September 13, 2023
Story of a Deal Lost
On the surface it looked good. Peaking under the hood changed things. The business seller wanted $7 million. The buyer decided it’s worth $6 million.…
August 16, 2023
All-Star Clean Up
It was All-Star week in Seattle. The week was filled with baseball events, Home Run Derby, and the game was on Tuesday. As part of…
August 2, 2023
Once Again People are the Roadblock
I can’t name the company because 99% of you reading this will recognize it. I recently went to a Mariners game with the company’s CEO…
July 24, 2023
Growth Cures a Lot of Ills
A past client was the president of a major public company. I remember him saying, “Growth hides a lot of operational warts.” This is why…
July 6, 2023
The Bigger the Spreadsheet
One of my rules for business buyers and sellers is: The bigger the spreadsheet the less chance of a deal. This means, don’t get analysis-paralysis.…
June 29, 2023
You’re Making Things Up Again
A great chorus from the play The Book of Mormon is, "You're making things up again, Arnold" followed by, "You're stretching the truth again And…
June 15, 2023
Are Your Financial Statements Fact or Fiction?
On the top of the value driver list is having solid financial systems and therefore accurate financial statements. Too often we must use the term,…
June 8, 2023
It’s All About the Future
I recently wrote the following to the CFO of a client company as part of their evaluation of a strategic acquisition: It’s a different approach…
June 1, 2023
Simplicity Rules
With one of the companies we’re representing we received a handful of offers. One stood out from the pack because it was clear and to…
May 24, 2023
An Exit Plan Means a Higher Value
Note: This memo was not created with ChatGPT. I recently wrote, “exit planning really does mean planning (in advance).” It’s one of the items on…
