In late March we hired an investment banker to help us run a process to sell one of our startups. One of the last things a potential acquirer conducts (after the term sheet) is the on-site visit to meet the broader team. We have been through a few of these meetings – the last one wrapping up earlier this week. They usually last around three hours, but some buyers may want to hang out all day. After our first on-site visit I was pretty frustrated with the process. We didn’t take enough control of the meeting. By the second meeting I learned my lesson and took control of the meeting giving the acquirer what I thought he was looking for. Potential acquirers are interested in learning more about your business and your team. In my experience the fact that they don’t know your business or your team makes this process difficult for them and frustrating for you.
The on-site meeting that seems to work for our team is one that introduces each key engineer/developer and attempts to reveal how they think and work. I asked each member of our team to prepare a ‘proposal’ for a 5 minute presentation they would give to potential acquirers. I suggested that they describe a problem, their solution and the result. The idea was to help them “reveal” themselves through the process. I gave each engineer a couple of days to come up with a proposal for a pitch and most hit the nail on the head. I would provide a little nudge here or there to help them, but in general most people are pretty good at telling stories once they realize they are simply telling a story. Once their pitch was approved they refined it and presented it to the full team the day before each meeting. It was interesting how it helped us come together as a team.
Interestingly, the process not only helped the acquirers meet each engineer, it also helped them understand the business in a more detailed way. There are always VERY cool things your team is working on, but that you can’t describe in a 10 slide PowerPoint without looking like a scattered brain idiot. Each member of your team can present something that is unique, cool or potentially earth shattering without seeming scattered or unfocused. Your job is to help weave a thread through all of the presentations to help tell your company’s story. The process takes about an hour and a half for us and is a generally positive experience for everyone involved. I was impressed by our team and I am sure the acquirers were as well. The moral of the story – don’t depend on someone else to tell your story.
