The Anatomy of a DealMAX Deal: Inside DealMAX with Datasite and Blueflame

For the sixth episode of this year’s Inside DealMAX series, we talk to two attendees who ended up inking a deal at last year’s DealMAX. Doug Cullen, chief strategy officer of Datasite, and Henry Lindemann, cofounder and chief growth officer of Blueflame, join the podcast to share their story, tips for those who hope to replicate their success at this year’s DealMAX, and data-based insights for M&A in 2026.

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Read a transcript of the podcast below.

Middle Market Growth: Welcome to the Middle Market Growth Conversations podcast, an ACG production. I’m Carolyn Vallejo, and we’re back with another episode of our Inside DealMAX series, where we’re going behind the scenes with guests involved in ACG’s flagship conference for the middle market, taking place April 27-29 at the ARIA in Las Vegas. Throughout this series, we’ll be exploring M&A trends, what you can expect on the ground at DealMAX, and networking tips from dealmakers and industry experts who will be there right when the doors open. Today we’re joined by Doug Cullen, Datasite’s chief strategy officer, as well as Henry Lindemann, cofounder and chief growth officer of Blueflame. Doug, Henry, welcome to the podcast.

Doug Cullen: Thanks for having us.

Henry Lindemann: Thank you for having us.

MMG: We want to get to know you both a little bit better, first of all. So, Doug, let’s start with you. Tell us about your role and the work that you do at Datasite.

DC: Sure. Thanks for having us here. I’m Doug Cullen, chief strategy officer at Datasite. We’re a global SaaS platform that helps M&A professionals manage the full lifecycle of a deal. We work on mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, IPOs. Most people probably know us for our virtual data room. That’s still core to what we do. But over the last several years, we’ve been expanding well beyond the data room. We now offer a suite of tools for sourcing, buy-side diligence, AI-driven insights, all aimed at helping dealmakers work faster and make better decisions. To give you a sense of scale in 2025, we supported over 39,000 projects around the world, including four of the top five global deals. We have over 625,000 active users on the platform. So we see an enormous amount of deal activity, and that gives us a unique window into how deals actually get done. Part of my role is making sure that we keep evolving. In 2021, we started pursuing strategic acquisitions to broaden the platform, and last year we acquired Blueflame AI, a leading agentic AI company purpose-built for financial services. But I’ll let Henry tell you a little bit more about that.

HL: Thanks, Doug. I’m Henry Lindemann, one of the cofounders and the chief growth officer of Blueflame AI. We’re an AI-native agentic AI platform for dealmakers. We’re purpose-built, we’re LLM agnostic, and we take our domain expertise, our advanced reasoning models, and then broad connectivity to help drive efficiencies around both investment and investment banking workflows, connecting fragmented data sources that are used in deal sourcing, diligence, market research and fundraising activities. Our superpowers are really delivered by combining data from internal systems, proprietary data sources, and publicly available information to help research, source, and touch diligence and post-merger integration processes to better drive decision making for dealmakers and investment managers.

MMG: Got it. Alright, well, before we jump into the conversation today about DealMAX, I also want to ask you both that your favorite travel hack. Henry, let’s start with you. What’s your favorite travel hack?

HL: Yeah, I, I hate looking disheveled when I arrive at a conference. So I actually like to pack a carry-on and a garment bag, soft-sided garment bag that you can drop a briefcase into so that you, you don’t violate the one suitcase, one personal item rule of the airlines.

MMG: Smart. All right. Doug, what’s your favorite travel hack or your favorite conference hack?

DC: I’ll give a conference hack. I’m not sure who said this. I’ve heard it attributed to Ben Franklin and it said it about university or college, and he said, don’t ever let college get in the way of your education. Which I, I probably lived too much of my college life that way, but a part of my thing is don’t let the conference schedule kind of get in the way of making the conference super productive. And so one of the things I try to do and really encourage is to reach out to people. So I send a handful of texts and just short notes to people that I really want to connect with. Nothing super formal, usually before the conference starts something simple like, I’ll be there, you know, manning the booth from this hour, or maybe we can grab a coffee. Let’s just connect for 15 minutes. And I find if I do that, and it’s confirmed before, it really changes the qualities of the conversations.

MMG: Doug, by the way, how long have you been coming to DealMAX for?

DC: I think almost two decades is the truth. Datasite has been a partner with the ACG community for well over a decade. And I’ve, I’ve been there at least a dozen times myself. It’s one of those events where you generally, you know, I think your relationships really compound over time, so I get a lot of pride in going back over and over again, run into some people, and you just, you know, kind of build that next level of trust and that really matters in M&A.

MMG: And Henry, how about you?

HL: Actually, last year was my first year at DealMAX. I really enjoyed it. It was a very unique experience.

