M&A Forum

What M&A Forum does

M&A Forum (legal name: Mergers and Acquisitions Forum) is a 501(c)(6) non-profit professional association founded in Houston, Texas in June 2008, modeled on a framework developed by Business Navigators in Dallas. The organization serves acquisition-focused investors, lenders, brokers, professional advisors, and owners of growing private enterprises involved in mergers and acquisitions transactions in the Houston metropolitan area. Its core offering is a structured monthly in-person meeting cadence (fourth Tuesday of every month except December), hosted at the SBDC Houston facility at 1455 West Loop South, Suite 900, featuring speaker presentations, peer education, and deal-oriented networking designed to facilitate trusted relationships across the full M&A stakeholder ecosystem. Membership enrollment is processed through the Wild Apricot association-management platform and gates access to the member directory, events, and educational content.

The organization's product surface extends beyond monthly meetings to include thought-leadership articles under the "M&A Insights" brand, an extensive YouTube video archive of past event presentations, and an email newsletter. There is no proprietary software or technology platform; the offering is relationship- and knowledge-mediated rather than technology-mediated. Revenue derives from two streams: recurring annual individual membership dues and tiered corporate sponsorship (Platinum, Gold, Silver), with Platinum sponsors including JDKGLaw, Melton & Melton, VensureHR, and Encore Search Partners, plus Gold (Ellard) and Silver (QMC, Doeren Mayhew, UHY, Risk Strategies) tiers. The organization is governed by a volunteer board led by Chairman George Kurisky and President Gretchen Lawler, with operational support from approximately five paid staff.

Go-to-market is community-led: awareness is generated through content marketing on the website and LinkedIn, video content on YouTube, and in-person events. The organization explicitly targets Houston-region M&A activity, with no current disclosure of geographic expansion. The competitive position rests on density of trusted relationships within the Houston M&A services cluster rather than technology differentiation, and the organization's 17-year operating history (with formal non-profit incorporation in 2015 and 501(c)(6) designation in 2016) provides brand and institutional credibility that is difficult for new entrants to replicate quickly in a trust-driven market.

Name

M&A Forum

Legal name

Mergers and Acquisitions Forum

Website

https://mandaforum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

M&A Forum is a Houston-based 501(c)(6) non-profit professional association that hosts monthly networking and educational meetings for investors, lenders, brokers, advisors, and business owners involved in mergers and acquisitions transactions. It funds operations through individual membership dues and tiered corporate sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association & M&A Networking

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums (MPAGAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interest-Based Communities & Forums (BPAMABAC)

Keywords

• Membership association services
• M a networking community
• Professional networking events
• Corporate sponsorship programs
• Thought leadership content

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees for professionals involved in M&A transactions including investors, lenders, brokers, advisors, and business owners.
2. Corporate Sponsorship: Annual sponsorship opportunities at various tiers (Platinum, Gold, Silver) for organizations seeking to support and participate in the organization.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

M&A Forum is a non-profit professional association that brings together buyers, sellers, investors, lenders, brokers, and professional advisors involved in mergers and acquisitions transactions. Its core service is a monthly in-person networking and educational meeting held on the fourth Tuesday of each month (except December) at SBDC Houston, supplemented by a membership program, thought leadership content (M&A Insights), corporate sponsorship opportunities, and an online video library of past presentations.

Product overview

M&A Forum is a professional networking and membership organization (501(c)(6) non-profit) that facilitates mergers and acquisitions activities through a portfolio of interconnected services. The core offerings include monthly in-person meetings and events that bring together the full ecosystem of M&A stakeholders (buyers, sellers, investors, lenders, and advisors), complemented by a membership program with directory access. Additional value-add modules include M&A Insights (thought leadership content), a corporate sponsorship program, and a video resources library of past presentations. The organization does not offer a software product or technology platform; all offerings are relationship and knowledge-sharing focused.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Monthly Meetings and Events In-person networking meetings held monthly (except December) on the fourth Tuesday of each month, bringing together buyers, sellers, investors, lenders, brokers, and professional advisors involved in M&A transactions.
• Membership Program Annual membership program providing members with a directory, access to educational content, relationship-building benefits, and networking opportunities with trusted industry professionals in the M&A community.
• Corporate Sponsorship Program

