A life poorly lived is a trap Go for it at least once — Jason ✨Be Kind✨ Lemkin (@jasonlk) May 5, 2023 BusinessInsider had a great story a ways back on Datto’s $1b exit to Vista Private Equity (more on the role of PE in SaaS here). So much of it...
Dear SaaStr: How Many Board Seats Do VCs Typically Get? Let me try to simplify, generally speaking: 1. Generally, “proportionate” boards are usually seen as fair, and easy to agree to. I.e., if the investors own 20%, and the founders 80%, then investors get 1 board...
Have a strong M&A offer? Not sure what to do? Look at this pic or a similar one Do you want it? If so, say No If not? Probably just say Yes pic.twitter.com/K483lKnyzd — Jason ✨Be Kind✨ Lemkin (@jasonlk) April 21, 2021 So I wrote a version of this post...
Q: What are some of the most overlooked details or challenges when integrating two companies post-acquisition? Getting acquired can sound like an endpoint, a magical outcome. And sometimes it is. But the reality is, it’s just the start of a new process for...
Dear SaaStr: Does Raising Funding From VCs Limit Your Exit Options? While technically true, especially if you’ve raised a lot (as many did in the Boom Times of late 2020 to early 2022), I believe embedded in this thinking is some bad advice. VCs are expecting a...
Underrated: How great of a business model SaaS is. You can literally do almost nothing but make your customers happy and usually you will still grow. Underestimated: Just how expensive the incremental customer gets beyond your core, highest velocity ICP. — Jason...
Dear SaaStr: What Do Most People Not Know About Acqusitions? That people, not companies, do acquisitions. “Amazon”, “Salesforce”, “Google”, etc. don’t buy companies. Executives do — to meet their goals at companies. Either the CEO makes a decision (if it’s a Big...
CNBC had a good write-up of how the Figma acquisition got done. How you really need a lot of both CEO and President/SVP level support to get a big “Bet The Farm” deal like this done, and more. One of the many things that stuck out to me was just how long...
Dear SaaStr: How Do You Know if a Potential Acquirer is Really Interested, Or Just Kicking the Tires? Well, first off — you can’t. Not without engaging. And at some level, there isn’t any real difference between early stage due diligence and tire...
Dear SaaStr: How Do I Do My Retention Negotiation in an Acquisition? A few thoughts on retention compensation when you are acquired First, understand that the acquirer almost certainly already has a strong sense of what they want to do (right or wrong). Even if they...
Figma cost $20B because (x) It was 2x the last round price (y) it wasn't for sale Lots of deals end up getting priced like that in the end — Jason ✨Happy✨ Lemkin (@jasonlk) September 25, 2022 Dear SaaStr: What Are SaaS Companies Generally Worth When They Are...
In some cases, weirdness wins the race. The lovably off-beat “weird” marketing automation platform Mailchimp was recently acquired by Intuit for $12 billion. At SaaStr Annual 2022, Mailchimp Co-Founder Ben Chestnut sat down with SaaStr Founder Jason Lemkin to answer...
Dear SaaStr: When Should You Sell Your Startup? Having been through the acquisition process 4x — twice as a founder, twice as a start-up exec, here’s my list of when and if to sell. Don’t take it literally. Most startups never get a single good...
Dear SaaStr: Why do big companies buy small companies instead of competing? Well, first of all, they often do both. They often start off competing, at least a bit. Salesforce paid $27 Billion for Slack. But that came years after they spent tens of millions on...
Dear SaaStr: When Is the Best Time for a Co-Founder to Leave a Startup? The best time to quit is the earlier of (x) 6 months from the time you’ve decided to move on or (y) at any time when the other founders ask you to. If you’ve truly decided to leave, then it’s...