Entries by Joe Orlando

Exploring Donor-Advised Funds for Privately Held Business Owners’ Philanthropy

For business owners of privately held companies seeking a seamless and impactful way to contribute to charitable causes, Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) have emerged as a philanthropic and tax-efficient solution. These vehicles offer a flexible and tax-efficient way to manage charitable donations, allowing donors to make contributions to a fund and then recommend grants to their […]

Are You an Expert at What You Do?

So what is an expert and, more importantly, are you one? The term “expert” has many definitions. For anyone who has written a wedding toast or sat through a valedictorian’s speech you know how the next sentence starts…Webster defines an Expert as “one with a special skill or knowledge representing mastery of a particular subject.” […]

A Difference of Opinions: Closely-Held vs. Venture-Backed Companies- Part 1 of 2

In my transition from leading a valuation practice at an accounting firm to an M&A advisory firm, quickly realized significant differences between valuing venture-backed technology startups to valuing owner-operated small to middle-market businesses with between $2 million to $50 million in revenue. Over the last four years, I’ve concluded that there is a distinct and […]

Spring Break 2022

We all remember the question; what did you do on your spring break? Whether it was the title of a paper you needed to write for 11th grade English class or the topic of discussion at the pub in late April of your senior year of college, it’s a great question whose answer can be […]

Understanding Discount Rates The Size Premium – Part 3 of 5

So far, in our educational discussion of the discount rate as “one of the most important inputs surrounding the valuation of the business”, we introduced the first two inputs of the build-up approach. Added together, these two inputs equal the expected market return of equity. However, because the equity risk premium looks at the overall […]