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Josh Rosenberg on business, leadership, loss and finding perspective How M&A activity in the convenience services industry is evolving, and the life-changing impact of personal challenges and loss, are front and center in a thoughtful and moving episode of Automatic Merchandiser & VendingMarketWatch’s Vending & OCS Nation.In this part 2, podcast host Bob Tullio continues his discussion with Josh Rosenberg of Forward Thinkers, Josh shares why he believes the M&A market remains stronger than ever, with increasing interest from private equity groups, family offices and strategic buyers looking to enter the convenience services space.He explains how Forward Thinkers helps operators maximize company value before a sale by focusing on leadership development, organizational readiness, talent retention, customer relationships and operational excellence.(Miss part 1?Listen here.) The conversation then shifts to Josh’s passion for building a family-centered business alongside his wife and sons, and the unique rewards and challenges that come with working together.In one of the most emotional interviews ever featured on Vending & OCS Nation, Josh speaks openly about a series of serious health challenges, the unexpected loss of his son Isaac, and how those experiences have transformed his perspective on leadership, business and life itself.He describes the overwhelming support he received from the convenience services community, the power of vulnerability, the importance of faith and family and why life’s greatest lessons often emerge from its most difficult moments.This episode is an inspiring reminder that while business success matters, relationships, purpose, and perspective matter even more.Thank you, Josh, for your honesty, courage and willingness to help others through your story.Miss an episode?Listen to all past episodes of Vending & OCS Nation.No time to listen?Prefer to read?Here is an edited podcast transcript: Bob Tullio: On this episode of Automatic Merchandiser’s Vending & OCS Nation, it’s part two of my conversation with Josh Rosenberg of Forward Thinkers.We talked about his company’s approach to M&A, and then, the challenges he and his family have faced in the last year, including some significant health issues and, of course, the tragic loss of his son, Isaac.Josh has been quite open about this.You may recall a LinkedIn post four months ago, where he wrote, “Yesterday, my family experienced the unthinkable.We lost our son, friend, and partner, Isaac.” Still, before I delved into this deeply personal matter, I asked Josh if there was anything that was off-limits.And here is what he said.Josh Rosenberg: You don’t have to hold back.I think it’s the one thing I learned.You know, I put that post out there on LinkedIn, [and] even some of my own family was upset with me.Well, part of it was control the narrative, but it was all from the heart.I was in a moment of vulnerability.And not only our industry… God, did they wrap their arms around me!People that I had differences with, right?And still may, but we’re not always — my wife likes to teach me we’re acquaintances.We’re not always just friends.We might be more acquaintances.I had over 100,000 people engage on that [post], and over 2,000 private messages from around the world.Every nationality.And a number of them — a majority of them — had suffered a similar loss and never talked about it or been unwilling.Or even if they had, they either helped me or we helped each other.And so, if this part of it can help others — young parents, parents with 20-something-year-olds that went through COVID, and people that have been faced with those that keep…because a lot of us hold it in, right?Then I’m all for it.Now I may not get through it very well because it’s still raw.It’s only been four months.And he was my life.Bob Tullio: It was a courageous response, exactly what I expected.Later in this interview, we talked about those difficult topics and how Josh and his family are coping and moving forward.But first, I asked him about the state of the industry’s M&A market, an area that Forward Thinkers is increasingly focused on.What’s your take on the state of the M&A market today for our industry?Josh Rosenberg: We have more viable buyers of interest than we ever have.A week doesn’t go by that a financial buyer or even a wealthy family office or individual reaches out to me because of my experience in the industry, looking to get in, looking to understand.I just had this call last week with a private equity company that’s starting to search.They want in the space.And it’s one of those things where I’m involved.I’m here for our board meeting, Alliance Vending Markets, we’re killing it.Not only just through acquisition — and they see the value of it — but they’re giving operators a different way out.Stay on, participate, put some of your money in, we’ll back it with ours.We’ll give you center of excellence.And we will, you’ll get two takes at it.You’ll get to double up on your outcome.And it’s proven to be very successful.We’ve got an incredible leadership team, incredible partner behind it.And people are seeing that.They’re taking notice of it, and they’re wanting in.And I think that is a testament to our space, where consumer market has shifted to, and the golden real estate that we have.And then you throw the strategics in.For the most part, one of them’s taken a pause, but they still want to actively acquire.All three strategics are looking at this space saying, “We’ve got to grow.And M&A is a way to get there.” They aren’t buying the company, by the way.And that’s something that we work on at Forward Thinkers that I think is unique to our competitors.We work with the individual, the leader, the owner, the people that might be left behind.Because they’re not paying — They’ll pay for your business.They’ll integrate it and take your synergies.But, if you understand that people are the driver, and you have competency in people, systems and controls, and good customer dichotomy, you’re going to get paid more.So, we work with customers to really focused there, because whether you’re a strategic buyer, financial buyer, individual: Nobody wants to come into a business that doesn’t have competency in people because they need them.Everybody needs talent first, diversity in business because it’s less risk, and then competency in your customer relationships.Stickiness.And so that’s driving a lot of continued M&A.I think it’s only going to continue to accelerate our space.And the way that you optimize dollars is how you focus on readiness to go into market and then diligence during the process, to demonstrate credibility and confidence in your business, and then who you leave behind and how you leave it behind.And that’s our strategy when we work with partners on M&A, and that’s what buyers are looking for.But it’s only going to accelerate because people want in this space more than they ever have.Bob Tullio: Give me an idea of what Forward Thinkers does to optimize the position of a company before a sale.Josh Rosenberg: So, we come in, whether it’s 60 days or three years.And we work closely with that operator.We evaluate the business, the culture, the systems, the customer base, the integrity of the data.And we optimize every bit of that for the partner.We prepare and train and educate the owner on how to engage in the sale process because what they say and what they do matters a lot to the buyer because they’re going to be heavily involved face-to-face and influencing the best outcome.So, we spend a lot of time.I’m a certified executive coach.I lean into that.Not only the owner, but I want to understand the owner’s position.Do they want to stay, or do they want to exit?If they’re going to exit, what’s level 2 look like?So, let’s make sure we have talent at level 2, and they’re prepared to represent your brand, and people want to buy