Operator Tips to Align Your Team
You may have heard of the term zero-based budgeting. The basic thesis is to look at your business through the eyes of a start-up. If you were starting today from scratch, what would you spend money on? Costs creep on over time and before you know it your business is...
Valuation Vs Saleability
Valuation As the owner of a private company you can commission a valuation of your business at any time. For example a 409A valuation is an independent appraisal of the fair market value (FMV) of a private company’s common stock on the date of issuance. This valuation...
How to Justify CAPEX using my ROI Calculator
We all need to justify spending money. Whether it’s $1000 or $1m. It doesn’t matter whether the expenditure is in the budget or not in the budget. Trust me, what drives the spending of money is the efficiency of capital. The Return on Investment. The ROI...
That’s Not The Right Question
One of the best dialogues in the latest season of True Detective is when Jodie Foster, as Police Chief Liz Danvers says, “you’re asking the wrong question”! As the owner and CEO of your growing business, you will have many challenges in front of you. To solve these...
Entrepreneurship and the Exit Myth
Most entrepreneurs start a business to create something valuable whether they bootstrap it from Day 1 or launch through seed capital and/or venture capital. The type of funding will influence the exit process. External funders will expect an exit. If the business is...
Branding For Buyout
Sometimes you meet a friend through a network event, or a common connection, or though your kids but rarely do you realize you have a new friend through a book! Branding For Buyout by Ted Schlueter nails one of the realities of private company exits – most owners need...
30 Quotes To Inspire Your New Year
Happy New Year to all our subscribers and followers. Here is a little list (citation given if not mine) that might surprise you, and hopefully inspire you to look at your business or your client’s business through a new lens. BUSINESS: A business with a...
Why Investment Banks Fail To Sell Businesses
As a sell side Investment Banker (I was one for 15 years in London) you will probably specialize in certain sectors after being a generalist. Over time you might have done five or six semiconductor supply chain deals or sold 10 recruitment businesses but to be...
How to Create Higher Margins
Let’s be clear. Losses are not sustainable for any company. Amazon founded in 1994 made its first profit in Q4 2001. For years the eCommerce giant made losses. In fact Bezos famously stood up at an analysts meeting to announce Amazon had made a profit but then said I...Operational Excellence For Exits
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