MMG: Yeah. Excellent. And I know that you both share a really big DealMAX success story that came out of your meeting from last year. You kind of teased that earlier, Doug, but tell us more about that chance meeting.

DC: Sure. So as I mentioned, we’ve been investing in AI across our platform for a long time. I think we trace it back to first AI features about seven years ago, but we also recognized that the tech technology was just evolving faster than any single company could build in-house. So we were looking at ai we were looking at potential acquisitions. We did a market map and we just felt like it was going to be an intrinsic part or component of our success across every stage of the deal, sourcing, diligence, execution, and, and we, being not a horizontal player, but really being vertical specific thought that we wanted to really develop and or partner with someone that had a vertical specific AI platform. At the same time, and this is kind of the part I love we believe deeply in human in the loop approach. You know, AI can accelerate analysis, surface patterns, flag risks, but it’s not a substitute for judgment cultural fit and reading the room. People still buy from people. In fact, we actually used DealMAX last year to preview our unannounced acquisition of Grata. We were back to back in a booth. We hadn’t publicly announced it but we were sitting there and I was at the booth enjoying a Datasite-Grata very large donut. When I peeked up and kind of looked across the room and saw Blueflame’s booth. And so as I mentioned, they had been on our market map. They had actually come recommended by one of our investors. I hadn’t had the opportunity to view the platform or meet anyone on the team, so I kind of meandered across the hallway and ended up connecting with a couple people on the Blueflame team. They started to showcase the platform to me and immediately I was blown away. I started asking a bunch of questions and the person there was sort of like I think you should probably connect with our co-founder Henry Lindeman. And so it was the proverbial chance meeting not scheduled. I think shortly thereafter, Henry and I connected, he’ll probably tell his portion of the story, and you know, I think probably four weeks later we were in we were in negotiations to, to buy Blueflame. It was a pretty powerful moment.

MMG: Wow.

HL: Yeah. I don’t have a whole lot to add other than to talk about the spontaneity of the moment. You know, Doug came over, met my colleague Dana and Eric. We got introduced. I’m standing up demoing the platform. We maybe had 10 minutes together with that initial rendezvous. Mm. And then I had an appointment with the journalist, which again, you know, another thing that DealMAX facilitates. And so we, we exchanged cell phone numbers and then tried to meet back up at the conference. Obviously couldn’t just with how much that are going on and you know, but just from there was clearly an alignment and an interest in getting to know each other better. And you know, things, things kind of continued when we both got back to New York and you know, we be had the process of getting to know each other.

MMG: Now, as you both mentioned, this was a chance meeting, very impromptu, but it is proof that that deals can and do happen at DealMAX. So for anybody out there listening who maybe wants to replicate your success, can you each share some networking tips or strategies that you use? Doug, how about you kick us off? I know you mentioned planning ahead by sending some quick notes to people that you know, might be at the conference you want to touch base with. Tell us some more strategies that you use for networking when you actually land.

DC: Yeah, I mean, you know, know what you’re there for, right? Are you looking for potential acquisition targets? Are you seeking capital co-investment advisors? Once you figure out what you’re looking for, I think that helps ground it and shapes what you’re looking to do. It helps informs what panels you attend, who you book time with, how you spend your evenings. And then, you know, as I mentioned earlier, do a bit of homework before reach out to people, you know, and try to lock in those meetings. Either spontaneous meetups or more scheduled, don’t leave it to chance. And then the last part I’d say, and I I referenced this earlier, is make sure to build in some white space. I find if I go overscheduled, I really miss those sort of spontaneous moments, and I can only imagine if I had been in a session or been scheduled to do something else, Henry and I may have never connected that day and maybe it would’ve come back around. But I think that, as Henry was saying, that initial connected really set a foundation for what has been an awesome partnership and I know will be super critical to both our company’s success will and into the future.

MMG: Absolutely. Henry, what about you? What are some networking tips that you can share with us?

HL: Yeah, I mean completely agree with everything Doug said. I’d also just make you know, a strong recommendation to take advantage of the programming. In addition to scheduling the meetings, there’s breakfasts, there’s VIP dinners, there’s sponsor-hosted receptions. People are there to meet people. There’s plenty of opportunity to go up and strike up a conversation at lunch. And remember meeting a number of folks that I’m still in touch with today. Some of them are Blueflame customers, some of them I hope to be. And then I think, you know, a little bit like anything you get out what you put in, these are professional environments. You need to make sure that you follow up, you share reasons for the interaction. And I don’t think it matters whether you are an acquirer, whether you’re a company, whether you’re a, you know, a, a banker, whether you’re a vendor or a sponsor. These are high quality interactions and you know, it’s valuable time that people are committing. So put together thoughtful follow ups, send them soon thereafter, connect on LinkedIn and you know, be sure to, you know, continue the conversation once you leave, once you leave the conference.

