Founder

Joel F. Duran

M&AMI · CM&AA · CM&AP · CEPA · CVGA · CVB™ · CAIM · CMSBB

Founder · M&A Advisor

Office: (504) 321-0196 · Direct: (504) 313-1038
Email: joel.duran@duranadvisors.com

Joel Duran founded Duran Advisors to bridge the gap between main street business brokers and investment banks, because the Lower Middle Market is the underserved middle that neither side handles properly.

Personal experience

Joel Duran brings 15+ years of deal-making to every Duran Advisors engagement, built on owning and operating eight businesses of his own across B2B service, wholesale, retail, automotive, internet sales, food service, and hospitality. He is a minority owner and board member of Secure Logic, a disinfection company, where he holds the board seat overseeing mergers, acquisitions, and exit planning. The advisor in the room has sat in the seller's chair.

Entrepreneurial background

Joel founded his first company while still in college, scaled it to multiple millions in annual revenue, and turned it into the largest wholesale customer for the industry's biggest supplier in the region. Running a business through growth, hiring, financing pressure, and competitive shifts, not just analyzing one from the outside, is the foundation for how he works with owners now.

Professional career

Joel has spent more than a decade selling businesses full-time. Before Duran Advisors, he was a principal at an international business brokerage and managing director of a boutique M&A advisory firm. Across those roles, he has personally sold over 100 businesses and worked with hundreds of main street and lower middle-market owners across the Gulf South.

Why Duran Advisors exists

Most main street brokerages run a hopeful, public-listing process and wait for the right buyer to wander in. Most investment banks won't take an engagement under $25 to $50 million in enterprise value, and the ones that will often default to private-equity-only buyer pools. The Upper Main Street and Lower Middle Market sit in between, underserved by both. Duran Advisors was built specifically for that sweet spot ($1 million to $25 million in annual revenue), with the Structured Sale™ methodology, both individual buyer and PE/strategic networks, and a coordinated approach that works alongside the owner's existing CPA, attorney, and financial advisor.

Community involvement

Joel has been active in the New Orleans business community for almost three decades. IEPA Board (International Exit Planning Association), Membership Committee and Education Committee. International Business Brokers Association Past Educator. Past involvement with Bridge House / Grace House Recovery Golf Tournament, the International Business Brokers Association, M&A Source, Exit Planning International, Business Network International, ACG Young Professionals, and the Home Defense Foundation.

Education

University of New Orleans, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Tulane / UC Davis, Venture Capital Certificate. Plus ongoing continuing education through M&A Source, AM&AA, EPI, IEPA, and the Value Builder System programs that back each active credential. Joel completed NACVA's Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) education program coursework, and he completed IEPA's Certified Business Exit Consultant (CBEC) education program.

Personal

Joel lives in Old Metairie with his wife and four children. Outside the office, he is an avid organic gardener running a full-cycle system of composting, vermicomposting, and blending his own soil amendments using permaculture principles. He also pursues photography and videography, bodybuilding, and mixed martial arts.

Active certifications

Joel holds eight active certifications spanning sell-side M&A, exit planning, value growth, main street brokerage, and post-closing integration. The breadth is intentional, so one advisor can cover the work that often gets handed off at other firms.

• M&AMI Mergers & Acquisitions Master Intermediary — the senior M&A Source / IBBA designation requiring 172+ education hours and a track record of completed transactions.
• CM&AA Certified M&A Advisor — Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors.
• CM&AP Certified M&A Professional — Kennesaw State University Coles College of Business.
• CEPA Certified Exit Planning Advisor — Exit Planning Institute. Anchors the 3-gate Value Acceleration Methodology Duran Advisors uses on exit planning engagements.
• CVGA Certified Value Growth Advisor — the prescriptive 8-Functions framework the firm uses to prioritize operational interventions inside the company.
• CVB™ Certified Value Builder™ — The Value Builder System credential to deliver the Value Builder Score and the 8 Drivers of Value methodology.
• CAIM Certified Acquisition Integration Manager — post-closing transition and integration specialization.
• CMSBB Certified Main Street Business Broker — Sunbelt Business Brokers credential for smaller-deal expertise.

Joel is also an IBBA Past Educator, meaning he has taught the M&A industry through the International Business Brokers Association, and he serves on the IEPA Board (Membership Committee and Education Committee).

What sellers have said