Some interesting questions from attendees at our forthcoming CEO Tales: How to sell your technology business successfully. 6-9pm, 17th April, London.
Looks like it will be an entertaining discussion. What would you like to know?
Speakers
- Martin Leuw, Clearswift (still Clearswift!)
- Wendy Tan White, Moonfruit (now hibu)
- Shirin Dehghan, Arieso (now JDSU)
- Ian Gotts, Nimbus (now TIBCO)
If you could put one question to the speakers and audience, what would it be?
- Will being in the US & Asia increase value for a mobile ad technology business
- Should I consider a trade sale to a ‘benign acquirer’ as an alternative to private equity funding?
- Do I need IP Patents to create large value
- What is the most valuable asset in a technology startup?
- How was your experience with the M&A adviser?
- What was the process you went through?
- Were there any mis-alignments in sellers interests and how did you deal with them
- Valuations for tech businesses vary widely. Can you give some concrete examples of how valuations were settled.
- How did you become attractive to the acquirer
- Entrepreneurs sometimes have a number of start-ups on the go at once – How is this considered by a VC looking into invest into one of these companies?
- Tips to exit successfuly
- Tips to maximise exit
- How much attention to exit should technology companies pay in the first 3 years of operations?
- What is the M&A market actually doing at the moment?
- Is the UK a good place to grow a software business, if so why – or why not.
- to a speaker: what would you not compromise on when selling your business and why
- Should an entrepreneur be thinking about exit strategy from day one … or just building a great business
- What value does an investment bank bring to the table?
- Building situation to create multiple bidders
- IPO or Trade Sale? What are the benefits and pit-falls of each option
- How much should entrepreneurs starting a new venture think about their exit?
- Which are the the more engaged VCs. European or North American for Early Stage Tech businesses
- The best way to exit to US companies (without them knowing that you are trying 🙂
- In which country shall the business be sold?
- To what extent should succession management be built in pre-sale and to what extent can the buyer be relied on to supply it?
- To what extent should succession management be built in pre-sale and to what extent can the buyer be relied on to supply it?
- What tips would the speakers have for an entrepreneur to deal with the emotional ups and downs of selling their technology business?
- What would the panel advise is the best way to leverage the exit value of a technology business?
- What was your biggest mistake in the sale of your technology business and what would you do differently next time?
- How can I find the best prospective purchaser for my company?
- Do you think that Brit/Euro investors should focus less on business models (actually making money) and more on building huge user bases like is more common in the US?
- Would you recommend using an advisor to sell your business – if so, why?
- How do you choose when is the best time to sell?
- How did you identify who you wanted to court to aquire your business and any tip on how to run the courtship
- How did you judge the time to exit your business, and when did you plan your exit stratergy
- What the pros and cons of using a Corporate finance Advisor for a relatively small transaction? How do you choose them? And what does it take to be an effective client?
Format:
- Drinks networking, panel discussion and audience Q&A, drinks networking.
We’re very grateful to our sponsors for the evening who share our interest in making networking fun and informative, Erevena Executive Search, First Capital, Rackspace and UBS:
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