employees and Succession Planning Strategies

Follow DealQuest Podcast:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/
Website: https://www.coreykupfer.com/

Follow Greg Waller:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/h-gregory-waller-7193bb60/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573615328301

Keywords/Tags
M&A advisory, business valuation, exit planning, sell-side advisory, lower middle market, professional buyers, strategic buyers, private equity, business sale preparation, enterprise value, Blue Collar Scholar, deal structuring, owner-operators, business exit strategy, middle market M&A, exit readiness, business succession planning, international M&A, cross-border transactions, 2026 market outlook