WorkWise

Financial Transaction Leadership Academy

Teaching You the Essentials of Investment Banking Transactions. Business Sale. IPO. Restructure. Acquisition. Fairness Opinion. Rights Offering, and More.

Not Ready to Engage with a transaction-specific Deep-Dive course or seminar solution? Join an "Open Office Hours" Q&A series.

This open topic live format offers weekly sessions attentive to the role you might play in a transaction, distinguished by ultimate accountability to stakeholders for outcome: -- C-Suite, -- Key Employee, -- Deal Pro (lawyers, accountants and consultants). These open office hours Q & A sessions allow you to ask Michael Kane, Ph.D., J.D. (33-yr Managing Partner Private Investment Bank) anything about how investment banking transactions work. It offers you a cost-effective way to get some questions answered and decide how much you don't know, and might want to know. A privilege of membership is "anytime" access via AI bot to our accumulating, proprietary, curated knowledge base informed by those who have solved challenges before you. For: C-Suite/Board Directors, Key Employees, Deal Pros (lawyers, accountants, consultants). Sorry, no Entry Level or Student groups yet.

For Transaction-Specific orientations - Video Courses and seminars - Select Your Role and Level of Accountability

C-Level / Board Directors
If you are accountable to stakeholders for getting the deal done right, you owe it to yourself and to them to get a leader-level orientation to the deal you are charged with executing. Get an actionable education that will propel your leadership performance.
C-Suite and board
Advisors / Deal Pros
Investment banking transactions are collaborative enterprises. You know your parts. You will be better at your role if you are less reactive, more anticipatory, because you are oriented to the deal drivers affecting the bankers and your client.
advisors / deal pros
Employees: Key Senior
You will be a better contributor in a supporting role for the deal, and prepared for future deal leadership, if you invest the time in orienting to the bigger stage on which investment banking transactions are played out. Aspire to be greater than a cog.
employees : key senior
Entry Level / Students
Investment banking deal? Your managers, sit up, take note, and generally try to get closer to the action. If you are oriented to the objectives and state-of-play, you can make yourself more valuable to your organization. "Alert" players are worth more.
entry level / students
One question. Infinite potential.

Do You want to be competent? Or Just fake it until you make it?

Our Support. Your Story.
Leading the Room? First time in the Room? However, whenever, and in what role you get into the room where your company is planning an investment banking transaction, you may think everyone knows more than you, and you are certain that your colleagues think you know more than you do. The Number One "Go To" for everyone in the room to one extent or another is to: "Fake it until they make it." Why not do a favor for your anxious self, and for that matter, everyone else in the room: why don't you invest in a painless orientation to the deals on which you get to participate?
Michael Kane, Ph.D., J.D.
Creative.Education. Leaders

