In the process of selling her first company, Amanda Cybul, creator of founder-first M&A advisory Merge, learned the extent to which the world of mergers and acquisitions is still male- dominated.

“Everyone underestimated me from the start,” she remembers. “People often talked down to me, and I felt like I had to prove myself at every step.”

While many entrepreneurs would have fixated on their resentment and cultivated a sense of grievance at being treated so dismissively, Cybul turned this problem into an opportunity.

“I realized that many women founders probably face the same dynamics,” she explains. “That’s one of the reasons why I launched Merge.”

A new kind of founder-first M&A advisory

Merge is a full-service M&A advisory firm specifically geared toward giving women founders the support they need to make successful exits. This privately held company specializes in transactions involving middle-market businesses, particularly lower-middle market companies, with an emphasis on marketing agencies.

“Women shouldn’t be excluded from important parts of exit planning and strategic acquisitions discussions just because they are women,” Cybul says. “These women have created highly profitable companies and often have decades of experience. It’s an understatement to say they deserve to be treated with respect. That’s why I founded Merge — to create an advisory for founders in general, but also for women founders in particular, since they tend to be so underserved.”

Cybul’s own experience with traditional advisors, who focused on current market valuations and securing deals, but offered little else, convinced her that there had to be a better way.

Merge: A full-service advisory for female business owners

“Imagine if an M&A advisor actually took the time to ask you questions about what you want to gain from the sale and then listened to you,” she says with a laugh. “Imagine someone who understands that exit strategies come with powerful emotions and helps owners navigate them. That was the experience I didn’t get myself, so that’s the experience I make sure our clients receive.”

Many M&A firms focus solely on transactions, numbers, and speed, an approach that Cybul characterizes as “dehumanizing.”

“Here you and this incredible business you’ve built are being reduced to nothing but a number with a dollar sign,” she says. “It can feel like your business and people are being boiled down and shoved into boxes according to market value as fast as possible, like your advisors just want to make the sale and get their commission as quickly as possible. These kinds of firms sometimes even pressure owners into accepting deals that might look good on paper but don’t actually achieve their goals.”

These traditional firms might also be undervaluing women-led companies in their financial analyses. Forbes reports that, on average, businesses founded by women were given valuations 30 percent lower than those founded by men.

As an entrepreneur, Cybul was taken aback by this lack of attention and care for women founders and the other essential parts of selling a business. “Many women have poured so much of themselves into their business that it becomes an extension of their own personal identity,” she explains. “Sell-side advisors need to acknowledge those emotional and personal components.”

With Merge, she and her top-notch team expand the usual script to encompass a fuller, richer, and ultimately more effective experience.

Not just valuation: The Merge approach

“We put relationships first,” Cybul says. “We create a safe space where owners can explore what they really want to get from an exit, as well as M&A advisory services that get them there. We take the time to help founders get clear about their motivations and expectations for a sale. Then, we thoroughly explain the options and help them choose the path that best suits them.

We are a trusted partner in every way — while we ensure you achieve maximum value, that’s not all we do.”

For instance, many founders have personal goals in addition to financial ones. “Entrepreneurs spend years refining their missions and building their companies, not to mention growing their teams. It’s their baby. When it comes time to pass the business to someone else, they care about more than a gavel coming down on the highest bid. Many want to ensure that the buyer will take care of their creation. Too many sell-side advisories don’t get that.”

Cybul’s M&A team of professionals invests ample time not only in helping entrepreneurs maximize value and market their businesses to potential buyers, but also in helping them make informed decisions about the other components of a transfer of ownership.

“For instance, many owners want to make sure the buyers and investors understand the company culture and are aligned with it,” she explains. “Many also care about the team they’ve assembled, so we find ways to ensure these people will be protected. Legacy is another consideration — what criteria would a buyer need to fulfill to carry the torch into the future?”

Merge also serves as a business growth partner, providing expertise on how to position businesses best for sale. “This can include everything from recapitalization to launching new initiatives for sustainable growth,” Cybul explains. “Development, Modernization, Enhancement (DME) projects would be one example of the latter.”

A hands-on advisory for founder-led businesses

Merge makes the strategic M&A process more human. As a result, founder M&A will never be the same.

“Selling a business is a big deal,” Cybul says. “Entrepreneurs deserve to work with a sell-side M&A advisory that understands that. At Merge, we help founders get clear, prepare, navigate every step, and feel confident of the outcome.”