Post-Series A CEO Breakfast: M&A Readiness & Exit Strategy (Venture Week Miami)
Venture Week Miami | Private, Invite-Only
An exclusive CEO breakfast for founders building companies with $1M+ in revenue and for investors focused on acquiring, financing, or scaling operating businesses.
This is a working conversation about how to design a company that is buyable, financeable, and structurally positioned for M&A, long before a process begins.
The reality:
Most founders don’t lose value at exit because of market conditions.
They lose value because of decisions made 2–5 years earlier.
At this breakfast, we’ll discuss:
How strategic buyers and private equity firms actually assess risk
What makes a company acquirable vs. merely profitable
How capital structure impacts optionality
Why clean financials and governance drive multiple expansion
How cross-border structuring affects net proceeds
When to think about acquisition as a growth strategy, not just an outcome
This is a candid, off-the-record conversation among experienced operators, advisors, and capital partners who sit inside transactions every year.
Location shared upon approval. Limited seats to preserve quality of discussion.
Speakers
Andrea Balletbo
Head of Partnerships | L40° (www.l40.com)
Andrea is a founding team member at L40°, a cross-border M&A advisory firm focused on mid-market exits for software and technology companies.
She works directly with founders on sell-side strategy, buyer positioning, and international transaction execution. Prior to L40°, she helped build Boopos (exited in 2025), an acquisition financing platform focused on SaaS M&A, where she supported over 180 technology transactions across capital structuring and acquisition financing.
Andrea brings practical insight into how deals are structured, what buyers prioritize, and how founders can proactively position their company for competitive processes — not reactive sales.
Nicolas Toro
Head of StartUp & VC Banking for LatAm Markets | Silicon Valley Bank
Nicolas leads LatAm Markets within SVB’s Global Gateway, supporting Latin America’s innovation economy as a primary U.S. banking partner.
Previously Director of Entrepreneurship and Access to Capital at Endeavor Colombia, Nicolas has deep exposure to venture-backed scaling, capital structuring, and cross-border growth. With a Master’s from Columbia University and experience operating across LatAm and the U.S., he brings perspective on how banking readiness, institutional credibility, and capital strategy influence both fundraising and exit execution.
Joan Zhang (Co-Host)
Fractional CFO | Vistage Chair | Financial Strategist
Joan is a seasoned financial strategist with nearly two decades of experience advising growth-stage companies. As a Fractional CFO, she partners with founders of 7- and 8-figure businesses to improve profitability, cash flow management, financial clarity, and strategic planning.
She also serves as a Vistage Chair in Miami, coaching CEOs on leadership, performance discipline, and execution rigor.
Joan brings a disciplined operator’s lens: how clean financial systems, margin visibility, and decision-making frameworks materially impact valuation and buyer confidence. Companies that scale cleanly sell cleanly.
Ricardo Aramburo Williams
International Tax Principal | Global Markets Leader
Ricardo specializes in international tax structuring for companies operating across jurisdictions. With more than 20 years of experience advising founders and multinational businesses, he focuses on optimizing tax outcomes in cross-border expansion and M&A scenarios.
He holds an MBA from Kellogg, an LL.M. in Taxation from Northwestern, and a background in law and accounting.
Ricardo will address how early structural decisions, holding company setup, intercompany flows, tax elections, affect valuation, buyer appetite, and net proceeds. In many transactions, tax inefficiencies quietly cost founders millions.
Co-Hosts
Joan Zhang
Fractional CFO | Vistage Chair | Financial Strategist
Joan is a seasoned financial strategist with nearly two decades of experience advising growth-stage companies. As a Fractional CFO, she partners with founders of 7- and 8-figure businesses to improve profitability, cash flow management, financial clarity, and strategic planning.
She also serves as a Vistage Chair in Miami, coaching CEOs on leadership, performance discipline, and execution rigor.
Joan brings a disciplined operator’s lens: how clean financial systems, margin visibility, and decision-making frameworks materially impact valuation and buyer confidence. Companies that scale cleanly sell cleanly.
Jordan Butler
Entrepreneur | Operator | Advisor | Venture Week Miami Organizer
Jordan Butler is an entrepreneur and operator who has built and led ventures across the U.S. and Latin America, working through scaling, restructuring, fundraising, and transaction strategy.
His focus today centers on value creation through disciplined growth and acquisition strategy — helping founders think beyond revenue and toward enterprise design, capital positioning, and M&A readiness.
As host, Jordan will moderate a direct, operator-focused discussion around:
When to prepare for a sale — even if you’re not selling
When to acquire instead of raise
How to build a company that buyers compete for
How founders retain leverage in negotiations
This session is designed to be practical, grounded, and relevant for founders who want optionality — not urgency.
Who Should Attend
Founders with $1M+ revenue building toward strategic or PE exits
CEOs post-Series A refining governance and capital structure
Investors interested in acquiring or backing buy-and-build strategies
Operators responsible for financial and operational scalability
This breakfast is for leaders who understand that exit strategy is not a last-minute decision — it is a structural discipline.
Apply to attend. Limited capacity.
Sponsor: CONNECTD (https://www.connectd.com/)
Connectd for Startups | Knowledge drives growth. Find the people who can propel your business forward. With Connectd, you can build relationships with experienced professionals passionate about supporting startups and specialising in everything from finance, tech and operations to sales and marketing