Ken Marlin

If I think about it, it was probably someplace around a billion dollars.

But I don't think of that as the measure we typically work with.

eight to 10 clients a year.

That's about all we can handle.

We try to give each one of them a lot of senior level attention.

This is a very service oriented part of the business.

Unlike when you work with a large publicly traded company and helping somebody buy or sell a big company like that, which is very process-oriented, ours is very consultative.

We sometimes have to...

Help sellers communicate clearly what makes their company really cool, what makes it different, what makes it unique, what is their competitive advantage, and why should somebody care.

And then we have to help them through all phases of the process, including marketing.

helping them understand what's likely to happen next and help them negotiate all phases of the transaction.

And when we work with buyers, it's often similar in helping them to understand the strengths and weaknesses of

the opportunities and sometimes the threats involved in the companies that they're looking to buy.

No, we've had a couple of times when people have asked us to play the role of honest broker.

And the truth is that we always try to play the role of honest broker.

But actually, these things tend to work best if both sides have experienced advisors that can help their respective clients understand sort of what's reasonable and customary in this business.

That's right.

And of course, nobody believes that they are irrational.

My mom would say I'm irrational.

So everybody believes that their positions are reasonable and logical, and often they are from their perspective.