Everyday M&A

On this episode of Everyday M&A, we hear from Gary Hensley, a school teacher turned entrepreneur who started an EdTech company that he sold to Pearson - a $5B education technology & publishing company. Gary shares with us:

• How a pitch competition planted the seed for his acquisition
• How EdTech companies should think about raising venture capital vs. getting acquired
• The biggest challenges of growing an EdTech company
• How to plan an exit for an EdTech company
• How Board members and investors can help during an M&A process
• What Gary would have done differently during the M&A process

“Solve an issue, solve a problem, make money, and make it on your own.”

On this episode of Everyday M&A, we hear from Peter Burns III, a serial entrepreneur who has started over 100 companies as well as founded the first college of entrepreneurship in the US. Peter shares with us:

• How a college course he took in 1977 sparked a lifelong career in starting companies
• What Peter’s process is for starting a company
• The business opportunities Peter is most excited about today
• Creative funding strategies you can use today for your business

On this episode of Everyday M&A, we hear from Susan Miller and Sean Mirzabegian, two investment bankers with over 15 years of experience each. Susan and Sean share with us:

• When to bring on an investment banker vs. business broker
• What typically motivates younger business owners to sell their business
• How M&A for lower middle market is affected by economic downturns
• How debt markets impact company valuations
• Whether they’re seeing more financial or strategic buyers right now
• What buyer type (financial or strategic) is more likely to keep a management team on post-acquisition
• The tradeoff of going with a strategic acquirer
• How to prepare to sell to a strategic vs. financial buyer
• What are some unobvious motivations of financial and strategic buyers
• The risk business owners take trying to run an M&A process on their own
• What can kill a deal
• What is a Quality of Earnings and why is it important
• What due diligence should sellers do of their acquirers

On this episode of Everyday M&A, we hear from Eric Boyce, a business valuation expert who also helps business owners prepare financially for life after selling their business.

On this episode, Eric shares with us:

• What is exit planning
• What industries is exit planning really important for
• When should you do exit planning
• The non-financial aspects of a business drastically affect valuation
• Ways that key customers, employees, and suppliers affect a business’ valuation
• What a Buy Sell Agreement is and why every business owner should have one
• The most common reason why valuations get discounted

David Hughen brings over 25 years of experience driving HR strategies and solutions. In addition to co-founding, running, and selling Austin HR, he has provided HR consulting services to both buyers and sellers of companies during an M&A process. On this episode, David shares with us:

• How HR plays into an M&A process
• How culture, benefits, and employee compensation impacts an acquisition
• Ways human capital can impact company revenue post-acquisition if not properly addressed during due diligence
• Why many M&A's fail during post-deal integration
• What buyers can do to ensure companies they acquire will thrive under new ownership
• What HR strategies business owners can apply to increase the value of their company

If you liked today's episode, please Like and Subscribe, thanks!

On this episode of Everyday M&A, we hear from Mike Feinman, co-founder of Texas Business Brokers. For the last 10 years, Mike has helped people buy and sell businesses across industries and shares with us some key insights:

• What is Seller's Discretionary Income and why is it important
• What amount of Seller's Discretionary Income should your business be above to be well positioned for sale
• How is real estate treated during the sale of a business
• What markets are hot right now
• What markets are not hot right now
• What buyers should do on their own, and when to bring in a broker
• What business owners should do if they get an unsolicited offer to sell their business
• If a business owner found a buyer for their business on their own but still wants to engage a broker, what commission should they pay
• What makes a good seller

If you liked today’s episode, please Like and Comment below who you’d like for me to invite as a future guest!

In this episode of Everyday M&A, we hear from Krista Endsley, who has served as CEO of companies backed by private equity, including Accel-KKR.

In that role she has bought (as both a financial and strategic acquirer), sold, and scaled companies (one of her last companies was voted the best place to work for in Austin 5 years in a row). This is one episode you won’t want to miss!

Krista shares with us:

• The benefits of working with an experienced buyer
• How due diligence differs between financial and strategic buyers
• The biggest mistake buyers make during an acquisition
• The biggest part of an M&A process
• Red flags that can kill a deal
• The first thing Krista recommends when working with a company
• What due diligence business owners should do of their potential buyers
• Potential consequences of when earn-outs don't turn out as planned
• The Rule of 40 and how to maximize your company's exit value

If you liked today’s episode, please Like and Comment below who you’d like to see as a future guest!

