I’ve had many conversations with entrepreneurs on the subject of selling: How’d you do it? Where’d you start? Would you do it again?
Read MoreEighteen months before we sold the company, we received an offer from the eventual acquirer. We were initially tempted by the offer, but decided to hire a bank.
Read MoreHiring an advisor to help us with the M&A process was the best decision I made in selling the company I had built for 11 years.
Read MoreI am often asked about what I’ve learned from the process of a sale. Here’s my top 5 list.
Read MoreA concern for us when we started to think about initiating a transaction process was to find the bank that would be best able to understand our technology.
Read MoreWe knew who the likely acquirers were, and already had relationships with them, we thought long and hard about whether to hire a banker or to just run the process ourselves.
Read MoreWe started the process believing that we would divest a portion of our equity to a private equity firm, but the final outcome was a strategic sale.
Read MoreWhen the time came to sell, my CFO, co-founder and I all believed that the top few negotiators are many times better than the rest. What did I learn?
Read MoreThe more prepared you are, the better your company will look to buyers.
Read MoreThe most important thing is focusing on the strategy and the operations of the business and, as a result, you will yield the best outcome in a transaction.
Read MoreSince the most important thing to us was to maintain good feelings within the family, it helped to have a banker who had experience helping parties with potentially difficult internal conversations.
Read MoreWe elected to hire a process specialist rather than an industry specialist. Most banks were all just selling introductions and relationships. Arbor was the only bank that had a differentiated approach to selling companies.
Read MoreWe wanted to find a bank that was “right sized” for our business. Specifically, we wanted to find a banking partner who focused on companies our size—someone who would see us as a priority in their own pipeline.
Read MoreEntrepreneurs need to focus on the banker and counsel relationship to ensure that they are working in sync to plan and execute for the inevitable changes that occur throughout the negotiating and drafting process.
Read MoreNot all venture firms are alike. Some are raising their 10th fund while others are investing out of their first fund. Some focus on early stage companies, while others focus on growth or later stage companies. However, they all do have one thing in common.
Read MoreAs a company prepares for a sale of its business, the banker must understand the importance of the preservation of the culture.
Read MoreThe process of selling a company can often be a long and arduous process that requires refinement of the way you envision your own enterprise.
Read MoreThroughout the history of TechBargains, my brother and I, like many entrepreneurs, would frequently ask ourselves what someone would pay for our company if we decided to sell.
Read MoreHiring a senior banker who can articulate the benefits of an acquisition to each buyer will ultimately result in a more attractive outcome.
Read MoreIn negotiation, people act on their own incentives. It should then be no surprise that some investors are self-interested when dealing with entrepreneurs.
Read MoreHow you approach the market when selling a business is both an art and science. The help of an investment banker will improve your chances for success.
Read MoreFar and away the biggest “negotiation within the negotiation” is the settlement of working capital. I’ve done deals where two main methods were utilized.
Read MoreOne frequent question we get from entrepreneurs is, “What is my company worth?” Our response? “What someone’s willing to pay for it.”
Read MoreWe’ve all heard the cliché: “Great companies are bought not sold.” Does this statement repeated by venture capitalists really hold true?
Read MoreWe built and grew Bold Software with a thought that someday we might want to say yes to an acquisition. We made several decisions to be ready.
Read MoreWhen we were looking to take Clarity systems to market, it was important for us to pick a banker who could drive maximize the outcome of the transaction.
Read MoreI suspect I am not entirely alone when I admit to being tight with money. Thankfully, when it came to selling the business I was blessed to get some things right.
Read MoreWhen a deal negotiation heats up, your ability to set and manage the expectations of the Board and major investors may mean a lot.
Read MoreManage your business from the start as if you are going to sell it. The pursuit of perfection is key.
Read MoreA key test for any entrepreneur is determining the time to sell a business. One must consider if it is at the right stage to be sold and if they are ready to let it go.
Read More“Intuition becomes increasingly more valuable in this new information society precisely because there is so much data.”
Read MoreIf you’re an entrepreneur looking to raise capital or sell a company to a strategic acquirer, it’s important to consider the role of negotiation in the transaction.
Read MoreA few years ago I went through a comprehensive process before selling my company to a large strategic buyer. Here are a few key lessons I learned on IP ownership.
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