Sam Youssef,  Founder and CEO at Valsoft Corporation

This episode is sponsored by the M&A Science Academy, DealRoom, and FirmRoom.

To join our growing online community of M&A practitioners, visit https://www.mascience.com/academy. Don’t forget to use code “podcast” at checkout.

Ready to take your M&A to the next level with software made to manage each stage of the deal process? See how DealRoom can facilitate your next deal at https://www.dealroom.net

FirmRoom provides 80% cost savings over VDRs that bill by page and delivers a far better user experience to boot. Sign up in under 2 minutes by going to https://www.firmroom.com

EPISODE TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

05:44 Looking at business through a different lens

09:19 Distinguishing good acquirers

11:17 Identifying the right segment and deal size

15:07 Platform play acquisition

19:57 Approaching target companies

23:16 Financial structure

26:09 Challenges in building an M&A muscle

29:42 Driving value from synergies

30:56 Getting the right people

32:49 Sharing learnings

38:39 Craziest thing in M&A

Kevin Griffin, Executive Director, Corporate Development at JLL (NYSE: JLL)

This episode is sponsored by the M&A Science Academy, DealRoom, and FirmRoom.

To join our growing online community of M&A practitioners, visit https://www.mascience.com/academy. Don’t forget to use code “podcast” at checkout.

Ready to take your M&A to the next level with software made to manage each stage of the deal process? See how DealRoom can facilitate your next deal at https://www.dealroom.net .

FirmRoom provides 80% cost savings over VDRs that bill by page and delivers a far better user experience to boot. Sign up in under 2 minutes by going to https://www.firmroom.com 

EPISODE TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

04:15 Focusing on smaller deals

06:48 Sourcing deals

08:10 Pros and cons of a competitive auction process

15:47 Cons of doing a proprietary deal

18:35 Benefits of doing a proprietary deal

22:15 Relationship problems

23:24 Proprietary deals vs auctions

25:32 Educating founders on the deal process

26:13 Working with lawyers

27:40 Biggest challenge when educating founders

29:42 Valuation

31:09 Negotiation

34:49 Earnouts

41:45 Making earnouts successful

43:19 Retention with smaller companies

44:17 Best Practices to retain people

46:08 Craziest thing in M&A

Marilyne H. O'Hara, Global Head of M&A Integration at Block (NYSE: SQ)

This episode is sponsored by the M&A Science Academy, DealRoom, and FirmRoom. 

To join our growing online community of M&A practitioners, visit https://www.mascience.com/academy. Don’t forget to use code “podcast” at checkout. 

Ready to take your M&A to the next level with software made to manage each stage of the deal process? See how DealRoom can facilitate your next deal at https://www.dealroom.net . 

FirmRoom provides 80% cost savings over VDRs that bill by page and delivers a far better user experience to boot. Sign up in under 2 minutes by going to https://www.firmroom.com 

If you’re a head of corporate development and looking to build up a world-class M&A team, reach out to me at kison@mascience.com.

EPISODE TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

05:20 What is People-Focused Integration

06:02 Ideal Integration Process

08:46 Strong Partnerships With Deal Leads

12:25 Consequences of Late Integration

14:53 Building the Integration Team

20:41 Involving the Integration Team

22:29 Integration Led Diligence

24:07 Building an Agile Team

28:30 Understanding Culture

30:49 Culture Shaping Integration

31:44 Red Flags in Culture Fit

32:46 Best Practices When Onboarding People 

39:06 Working with Vendors for People-Focused Integration

40:12 Biggest Challenge

40:36 Advice for First Timer

41:23 Craziest thing in M&A

Nadia Gil, Chief of Strategic Planning and Corporate Development at Brady (NYSE:BRC)

This episode is sponsored by the M&A Science Academy, DealRoom, and FirmRoom. 

To join our growing online community of M&A practitioners, visit https://www.mascience.com/academy. Don’t forget to use code “podcast” at checkout. 

Ready to take your M&A to the next level with software made to manage each stage of the deal process? See how DealRoom can facilitate your next deal at https://www.dealroom.net . 

