Record Growth Lands M&A Firm on Inc's 5000 Fastest-Growing Companies List

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Aug. 23, 2021 - PRLog -- Michigan-headquartered M&A firm Calder Capital today announced it had been named to Inc. Magazine's top 5000 most successful private companies in the country.

Every year, Inc. generates a list of the top 5000 most successful private companies in the country based on their impressive growth over the course of a 3-year period.

Calder Capital's ascent to the fastest growing M&A firm in the US is even more impressive when contrasted against a general M&A industry decline of -22% in 2020.

According to Friar, when the pandemic hit in mid-March, buyer, seller, and lender conversations slowed significantly: "Our core business and chief source of revenue is from the buying and selling of businesses. In Q2 2020, those transactions decreased by 39% (https://www.bizbuysell.com/news/bizbuysell-2020-second-quarter-insight-report/) nationwide versus the previous year. Many voices on all sides of the aisle were saying things like, 'let's wait until COVID passes' or 'let's wait until things get back to normal.' More or less, 90% of active conversations and negotiations came to a halt."

Never one for accepting defeat, Friar buckled down at what he is best at. "I embrace change and uncertainty," stated Friar. "I knew instinctively that if we innovated quickly and meaningfully we would emerge a shining star. I have never accepted that I should just sit and wait. I thrive on  experimenting and changing."

The firm's growth through the pandemic, however, was not a result of mere providence. "While of course we doubled down during COVID, we also have to credit the 'bigger picture' of how we were positioned leading up to 2020," remarked Matt Baas, Mergers and Acquisitions Advisor at Calder Capital, and Partner at the firm's sister company, Small Business Deal Advisors (https://www.smallbusinessdeal.com/). "Calder fosters a culture of ethical and hardworking staff, innovation (technologically and otherwise) and a willingness to stay curious and adaptable. When 2020 hit, Calder was primed to rise to the challenge."

The positive results of Calder's head-down efforts were many: the team closed a record 40 transactions and received a cornucopia of recognitions including Top 200 Business Leaders (https://grbj.com/grand-rapids-200/), 40 Under 40 (https://www.caldergr.com/grand-rapids-grbj-40-under-40-2020/), fastest-growing company of the year (https://www.caldergr.com/bronze-stevie-award-winner-2021-fastest-growing/), entrepreneur of the year (https://stevieawards.com/aba/entrepreneur-awards), company of the year (https://www.caldergr.com/gold-stevie-award-winner-2021-financial-services/), and dealmaker of the year (https://mibiz.com/sections/small-business/matthew-baas-assembles-growing-number-of-deals-for-main-street-companies).

When asked what he hopes the Inc. 5000 award will bring, Friar had the following to say, "The future of Calder will be built on the recruitment and retention of driven, ambitious, and creative people. My goal is to make this list for as many years as we can, and I am committed to long-term, thoughtful, creative, and sustainable growth that it will take. Let's go!"