Episode 423: Making M&A a Force for Good with Hannah Sandmeyer

In her first 90 days running corporate development for a venture-backed acquirer, Hannah Sandmeyer closed sixty million dollars in EBITDA. The company had raised a billion dollars in a single Series D and its whole model was growth by acquisition. Then it collapsed when the promised IPO never came. That experience showed her how powerful M&A can be, and it set up the question behind everything she does now, which is what that power looks like when it serves something other than speed and price.

Hannah is the founder and CEO of Up and Over Advisors, the first certified B Corporation in the world dedicated exclusively to values-aligned M&A sourcing, and the founder of Steward Market, a live three-sided marketplace for ethical business transitions. She also co-hosts the Ethical Exits podcast.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: Why mission-driven founders belong on the buy side and not only the sell side, how shared values and trust can change a deal's structure and open the door to seller financing, how employee ownership and acquisition can work together, and how Steward Market uses values as searchable infrastructure so sellers can find a buyer by mission and hold period rather than valuation alone.

HANNAH'S JOURNEY: Hannah grew up in Boise, Idaho, wanting to be a civil rights lawyer for the ACLU, studied political science, and came to see M&A as social and economic justice work because an ownership transition is a redistribution of power. She spent about 18 years in go-to-market and revenue roles before being asked in 2021 to run a corporate development team, where she learned that buying a company is just a different kind of sale.

After that acquirer collapsed, she started her own firm expecting to do fractional sales work for B Corps. Instead, founders kept asking her to help them buy companies, and fractional corporate development was born. When she suggested that mission-driven founders could be acquirers too, they recoiled, which led her and her partner to launch Ethical Exits to explore what mission-driven M&A actually looks like.

KEY INSIGHTS: Once you see the power of inorganic growth, you cannot unsee it as a lever. The real question is not whether acquisition is good or bad, but what you point it at.

Values are a real deal variable. When a buyer and seller genuinely share goals and build trust, sellers become more open to seller financing and less fixated on all cash or the highest multiple.

Employee ownership and acquisition can reinforce each other. Hannah points to a social work company that converted to an ESOP, acquired other firms, and began cutting checks north of a million dollars to retiring social workers.

An ethical exit is not a partisan idea. Yvon Chouinard put Patagonia's purpose into a trust, and Eddie Smith turned down offers north of four hundred million dollars for Grady White because, as he put it, the company has a soul. The two men likely sit at opposite ends of the political spectrum.

Real freedom is reciprocal. Wealth and ownership expand a person's power to make consequential decisions, and for Hannah that increases obligation rather than removing it.

Perfect for founders weighing a sale, would-be buyers who assume the buy side is not for them, and advisors who want the deals they work on to protect more than price.

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

FOR MORE ON HANNAH SANDMEYER: Website: https://stewardmarket.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahsandmeyer Podcast: Ethical Exits, https://ethicalexits.com

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
[00:02] - Introduction to Hannah Sandmeyer and the intersection of M&A and mission 
[05:44] - Hannah's first capital raise in fifth grade with a chess team coupon drive
[12:06] - Landing in corporate development in 2021 and a billion-dollar growth-by-acquisition model
[16:30] - Starting her own firm and the birth of fractional corporate development
[27:32] - Patagonia and Grady White as models of the ethical exit
[38:03] - The Three Legged Stool employee ownership and acquisition story
[46:07] - How Steward Market works as a three-sided marketplace
[01:01:11] - What freedom means to Hannah

Guest Bio
Hannah Sandmeyer is the founder and CEO of Up and Over Advisors, the first certified B Corporation in the world dedicated exclusively to values-aligned M&A sourcing, and the founder of Steward Market, a live marketplace for ethical business transitions. She also co-hosts Ethical Exits, a podcast exploring how ownership transitions can protect mission, workers, culture, and community. A former Peace Corps volunteer turned M&A operator, Hannah works at the intersection of ownership, capital, and moral courage. Based in Portland, Oregon, she is an avid cyclist raising a preteen and a chicken named Greta who believes she is a dog.

Related Episodes

Episode 325 - Kelly Finnell: How Employee Stock Ownership Plans Actually Work. A deep look at ESOPs as an exit and succession tool, and how employees become owners.

Episode 293 - Sunny Vanderbeck: Building and Selling a Company Without Treating Profit and Purpose as Enemies. Conscious capitalism and value creation over short-term profit.

Episode 366 - Jodi Hume: Founder Exits and the Emotional Journey Behind Major Business Decisions. The psychological weight of selling and what founders need to prepare for beyond the transaction.

Keywords/Tags
ethical exits, values-aligned M&A, B Corp, employee ownership, ESOP, stewardship ownership, mission-driven acquisitions, seller financing, deal structure, Steward Market, Up and Over Advisors, three-sided marketplace, buy side, legacy preservation, mission continuity, conscious capitalism