Execution | The Portfolio Partnership

Why Do Acquisitions Fail? – The Finale Part 6 – Post-acquisition Integration

by Ian Smith | Mar 30, 2023 | Acquisitions, Leadership

In the final Phase of our acquisition process, we focus on post-acquisition integration. Post-Mortem However, immediately after the deal completes, when our memories are fresh, we perform a post-mortem on the deal. We believe this is essential to become a better...

Why Do Acquisitions Fail? Part 5 – Due Diligence & Legal Agreements

by Ian Smith | Mar 23, 2023 | Acquisitions

In the penultimate post of this series, we focus on Phase 5 of our Acquisition Process – Due Diligence & Legal Agreements. At the end of this phase, you will own the target company, so it’s crucial that you consider the objectives of this final phase....

Why Do Acquisitions Fail? Part 4 – Price Negotiation & Deal Structure

by Ian Smith | Mar 16, 2023 | Acquisitions

The success of an acquisition is rarely down to the price you pay according to the research. First the research: Cass Business School, concluded from detailed research covering 12,339 deals including 2917 acquisitions of distressed companies from 1984 to 2008 that...

Execution – Here’s What I Know

by Ian Smith | May 17, 2016 | Execution Tips

I founded The Portfolio Partnership in 2009 after 25 years of building businesses to solve one problem – better execution. I was fortunate to work in many industries including publishing, software, investment banking, and private equity. I fulfilled leadership roles...

So You’ve Just Raised $20m Now What?

by Ian Smith | Sep 30, 2014 | Scaling, VC industry

Scaling a private company without an injection of capital is tough. Waiting for each new sale to generate cash, to allow the business to invest in new hires, new systems, and new technology is tough. So if you’ve successfully raised $1m or $20m or more, you can...