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• JDKGLawflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatinum sponsor of M&A Forum. JDKGLaw is a law firm providing legal services to M&A transactions.
• Melton & MeltonflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatinum sponsor of M&A Forum. Melton & Melton is a Houston-based independent public accounting firm with over 60 years of experience serving clients across diverse industries, supporting audit, tax, and client accounting practices.
• VensureHRflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatinum sponsor of M&A Forum. VensureHR provides human capital strategy services including payroll, HR compliance, and organizational change support for M&A transactions.
• Encore Search PartnersflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatinum sponsor of M&A Forum. Executive search firm serving M&A community.
• VCFOcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of M&A Forum providing CFO-level advisory services to the M&A community.
• EllardcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGold sponsor of M&A Forum.
• QMCminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSilver sponsor of M&A Forum.
• Doeren MayhewminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSilver sponsor of M&A Forum. Doeren Mayhew is an accounting and advisory firm.
• SBDC HoustonflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost organization for M&A Forum headquarters and events. SBDC Houston provides the venue and infrastructure for monthly meetings and operations at 1455 West Loop South, Suite 900.
• Business NavigatorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDallas, TX-based business leadership group that developed the model upon which M&A Forum was founded in 2008.
• UHYminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSilver sponsor of M&A Forum. UHY is an international accounting firm network.
• Risk StrategiesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSilver sponsor of M&A Forum. Risk Strategies is a risk management and insurance advisory firm.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• M&A Source: M&A Source is the international association representing M&A advisors, intermediaries, and deal professionals. Like M&A Forum, it is a membership-based community advancing the interests of M&A practitioners, and it provides training, designation, and networking — but does so nationally rather than locally.
• International Business Brokers Association (IBBA): IBBA is the leading association for business brokers handling main-street and lower-middle-market transactions, providing education, networking, and designation (CBI). Its focus on the smaller-deal M&A ecosystem overlaps with the broker and advisor community M&A Forum convenes.
• Alliance of M&A Advisors (AM&AA): AM&AA is a membership organization for middle-market M&A advisors offering the CM&AA designation, conferences, and peer forums. It serves the same buyer/seller/advisor ecosystem M&A Forum addresses, but at the national level rather than the Houston-only footprint.
• Association of Business Intermediaries (ABI): ABI is a U.S. association of business intermediaries that supports M&A intermediaries and brokers through networking, education, and certification. It shares M&A Forum's mission of strengthening the intermediary profession but operates nationally.

Regional players

• Greater Houston Partnership: Greater Houston Partnership is the Houston region's primary chamber of commerce and business advocacy organization. It serves a similar member-and-sponsor constituency (Houston executives, professional firms, dealmakers) as M&A Forum, but at the regional-economic-development level rather than M&A-specific.
• Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce: Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is one of several Houston-based business membership organizations that convene local business owners, advisors, and service providers around networking and education. It competes with M&A Forum for local business-owner attention, though it is not M&A-focused.

Emerging players

• Transworld Business Advisors: Transworld Business Advisors is a global business brokerage franchise that lists, sells, and franchises businesses, and whose Senior Business Advisor Austin Tenette serves as M&A Forum's Ex Officio. It is comparable because it shares the same buyer/seller M&A ecosystem M&A Forum cultivates, though as a commercial broker rather than a community organization.
• BizBuySell: BizBuySell is the largest online marketplace for buying and selling small businesses, connecting business owners, buyers, and brokers across the U.S. It intersects with M&A Forum's mission by serving the same lower-middle-market buyer/seller community, but through a digital marketplace rather than in-person networking.

Broad incumbents

• Association for Corporate Growth (ACG): ACG is the largest global community for middle-market M&A and corporate development professionals, with local chapters that deliver events, content, and networking. It is the most directly comparable organization to M&A Forum in mission (M&A community building) but operates at far greater scale and geographic breadth.

Others

• Houston SBDC (Small Business Development Center): SBDC Houston is the host venue and institutional partner for M&A Forum's monthly meetings. It is comparable because it serves the same Houston small/mid-market business owner audience with education and advisory services, and it is functionally the infrastructure backbone for M&A Forum's in-person programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCyyNYSEUgqAZVE-R2TvrlWQ/featured
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mandaforum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about M&A Forum