It Can Take Years to Get Acquired For Millions. So Start Nurturing Those Relationships Now.
If you want to potentially get acquired — start now. Because it often really, quietly takes years. What do I mean? Well for sure, acquisitions themselves technically often happen very quickly. The acquiring CEO reaches out, they meet up and shake hands over the...
Dear SaaStr: How Do You Know if a Potential Acquirer is Really Interested, Or Just Kicking the Tires?
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...
When Your Founders Turn Down Nine Figures: The Beast Mode 2.0 Framework
I had CEOs at two SaaStr Fund portfolio companies turn down M&A offers last year. Both offers would have made them nine figures. Personally. Let me say that again: $100m+ each as founders. The kind of money that means generational wealth. Never work again. Every...
Dear SaaStr: Why Do Big Companies Buy Small Companies Instead of Competing?
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: What Is The Shortest Time It Took for a Startup to Go From Launch to IPO?
Dear SaaStr: What is the shortest time it took for a company to go from concept/launch to their IPO? I think Lotus Software (of 1-2-3 fame) must be close. It shipped Lotus 1-2-3 in January ’83 and sold $50m in software in its first year on the market —...
The State of SaaS Go-to-Market with Theory Ventures General Partner Tomasz Tunguz
Tomasz Tunguz, General Partner at Theory Ventures, shares nine observations from a Go-To-Market survey Theory Ventures did with hundreds of startups.
Dear SaaStr: When Is the Best Time for a Co-Founder to Leave a Startup?
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...
Dear SaaStr: Is it a Red Flag if The CEO is Only Interested in Selling the Company?
Dear SaaStr: Is it a Red Flag if The CEO is Only Interested in Selling the Company? It is. Or at least — it’s a Yellow Flag. The company will never be great if the CEO is thinking this way. There are so many start-ups, so many products, so much competition. You can...
Dear SaaStr: When Startup Founders “Exit”, How Often Do They Found Another Company?
Dear SaaStr: When startup founders exit, how many start new companies? It’s pretty common. Many founders learn they aren’t “done” after all after selling. Sometimes it takes some time to see that, and the gap between starting a new one in many cases is a year or...
What Does it Take to Get to the Next Level of Funding After Series B with Scale Ventures’ Stacey Bishop
How do you raise funds beyond Series B? Stacey Bishop with Scale Ventures shares what it takes to get to that next level of funding.
6 Things To Know About Getting Acquired: The Good, The Bad, The Somewhat Ugly
Getting acquired seems like the goal for most. Perhaps it is. No exit at all isn’t that fun for most of us. Liquidity matters, and is important, and is important to talk about. But getting acquired isn’t as simple as just signing some paperwork and...
Dear SaaStr: If You Want to Buy Shares from a Founder That Has Left the Company, What Price Do You Use?
Dear SaaStr: If you have old founders who left the company and kept their shares, on what valuation you buy their shares? Generally speaking, there are two paradigms: Buy them out at Common Stock price (which is what they in fact own), based on the lastest option...
Dear SaaStr: Can I Position My Startup To Be Acquired By The Likes of Google, Salesforce, Adobe, etc.?
Dear SaaStr: Can I Position My Startup To Be Acquired By The Likes of Google, Salesforce, Adobe, etc.? No. But … Sort of. What I’ve learned being on both sides of acquisitions, and being a 2x acquired founder — is: There is a List. There’s an...
5 Tips On How to Handle Acquisition Talks
Dear SaaStr: What should I know about getting acquired? My top 5 tips: #1. Listen more. Talk less (on the target side). It’s very difficult to invent an acquisition. It’s almost impossible to create one, though it happens sometimes. Listen and learn. ...
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