On today’s episode of Everyday M&A, we hear from John Fincher, a business broker and serial entrepreneur who grew his last company to $50 million in revenue in 5 years prior to selling. John shares with us:

• How business owners sometimes hurt their company’s ability to attract buyers
• How far in advance business owners should start preparing to sell their company
• How a business owner can really tell if they have a good team in place
• The “5 Bad D’s” of why business owners often have to sell their company
• How to deal with multiple shareholders during a sale
• The minimum size of company that could benefit from using a business broker

Have you ever wondered about the tax consequences of an M&A? If yes, you’ll want to tune into today’s episode of Everyday M&A. We interview the very knowledgable David French, a CPA with M&A experience, who shares with us:

• How companies in different industries are valued differently
• How goodwill affects the decision of whether to go with an Asset Sale or Stock Sale
• A way to reduce your tax from an acquisition by 3.8% that most CPAs forget about
• What often comprises 80% of a company’s value
• Tax consequence of earn outs
• The ideal time to bring in a CPA to prepare for an acquisition
• What type of sale you want to avoid if you’re a C Corp
• An alternative to an Asset or Stock Sale that most people don’t know about
• What business owners can do from day 1 to reduce their tax liability upon exit by 20-30%

If you liked today’s episode, please Like and Comment below who you’d like for me to invite as a future guest!

On this episode of Everyday M&A, we hear from Subbu Rama, who cofounded a software company that he sold to VMware. Subbu shares with us:

• The tradeoffs you should consider before entertaining an offer to buy your company
• The benefits of getting acquired by one of your customers
• What options you want to have lined up before going into deal negotiations
• Why higher valuations don’t always result in greater financial returns
• Ways you can leverage your investors to increase the purchase price

On this exciting episode of Everyday M&A, we hear from a Bryan Menell who has sold, IPO’d, and acquired multiple companies. Bryan shares with us:

• How to creatively fund a roll-up strategy (hint: it’s how Blockbuster Video expanded so quickly)
• The right way to inform your employees that you’re selling your company
• What you should do before signing a Term Sheet
• How you should respond when someone offers to buy your company
• Why you want a strategic buyer rather than a financial buyer
• Why you shouldn’t rely on your investment banker to negotiate your deal
• Due diligence questions you should ask the company interested in acquiring you
• The one point of contention that occurs consistently across deals, and how to address it
• Who from the buyer side you should and shouldn’t negotiate with
• Who you should bring on if you can’t afford an investment banker

“Run your business while you’re selling it as if you weren’t going to sell it.”

Sam Goodner is an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award winner (2008) who founded a 450-person IT services firm that he sold to a publicly traded company. In this lesson-packed episode, Sam shares with us:

• How life goals and anticipated market conditions should factor into deciding when to sell
• Actionable steps you can take today to prepare for acquisition
• What the single biggest factor is in increasing your valuation
• How to find the right investment banker for you
• The one document you shouldn’t relegate to your investment banker (and should draft yourself)
• Why purchase price isn’t the only factor to consider in an offer
• Why Sam took the second highest offer for his company
• How the deal dynamic changes pre and post Letter of Intent (LOI)
• When you should sell your company

On this episode of Everyday M&A, we interview Roberto "R.C." Rondero De Mosier, who founded and sold a law firm. For those of you who operate a professional services business, you’ll want to tune in! RC shares with us:

• How to create market demand for your company
• How to identify and qualify prospective buyers
• Ways to defend the purchase price of your company

I’m excited to share with you today’s episode of Everyday M&A, where we interview Dane Witbeck, who founded and sold Meshify - an IoT technology platform. He shares with us:

• How to leverage competitors to attract potential acquirers
• How competitors can help you determine when to sell
• Ways to gain leverage during negotiations to defend or increase your company’s purchase price

Kapil Rajurkar founded and sold Preschool2me, an app that connects preschools and daycare centers to parents. On this episode, Kapil share with us:

• How to turn customers into potential acquirers
• The two due diligence areas that can take business owners by surprise during a sale
• When to focus on growth vs. profitability before an acquisition

Shane built a 250 person consulting company that he sold to Accenture. On this episode you'll learn about:

• How to respond when asked how much you'd sell your company for (especially if it's growing!)
• Typical deal structures of private equity acquisitions and how it affects you, the business owner
• How to continue growing your business during the M&A due diligence process

Chris Sica co-founded and sold Austin Coding Academy, a coding bootcamp in Austin. Chris takes us through his amazing journey of growing the company, running out of cash (twice), then rebuilding the company to achieve a successful exit. Chris shares with us some key lessons that prepared his company for acquisition:

• How letting go of employees can sometimes be healthy for a company
• Hiring an external CEO doesn't replace your job as a business owner, it simply changes it
• Your best employees are your customers

Hemi Thaker is an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award winner (2011), and has been listed on Deloitte & Touche's Fast 50/500 CEO list, as well as Inc 500's CEOs.

Hemi founded two hardware companies without any venture capital, and sold them for over $200 million. Hemi shares with us his how he did it, and how serendipity can lead to new business connections that can lead to acquisition. Key takeaways:

• Don’t focus on finding an acquirer. Build a profitable business. Then acquirers will find you.
• The value of strategic partnerships as potential acquirers.
• Exit opportunities can disappear very quickly, so act decisively.