Closing Conversations

Kevin Appleby is the managing partner at RUHL, a New York City-based MEP design and engineering consulting firm focused on building electrification, energy efficiency, HVAC, and high-rise commercial and residential buildings.

In this episode, we talk about:

- How Kevin helped bring a 70-year German family business to New York
- Why New York City is one of the hardest markets to break into
- Why networking matters more in closed...

Joshua Lindsey is the founder and CEO of American Business Brokers and PHX Private Equity. He has bought and sold his own companies, taken a company public, represented hundreds of small business owners, and now uses his brokerage as both a business and a feeder for private equity deals.

In this episode, we talk about:

- Why selling a small business is nothing like selling a house
- Why most business owners should not try to sell ...

Urszula Bosco was born and raised in Milan, moved to the U.S. for school, built a career in packaging, production, and development for beauty brands, and eventually co-founded Amor 27 with her husband in New York City.

In this episode, we talk about:

- Why starting a company means getting comfortable with uncertainty
- How corporate skills can become the foundation for entrepreneurship
- Why buying an engagement ring can feel s...

David Kidder has built and exited multiple companies. Grace has worked alongside him for six years, from Bionic through its acquisition by Accenture and now into David’s newest companies, Board of Life and Primordium.

In this episode, we talk about:

- Why there’s a difference between being nice and being kind
- How founders build trust without creating dependency
- Why growth cannot just belong to the sales team
...

Paul Hletko is an entrepreneur in the adult consumption space who built FEW Spirits, helped roll up brands including Widow Jane, Bluecoat Gin, Tequila Ocho, Mezcal Vago, and Brenne, and now runs Skull & Petal, a men’s cosmetics and skincare company.

In this episode, we talk about:

- How family history led Paul into whiskey
- Why the invisible work matters most when building a company
- The relationship between hard wo...

Erik Reynolds has lived a few different professional lives — video games, music, publicity, business development, partnerships, creative strategy, and entertainment.

In this episode, we talk about:

- Grief, vulnerability, and why real connection usually starts when the script breaks
- Why being authentic is still the best way to sell
- The difference between a sales lead and a real relationship
- Why AI and automation ...

This episode was supposed to be a podcast introduction.

Before every episode of Closing Conversations, Max usually jumps on a quick intro call with the guest before the actual recording. It’s meant to be simple: get to know each other, talk through the flow, and make sure the real conversation feels natural.

But this one with Erik Reynolds was too good not to share.

So instead of leaving it on the cutting room floor, we turned i...

Reagan Rodriguez helps manage a foundation focused on funding projects that create sustainable jobs, stimulate local economies, and support long-term development in underdeveloped parts of the world.

But this episode quickly becomes about something much bigger than global projects.

In this episode, we talk about:

- Why giving someone the benefit of the doubt can still be a form of prejudging
- How optimism turns into self-deception...

A lot of private equity deals look great on paper.

That does not mean they work in real life. 

Jaclyn Voor joined me on Closing Conversations to talk about what actually happens after the acquisition dinner, the swag, and the big announcement — when two organizations have to start operating like one, or when a carved-out business has to stand on its own.

Jaclyn is an independent consultant and operator in the private equity...

A lot of companies do something valuable.

Far fewer know how to explain it in a way that makes people care.

Laura Burkemper joined me on Closing Conversations to talk about what actually makes a brand land — with investors, with customers, and with the people inside the company.

Laura is the founder of Scaleblazer, where she helps companies with investment, scale, and sale. In plain English, that means helping them raise capital...

Max Notis started Closing Conversations with no grand plan — just a belief that the conversations he was having while building his company were too valuable not to share. 

One year later, the podcast has grown into a global platform connecting sellers, founders, and leaders through real, unfiltered discussions.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why Closing Conversations started without a master plan
• The shared pressure tha...

Dan Bauer has done a little bit of everything — founder, operator, marketer, mentor, advisor — and somehow makes it all sound simple.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why cold outreach keeps getting harder 
• The difference between real connection and fake familiarity
• Why founders need other founders in their corner
• How to sell to pain instead of pitching features
• Why retirement is the wrong goal for entrepreneurial...

Itai Karelic has built revenue in some of the toughest environments there are: deep tech, long sales cycles, tiny buyer universes, and deals where every conversation matters.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why enterprise sales in telecom and energy is nothing like high-volume SaaS
• The difference between hunters, farmers, and technical sales in complex deals
• Why experienced sellers still need leadership, structure, an...

Elias Moosman is the founder of ThetaDriven, and he’s building something that feels inevitable in hindsight: a sales “CRM” that’s less about data entry—and more like a flight simulator + checklist that coaches you through real conversations.
But the bigger story is the tech underneath it: a framework designed to fight drift—the way meaning, context, and outputs warp over time inside complex sy...

David Foos is the CEO and President of Massive Dynamics, a global management consulting firm built by entrepreneurs—and run like it.

In this episode, we talk about:

* Why “time and capital” are the only two resources that matter (and neither is renewable)

* The anti-consulting model: 30-day contracts, zero ego, and clients who stay for years

* The “dirty half dozen” problems most leadership teams keep ...

Lincoln Murphy has been in the CS world since before most people knew what “customer success” even meant—and he’s blunt about what actually makes companies grow.

In this episode, we get into:

* Why sales overstuff deals (and what it signals about your post-sale motion)

* How to build trust between Sales and CS so customers don’t feel the seams

* The handoff play that prevents “surprises, unknowns...

Brian J. Esposito doesn’t do small talk—and neither do I. We sat down, poured a bourbon, and went straight into the stuff most founders and leaders avoid saying out loud.

In this episode, we talk about:

* Why “taking the L” is sometimes protection, not failure

* How work becomes a socially acceptable addiction

* The difference between wanting more and needing more

* Integrity when you’re broke, winning,...

Sarah Hardwick has raised $140M+ and helped spark one of the most passionate communities in crowdfunding. 

In this episode, we get real about:
* Why vulnerability and values beat “slick” every time
* Cadence over quota—building routines that keep you sane and productive
* Saying the unpopular thing (and why “no” is a power move)
* Genius zones, Kairos vs. Chronos, and designing your wee...

This is a solo, year-in-review episode of Closing Conversations.

After a year of conversations with founders, operators, consultants, and sales leaders, certain themes became impossible to ignore. Rather than recap individual guests or moments, this episode pulls together the patterns that showed up again and again—regardless of industry, title, or experience level.

In this reflection, Max shares what hosting Closing Conversati...