MMG: Now you both are of course, very plugged into the data side of things, so I’m curious about any insights you can provide into how M&A is shaping up early in 2026. You know, we’re talking now towards the end of Q1 and already entering Q2. I can’t believe it, but what are some of the insights that you have that might be coloring some of the dealmaking conversations that will be had at DealMAX this year? Let’s start with you, Henry.

HL: Yeah. If I think about dealmakers as a sort of group, they you know, and I’m, I’m going to sort of paraphrase or quote Doug here. Yes, it’s great. No is good. And maybe he’s, maybe he’s a killer. And so I think the primary goal for any dealmaker from a, an AI and agent perspective is, is to close the deal one way or another faster. With AI driven automation, deal teams can close transactions on average 22 days faster. If you take sort of due diligence costs at around a hundred grand a week, that that’s, that’s over $300,000 saved. So you’re saving from that from the transaction costs, you’re improving certainty, and you, you’re moving on to the next phase of the process. There’s no, there’s no alpha in longer there. So we we’re excited by that particular prospect and both the economic and the you know, the time savings there.

MMG: Excellent. And Doug, what about you? What are some of the M&A trends that you’re keeping an eye on as we head into DealMAX?

DC: You know, we, we get to look at a lot of data given you know, what’s going on the platform and very much what’s on Datasite happens between, you know, nine and 10 months before often deals get announced. So I’ll reflect a little on 2025 I think that was certainly a year of measured resilience. Dealmakers were adjusting to a complicated backdrop of geopolitical shifts, regulatory change and macro uncertainty. But there was activity, you know, on Datasite that new global deals rose 9% 2024 to 2025. And what was interesting to us is where the conviction showed up, industrials, transport, defense, and TMT all led the way, and AI was a driver on both sides. As a sector that attracts investment and as a technology that makes deal teams faster and more precise. Now, early days in 2026, still kind of uncertain environment for sure. But the early signs are encouraging new deals on our platform. We’re up 6% globally in the first couple months this year. Even with the continued geopolitical tension my read is that dealmaking this year will be driven more by strategic conviction than by cyclical recovery. The firm that have a clear thesis on this will be able to move quickly and kind of get to that yes no decision as Henry was talking about and, and get deals done. One thing we’re watching closely is how AI is changing not just deal efficiency, but deal intelligence, helping teams understand patterns across transactions, not just speed up individual ones. That’s a frontier that we’re focused on very closely at, at Datasite.

MMG: Well, let’s talk about the event itself. DealMAX, there’s so much going on, as you both know. You can have a ton of different experiences depending on, you know, what you decide to do, who you decide to meet, et cetera. So I’m curious, is there a favorite feature or event happening at DealMAX that you are most excited about this year? Henry,

HL:  I like to walk the exhibition halls. I’d like to see who’s there. I actually like to see who’s not there. I think that’s a, one of the, one of the more interesting pieces of intelligence that you can gather. It speaks to who is serving the M&A ecosystem, or is looking to establish themselves there. We’ve certainly been there in the past for that reason. And so I think you can get a really good beat on, you know, who is who, who is relevant in dealmaking on the sponsor side.

MMG: Excellent. And Doug, what’s your favorite feature at DealMAX?

DC: So, I’m a bit biased, but I always look forward to the keynote. And this year, my dear friend and colleague, Colin Schopbach is moderating that panel. So I’ll definitely be in the front row.

MMG: I’ll be there as well, for sure. And Doug, for anyone who might be on the fence about coming to DealMAX this year, how would you convince them to attend?

DC:  I think deals are all about relationships, and my belief is that relationships are built in person, not on a Zoom call or, you know, not over email. And maybe not on a podcast though. I think we’re trying to do our best here. You can source a deal online, you can run diligence with AI, but at some point, someone has to look someone in the eye and say, I trust you. Let, let’s do this. And DealMAX puts you in the room with the people who make that happen. If you’re serious about M&A in the middle market, I don’t know a better place to be for those three days.

MMG: And Henry, anything that you would like to add?

HL: Doug really said it well—M&A is a momentum exercise. You need to show up, you need to be relevant, you need to spend time with the people who are transacting. You need to be in the know. That’s where this all happens. It happens on the conference floor, it happens on the stage, it happens in the meals, and in the event happy hours.

MMG: Absolutely. Well, Doug and Henry, thank you both so much for joining the podcast. We can’t wait to see you in Las Vegas, and we appreciate you speaking with us today. Thank you so much.

DC: Thank you. It was a pleasure.

HL: Thank you, Carolyn.

MMG: And if you would like to join us at DealMAX this year, you can learn more dealmax.org.

This transcript was prepared by a transcription service. This version may not be in its final form and may be updated.

The Middle Market Growth Conversations podcast is produced by the Association for Corporate Growth. To hear more interviews with middle-market influencers, subscribe to the Middle Market Growth Conversations podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Soundcloud.