3 points | by kayovin1 10 hours ago
1 comments
Sharing the main lessons here as they could be helpful for founders starting to think of exits.
1) Own your objective: know if you want liquidity, scale, or a pure hand-off before you talk to buyers.
2) Overlap is everything: deals happen only when a startup solves a pressing problem for the acquirer.
3) Value > revenue: tech, talent, and time-to-market often outweigh today’s P&L.
4) Org vs individual: people with promotions on the line can swing a deal more than the strategy deck.
5) Buy vs build math: E.g: Strava bought Runna because ready users beat a 12+ month build. Speed & customer adoption matter.
6) Top - down and bottoms - up: win a senior sponsor, then get the operators excited (or vice-versa).
7) Value x Visibility = Valuation: build something worth buying and make sure the right people see your value.
Full notes are in the post (7-min read).
Curious to hear HN’s experiences: Which of these resonates based on your experience?
Happy to dig into questions on buyer psychology, buy-vs-build decisions, or anything else.
Sharing the main lessons here as they could be helpful for founders starting to think of exits.
1) Own your objective: know if you want liquidity, scale, or a pure hand-off before you talk to buyers.
2) Overlap is everything: deals happen only when a startup solves a pressing problem for the acquirer.
3) Value > revenue: tech, talent, and time-to-market often outweigh today’s P&L.
4) Org vs individual: people with promotions on the line can swing a deal more than the strategy deck.
5) Buy vs build math: E.g: Strava bought Runna because ready users beat a 12+ month build. Speed & customer adoption matter.
6) Top - down and bottoms - up: win a senior sponsor, then get the operators excited (or vice-versa).
7) Value x Visibility = Valuation: build something worth buying and make sure the right people see your value.
Full notes are in the post (7-min read).
Curious to hear HN’s experiences: Which of these resonates based on your experience?
Happy to dig into questions on buyer psychology, buy-vs-build decisions, or anything else.