🧐What I Learned Last Week
Week ending Friday May 13, 2022
What I Learned Last Week curates the most interesting content relating to business acquisitions, operations, entrepreneurship, finance, and more. WILLW is a publication of The Business Inquirer.
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Hello Friends!
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📰 Articles
I recently came across two insightful articles from MidStreet M&A. First one simply talks about seller discretionary earnings (SDE). This is one of the most common metrics you’ll see in the SMB space. The second article is somewhat related and talks about the use of comparables (comps) in business valuation. Both articles are a great read especially if you’re just starting out in the EtA space.
What Is An SDE Multiple in a Business Sale?
What Are Comps and How Are They Used to Value Your Business?
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Mike Marg of Craft Ventures writes about the difference between a good salesperson and a great one. The article focuses on B2B SaaS but the concepts apply to any business.
If you take away one thing from this article, great sellers are strategic and paranoid. They’re constantly thinking about how to hit their numbers and adjusting/readjusting to obstacles. They’re always calculating and maximizing odds of hitting their goals with every micro-interaction.
Average Seller vs. Great Seller
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Adam Wilver and A.J. Wasserstein recently published two great case studies for Yale University. I think both of these are a must-read.
On the Nature of What Business Sellers Are Looking for in a Buyer
On the Nature of Due Diligence in a Search Fund Acquisition
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Andrew Pierno at XO Capital offers some thoughts on the current environment and where we’re heading.
With the current bloodletting in crypto and equities, I think we're entering a new cycle. It's a less capital rich environment where even VCs who used to shout "GROWTH AT ALL COSTS" a month ago now want to see revenue. It's not just VCs either, public markets want the same thing, hence the massive drops in companies like Coinbase, etc.
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Jordan Novgrod writes about his journey of using 401K ROBS to fund his business acquisition.
🧵 Twitter
Everyone dreams of owning a HoldCo. This is how you structure one…
Remember this if you’re a business buyer, seller, or operator…
Business funding opportunity…
Detailed thread on the self-storage industry…
Don’t sleep on franchises…
Time kills deals. This is how to speed up the SBA loan process…
A quick read on e-mail segmentation…
Something to look out for in due diligence…
🤔 Thoughts, Events, Other
🛠 Tools & Resources
These are tools & resources that I personally use or have used. They may contain affiliate links so I’ll get a few pesos if you sign-up.
Cerebro Capital - Cerebro has a network of 1,500+ lenders who can provide debt financing for your acquisition, refi, etc. $500k minimum.
X5 Deals - Proprietary deal sourcing. They do the outreach and send you relevant, actionable deals directly into your inbox.
Curators - Proprietary deal sourcing. You need targets that fit your investment criteria, and Curators delivers week after week - we even update your personalized database on a daily basis with new information on best-fit targets.
BizNexus - Proprietary deal flow, deal aggregator, and exit prep.
PrivSource - Deal aggregator for lower and middle-market listings.
ProjectionHub - Access to 50+ CPA-developed financial projection templates. 25% discount using code “duedilio” at checkout.
Logology - Best automated logo & brand identity tool I’ve come across.
DeepBench - Access a cutting-edge expert network. $200 discount.
OpenPhone - The best business phone solution that I have found. $20 credit.
Eloquens - Knowledge marketplace. I’ve bought a few guides and templates here.
Deal Flow Scout - Peer-to-peer deal flow exchange. Free, open, transparent.
Deal Sourcing Guide - A directory I put together of online marketplaces, brokers, DFY deal flow, and more.
That’s all for this issue of What I Learned Last Week!
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Important Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided for informational & educational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. This newsletter may link to other websites and certain information contained herein has been obtained from third-party sources. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, it has not been independently verified. The Business Inquirer makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. References to any companies, securities, listings, investments, or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any business, tax, or investment decisions. Content in this newsletter speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.