FirmRoom provides 80% cost savings over VDRs that bill by page and delivers a far better user experience to boot. Sign up in under 2 minutes by going to https://www.firmroom.com 

EPISODE TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

04:01 Why large companies are focusing on acquiring startups

10:36 Why startups don't thrive in a larger company

13:15 Factors to consider when acquiring a startup

17:28 Factors that make startups unacquirable

21:35 Preserving startups in the larger company

24:41 Joint planning approach

26:35 Keys to a strong relationship

29:44 How can large companies protect the acquired small company

32:19 Integration

34:13 Compensation

38:49 How startups can protect themselves

40:48 When to walk away

46:29 How to mitigate the risk of destroying a small company

48:06 Craziest thing in M&A

Michael Farlekas is the CEO at E2open

Have someone in mind that would be perfect to help build out a new on-demand talent service line at M&A Science? Reach out to Kison at kison@mascience.com  

EPISODE TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Introduction

02:24 Background

04:58 14 transactions without a dedicated Corp Dev team

08:47 Networking and scoring the deals

14:34 The hunting part

20:45 Restructuring the business for faster integration

22:04 Approach to due diligence

24:10 Key things to look at pre and post-LOI

25:15 Considering the culture and the people aspect

27:34 Integration

30:20 Budgeting Integration cost

32:19 Go-to-Market Integration

34:14 Acquiring away from the core

36:13 Keys to success

37:38 Go-To-Market Framework

39:54 Advice for first-time acquirers

44:33 Craziest thing in M&A

Chris Evans is the former Head of Corporate Development Integration at Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN)

Have someone in mind that would be perfect to help build out a new on-demand talent service line at M&A Science? Reach out to Kison at kison@mascience.com

EPISODE TIMESTAMPS: 

0:00 Introduction

5:32 How Important is Day One

10:40 What happens on Day One

14:59 Integration North Star

16:25 What Success on Day One looks like  

21:00 Introducing the Integration Manager

25:43 Engaging the managers

31:08 Keeping the big picture alignment

35:30 Identifying the faces of the acquiring company

37:34 Sharing the Integration Plan

40:45 Connecting the value drivers to integration 

45: 20 The biggest challenge on Day One

48:34 What is Day One of Day One in Amazon 

52: 28 Craziest thing in M&A

Sarah Thuo, Chief Operating Officer of IBM Sustainability Services

As the business world shifts towards a more environmentally and socially conscious approach, the significance of sustainability in M&A has become increasingly prominent. In light of this, companies are now considering the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives of their target companies before making any acquisitions.

In this article, we explore the importance of sustainability in M&A and how to perform sustainability diligence, with insights from Sarah Thuo, Chief Operating Officer of IBM Sustainability Services.

This episode is sponsored by our new publication: How to Stand Up an M&A Function.Topics include the order of hiring, establishing your operating model, developing your organization's integration muscle, and more. Find it on Amazon: shorturl.at/jBCW1

Michael Nov, Head of Corporate Development & Chief of Staff to the CTO at OwnBackup

M&A is a game-changing tool that can propel a company's growth several years ahead of schedule. However, for hyper-growth companies, M&A can also be a double-edged sword that leads to attrition and detracts from the core business objectives. 

In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast, Michael Nov, Head of Corporate Development & Chief of Staff to the CTO at OwnBackup, discusses how to set up M&A for hyper-growth companies. 

This episode is sponsored by the M&A Science Academy. Check out corporate training plans to connect your team with M&A knowledge straight from the best in the industry. They'll also gain access to the entire M&A Science community. For information on group plans, visit science.webflow.io/podcast-commercial">https://ma-science.webflow.io/podcast-commercial

Pat Belotti, VP of Corporate Development Integration at Zendesk.

The go-to-market (GTM) integration strategy has a large impact on revenue generation and overall deal success. Integration can be very disruptive to the customers, but if done right, it can enhance the customer experience and acquisition results.

In this episode of the M&A Science podcast, Pat Belotti, VP of Corporate Development Integration at Zendesk, delves into the intricacies of GTM integration and offers valuable insights on how to approach it.

This episode is sponsored by our new publication: How to Stand Up an M&A Function. Topics include the order of hiring, establishing your operating model, developing your organization's integration muscle, and more. Find it on Amazon: shorturl.at/jBCW1

Pat Belotti, VP of Corporate Development Integration at Zendesk

M&A integration in tech has changed quite a bit over the last twenty years. Integration has evolved from integration volunteers, to large teams with detailed tracking, to dedicated teams and Agile approaches. 

In this episode of the M&A Science Podcast, Pat Belotti, VP of Corporate Development Integration at Zendesk, delves into the evolution of integration. 

This episode is sponsored by our new publication: How to Stand Up an M&A Function. Topics include the order of hiring, establishing your operating model, developing your organization's integration muscle, and more. Find it on Amazon: shorturl.at/jBCW1