Mergers and acquisitions in the tech space have helped fuel growth in recent years, and we know concrete lessons about not only weathering the M&A process, but also about building strong companies is crucial knowledge for entrepreneurs everywhere.
“When you buy a company, everything is negotiable except strategy and culture.”- John Chambers
Our Goodwin San Francisco office recently co-hosted a half day workshop entitled “M&A Masterclass” with SOSV/ HAX on November 16, 2018. The workshop featured panel sessions on The Art of Corporate M&A, a CFO discussion, and a fireside chat with Cisco’s John Chambers who offered 10 lessons on tech M&A. In this issue of the Flash, we recap these key learnings:
- M&A Is A Vaccine Against Irrelevance
- Tech Is Entering Every Sector
- Your Customers Can Tell You What To Buy
- Pick The Right Match
- Build Your Playbook(s)
- Do Your Homework
- Pay For What The Value Is To You
- Keep The Talent
- Expect Some Failures
- In The Future, Acquisitions Might Not Be Enough
Also in this week’s Flash:
- Gary Vaynerchuk: What Entrepreneurs Should Know Before Pitching In 2019 (Forbes)
- 5 rules to help build a successful business with purpose (Fast Company)
- 10 Entrepreneurs Reveal Their 'Secret Weapon' Character Trait (Forbes)
- Brexit Is Just One More Problem European Entrepreneurs Have to Deal With (Entrepreneur)