I'm Rob Levin — Navy veteran, founder, operator, investor, and the guy running CIS Partners, a boutique M&A advisory firm that helps founder-led B2B businesses navigate exits, growth capital, and the messy middle of getting transaction-ready. I've sat on both sides of 20+ deals, which means I've seen what works, what doesn't, and what keeps founders up at 3am.
This site is where I write about all of it — the mechanics of dealmaking, where capital is flowing, what's actually happening in the lower middle market, and the occasional detour into culture, AI, combat sports, and whatever else catches my attention.
If you're a founder, CEO, or operator trying to build something worth buying, you're in the right place. If you're just here for the commentary, that's fine too.
AI is destroying some businesses and making others worth considerably more. Why the sell-before-the-tsunami argument does not survive contact with the deal market.
Confidence has become a substitute for competence — and the infrastructure that supports the substitution has never been better. A note on trust, what Dante already knew, and why the people who did the work sleep fine.
Selling your company means walking away. Raising money means moving in together — with someone who holds rights over your decisions for the next decade and can't be fired. Here's how to interview the money before it interviews you.
Where value migrates when digital becomes free — and what to buy when AI floods the market with everything cheap, fast, and forgettable.
Reach out about deals, capital, the lower middle market, or anything else worth a conversation.