Our Story

Scores of investment banking transactions executed over three decades at two internationally recognized investment banks and my private investment bank - hundreds of transactions evaluated - thousands of executives interviewed - this is how I know how to orient you to investment banking transactions.
I've seen, and been a part of, fantastic successes and made my fair share of errors. I've paid attention. I have learned what I would want to know if I were you now. I'm bringing to you what I teach business leaders in active transactions to empower them to anticipate, and make, informed decisions for all of their stakeholders.
"I teach my clients in every active investment banking engagement. It's the (second) most rewarding part of my job. I have looked back to find the subject matter I most often repeat in a given transaction and am sharing it with you now - before you become accountable for results. It's information you can use if you are a business leader, and if you are at the beginning of your career, it will help you become a business leader."
Michael Kane
Founder & CEO
  • "Kane has a unique ability to not just spot issues, but to proactively help solve them. When things get challenging – and they will, whether you are going through a sale, IPO or a restructuring – any issue that Kane uncovers will be presented to you with a menu of solutions so that you are empowered to navigate the process in an efficient and informed way."
    ★★★★★
    Michael Moulton
    Managing Partner - Law Firm
    "Mike is like 4 or 5 board members in one person. Finance? Yep. Ops? Yep. Strategy? Yep. He’s seen it all, but if you can come up with some-thing he hasn’t seen before, he can figure it out quickly. Responsive. Responsible. Solution-oriented, positive, and calm in every situation. He’s great in transactions and provides a vantage point that helps you consider many more alternatives than you could by yourself. Mike can find and extract value."
    ★★★★★
    Andy Laats
    Founder, Chairman, CEO - Client Company
    "Kane makes a significant difference in maximizing the value to a client company.... helping foster superior returns to the investors"
    ★★★★★
    Keith Benjamin
    Research Analyst, Technology Investment Bank; Venture Capitalist
  • "Kane teaches an M&A Master Class to everyone involved, if you’re interested in learning (and if you’re not, that’s your loss). He brings a unique blend of experience, process, discipline, creativity and intelligence that you're just not going to get from anybody else. ."
    ★★★★★
    Dan Erickson
    CEO - Client Company
    "Michael Kane has the most experience of any-one you'll likely meet in making successful deals -- an astounding range of business types, busi-ness conditions, and buyers. He knows what's possible, and what is a waste of time...He"s a real chess master for selling companies."
    ★★★★★
    Grant Langston
    CEO - Client Company
    "I have found Michael Kane to be very knowledgeable and competent in evaluating companies to determine optimal equity market value and for preparing companies to execute transactions designed to realize that value"
    ★★★★★
    MIchael Moe
    CEO - Investment Bank
  • "Kane teaches an M&A Master Class to everyone involved, if you’re interested in learning (and if you’re not, that’s your loss). He brings a unique blend of experience, process, discipline, creativity and intelligence that you're just not going to get from anybody else. ."
    ★★★★★
    Dan Erickson
    CEO - Client Company
    "Michael Kane has the most experience of any-one you'll likely meet in making successful deals -- an astounding range of business types, busi-ness conditions, and buyers. He knows what's possible, and what is a waste of time...He"s a real chess master for selling companies."
    ★★★★★
    Grant Langston
    CEO - Client Company
    "I am deeply grateful for your sage advice and guidance. The time you took to understand my challenges and offer tailored counsel has helped me professionally and inspired me on a personal level. You have illuminated paths I hadn't seen."
    ★★★★★
    Trevor McAlees
    Start-up Leader YPO Member
  • "Kane teaches an M&A Master Class to everyone involved, if you’re interested in learning (and if you’re not, that’s your loss). He brings a unique blend of experience, process, discipline, creativity and intelligence that you're just not going to get from anybody else. ."
    ★★★★★
    Dan Erickson
    CEO - Client Company
    "Michael Kane has the most experience of any-one you'll likely meet in making successful deals -- an astounding range of business types, busi-ness conditions, and buyers. He knows what's possible, and what is a waste of time...He"s a real chess master for selling companies."
    ★★★★★
    Grant Langston
    CEO - Client Company
    "I have found Michael Kane to be very knowledgeable and competent in evaluating companies to determine optimal equity market value and for preparing companies to execute transactions designed to realize that value"
    ★★★★★
    MIchael Moe
    CEO - Investment Bank
  • "Kane teaches an M&A Master Class to everyone involved, if you’re interested in learning (and if you’re not, that’s your loss). He brings a unique blend of experience, process, discipline, creativity and intelligence that you're just not going to get from anybody else. ."
    ★★★★★
    Dan Erickson
    CEO - Client Company
    "Michael Kane has the most experience of any-one you'll likely meet in making successful deals -- an astounding range of business types, busi-ness conditions, and buyers. He knows what's possible, and what is a waste of time...He"s a real chess master for selling companies."
    ★★★★★
    Grant Langston
    CEO - Client Company
    "I have found Michael Kane to be very knowledgeable and competent in evaluating companies to determine optimal equity market value and for preparing companies to execute transactions designed to realize that value"
    ★★★★★
    MIchael Moe
    CEO - Investment Bank