As a VC, I have a simple motive for investing: get out for way more than I paid. My fund only makes money when we sell our companies. So, it's all about exits. You will often hear that the best companies are bought not sold. That's bullshit. ...

Tags: Acquisition / Advise and Tips / How To / Share:

Via: Mark MacLeod Written by Mark MacLeod Seed investor for SaaS, e-commerce and other awesome startup

The question of when to sell or even to share an innovative idea with another party becomes an important issue for most entrepreneurs during the commercialization process. When forming research alliances, pursuing venture capital financing, or selling an idea outright ...

Tags: Acquisition / Decision Making / Share:

Via: Growthology

I wrote the post ExactTarget and Pardot Join Forces detailing how we had just sold our company and were super excited about the future. Today, I want to talk a bit about the human side of selling a business -- it's incredibly emotional ...

Tags: Acquisition / Case Studies / Share:

Via: David Cummings Written by David Cummings 10-20 tweets per week. Tech entrepreneur who enjoys family,

A few days ago, Indeed (a job aggregator site) announced that they had been acquired by a Japanese company called Recruit Co Ltd. One story I saw pegged the acquisition close to a billion dollars. I've heard through the grapevine about some very happy investors. Indeed is a big company (25,000 employees, 80 million unique visitors per month.) ...

Tags: Acquisition / Case Studies / Mistakes / Share:

Via: Instigator Blog Written by Ben Yoskovitz VP Product @GoInstant. Partner @YearOneLabs. Ex-CEO/Founder

Often times when I see two teams going after a very similar market opportunity I look at the founders and can easily envision a great combined team. One start up has been founded by a marketing professional with ten years experience in a major consumer technology company, another by a tech whiz with a newly minted Masters from MIT, and a third by a born saleswoman. But each continue to struggle to ...

Tags: Mergers / Opinion / Partnerships / Share:

Via: On Startups Written by Ken Smith 13 start-ups, 10 exits, and counting.

One thing people don't tell you when you start a business is how emotionally attached you become to it. The ability to change some part of the world with your team, product, and customers ties your mind and soul to the startup you're building. Because of our single-minded focus on our customers, our "baby" became the acquisition target of a huge enterprise. ...

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Via: Venture Beat Written by Amit Kulkarni Co-Founder of Do.com (formerly Manymoon): developing app, sl

Paul Graham is the genius behind Y Combinator, one of the first startup incubators and the birthplace of immediately recognizable companies such as Reddit, Scribd, Disqus, Dropbox, Posterous, and many, many more. So if he gets worried, people listen. Right … ...

Tags: Funding / IPO / Share:

Via: Venture Beat Written by John Koetsier I tweet about the web, social media, tech, and startups. Wr

Possibly the most interesting running conversation I've been having with entrepreneurs lately is how they can keep their companies independent without having to go public and turn their cap table into a casino. There are a bunch of entrepreneurs thinking seriously about this issue ...

Tags: Buyout / Funding / IPO / Share:

Via: AVC Written by Fred Wilson I am a VC

I'm going to use this post to break down what I did right and what I did horribly wrong during the process of building Domain Polish. We'll cover everything from pricing to exit negotiations replete with lots of interesting (and sometimes stomach-churning) statistics. ...

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Via: Dan Shipper Written by Dan Shipper UPenn junior. Co-Founder at @UseFirefly. Jets fan.

I fear the long-term effect of all these acqui-hires is my potential customers saying "No thanks. I doubt you geeks will be around in 18 months” when I market to them." ...

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Via: Sean Murphy Written by Sean Murphy New Technology Product Introduction Focused on Early Custome

Most people claim to not want to deal with the hassles of negotiating. I think most of us feel this way, really. But it's not a reality in business. While you may be able to offer a price ...

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Via: Both Sides of the Table Written by Mark Suster 2x entrepreneur. Sold both companies (last to http://salesfo

Last year companies like Google, Twitter, Facebook and Salesforce gobbled up a multitude of startups to strengthen their talent and technology strategies.  However, just because they’ve got money to burn doesn’t mean you should consider selling.  75% of acquisitions fail due to timing, out clauses, and cultural fit.  Google’s failed acquisition of Groupon is a [...] ...

Tags: Acquisition / Exit / Share:

Via: Under the Radar Written by Heidi K. Isern Biz strategist. Quirky writer. Director at Dealmaker Media.

Based on the title of this post you might be thinking I have mad stacks of money in the bank. That I’ve had a few “exits” and instead of hunkering down and writing code for 6 months I opted to talk to a few of my buddies at the yacht club and purchase a primed and growing social network for somewhere in the mid-seven figures. ...

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Via: Software By Rob Written by Rob Walling Lessons learned by a Solo Entrepreneur. www.SoftwareByRob.co

Hey, the good news is you're being acquired. The bad news is a key part of the deal is the product you’ve been nurturing, growing and pouring your heart and soul into will be shut down as part of the deal. Welcome to the exciting world of team-buying in which the acquirer has far more [...] ...

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Via: Mark Evans Tech Written by Mark Evans Startup marketer, conference organizer, hockey player, dad,

Startups are usually so focused on selling more of their branded product or service to their own customer base (organic growth) that they don’t consider the more indirect methods (non-organic growth) of increasing revenue and market share. Non-organic growth would include OEM relationships, finding strategic partners, “coopetition,” as well as acquisitions. This initial focus is ...

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Via: Hot Sauce! Written by Marty Zwilling Veteran startup mentor, executive, blogger, author, tech pro

Listen my children and you shall hear Of IPO dreams once held so dear Our forefathers’ jackpot, guaranteed to arrive Hardly a founder now alive Can remember that famous yesteryear So begins, of course, one of the most famous poems … Continue reading → ...

Tags: Exit / IPO / Share:

Via: Gust Blog Written by Bob Rice Optimistic skeptic, flaming moderate. Entrepreneur, technolo

There is almost nothing more exciting - or debilitating - than the acquisition offer received by an early-stage company. It is generally the single most polarizing event in a start-ups young life, often pitting acquirer vs. investors, founders vs. investors and founders vs. founders. It is an event that must be handled with great care or else the process can leave lasting scars on an organization, ...

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Via: Information Arbitrage Written by Roger Ehrenberg Big Data VC at IA Ventures. Data junkie. Quant dude. Basebal