Lunch Society: Acquire or Be Acquired (founders)

​Lunch Society: Acquire or Be Acquired

​The way profitable businesses are bought and sold has changed more in the last 18 months than the previous 18 years. AI is rewriting valuations. The old broker model is dying. This lunch is your 2026 update, whichever side of the table you're sitting on.

​Have lunch with Chrissy McDannell, Founder of The Magnolia Firm, as she breaks down the modern playbook for acquisitions in 2026: What actually moves valuations, where the real buyers (and sellers) are hiding, and how AI is quietly reshaping every part of how businesses get bought and sold.

​Whether you're sell-side curious or buy-side hungry, you'll leave with the kind of clarity that turns "I'm thinking about it" into "here's exactly what I'm doing next."

​What will be covered:

• ​The 7 "R" words that determine whether a business is actually worth buying (sellers, optimize for these; buyers, screen for these)

• ​How AI is rewriting valuations in 2026: which businesses are commanding premium multiples, and which are quickly losing value

• ​"Creative financing" in 2026: What closes the deal vs. what acquisition gurus teach

• ​The biggest valuation levers to flip on before you list (and the ones buyers will quietly subtract for if you don't)

• ​Recent deal horror stories from both sides of the table (names omitted, obviously)

​Lunch will be served at 11:45, with the content and Q&A starting around noon.