Buying a Business: The First 90 Days

Most acquisition advice stops at the LOI. What you'll pay, how you'll finance it, what diligence looks like. What no one prepares you for is the first ninety days: the people you inherited who don't know you yet, the systems that don't work the way the seller described, the comp plans you can't explain to anyone, and the culture you'll either defend or change.

In November, two Twin Cities operators who bought companies, one who closed in the last six months, and one a year ago, sit down with an M&A advisor who's worked dozens of deals to walk through what those ninety days actually demand. Plus a tactical segment on the five HR diligence questions that catch the most expensive surprises before close.

You'll leave with a concrete sense of what the first ninety days demand, what to fix before you sign, and what to expect when the seller leaves. Built for first-time buyers, searchers under LOI, owners considering bolt-ons, and the lawyers, bankers, and advisors who serve them.

Zach Ringer - Owner & Operator, KleerSpex

Zach Ringer spent more than a decade analyzing and investing in companies before acquiring one of his own. His career began in equity research at UBS Investment Bank before moving to the buy-side at Point72 and Estuary Capital, where he invested primarily in consumer businesses across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, while also investing across technology and industrial sectors. Owning and operating a business was always the goal, and Zach pursued opportunities outside the public markets through Anchor Point Equity, including helping find a new home for the longtime Minnesota-based gaming publication Game Informer. In February 2026, Zach acquired KleerSpex, a Minnesota-based manufacturer and supplier of optometric products serving eyecare practices nationwide. Today, he runs the business day-to-day, focusing on custom-branded lens cleaners, microfiber cloths, and other products that help optometrists stay relevant with their patients—bringing to the panel a perspective on acquisitions, diligence and the first 90 days of ownership that he is living in real time.

Rich Mastrodicasa - Business Performance Consultant,  Middle Market / Enterprise, Insperity

Rich Mastrodicasa has worked in the Human Capital Management space for the past 25 years. Most of his time is spent supporting companies as they navigate the world of Private Equity, M&A, Roll-Ups, Divestitures, etc…with a keen focus on diligence and preparedness as it relates to the People side of the business.

Darin Lynch - Founder & CEO, Irish Titan

Darin Lynch is the founder and CEO of Irish Titan, the Minneapolis digital commerce agency he built to help businesses create ecommerce that strengthens the whole company, not just a standalone website. Working from a "Business First. Online Second" philosophy, the idea that an online store should serve the entire business rather than sit off to the side, Irish Titan designs, builds, and supports ecommerce implementations, and its reputation has made it a longtime fixture of the Twin Cities entrepreneurial community. Across two decades of partnering with business owners, Darin has developed a sharp, practical read on what actually drives revenue, what wastes budget, and what customers respond to. In an acquisition, that lens matters early, because digital is where the seller's story and reality part ways fastest: the website that doesn't work the way it was described, the analytics nobody trusts, and the ad accounts, customer data, and vendor relationships a new owner inherits without a map. Darin brings the digital and marketing perspective to the first ninety days: what to audit before close, what to stabilize immediately, what to leave alone until the team trusts you, and where online revenue quietly leaks during a transition.

Insperity

Irish Titan

Breakthrough Impact Group

Highland Bank

Lab 651

Recursive Awesome