In 2016 Susanne Klepsch launched Meetfox, a scheduling and video calling solution that helps service professionals manage and monetize their time.
By 2021 Meetfox had acquired a user base of 25,000. As Klepsch observed competitors being acquired by large software companies, she recognized the need to partner with a major player to compete effectively with Calendly.
Consequently, she initiated a merger and acquisition process, reaching out to over a hundred companies, including the venture-backed, all-in-one marketing software Sendinblue. Eventually, Sendinblue made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.
In this episode, you’ll learn how to:
Know when you have a feature, product, or company.
Get free market research for your next product idea.
Incite a bidding war for your business.
Approach potential acquirers without seeming desperate.
Structure an earn-out agreement that puts you in control.
Protect yourself when accepting stock as currency from an acquiring company.
Listen Now
More About Susanne Klepsch
Susanne Klepsch is a motivated entrepreneur with a passion for shaping the future of work and helping professionals grow their businesses. She loves building and scaling companies while teaching others who share the same interest.
Through the experience of building her own businesses from scratch, Susanne has developed a wide range of skills in areas such as management, sales, investor relations, long-term partnership development, marketing, branding, and mentoring employees.
She thrives when faced with new challenges and is always eager to learn from others in order to continue to grow as a professional and leader.
Definitions
Letter of Intent (LOI): A letter of intent (LOI) is a document declaring the preliminary commitment of one party to do business with another. The letter outlines the chief terms of a prospective deal. Commonly used in major business transactions, LOIs are similar in content to term sheets. One major difference between the two, though, is that LOIs are presented in letter formats, while term sheets are listicle in nature. Source.
Earn-out: Earnout or earn-out refers to a pricing structure in mergers and acquisitions where the sellers must “earn” part of the purchase price based on the performance of the business following the acquisition. Source.
Due-Diligence: Due diligence is an investigation, audit, or review performed to confirm facts or details of a matter under consideration. In the financial world, due diligence requires an examination of financial records before entering into a proposed transaction with another party. Source.
Note: A note is a debt security obligating repayment of a loan, at a predetermined interest rate, within a defined time frame. Notes are similar to bonds but typically have an earlier maturity date than other debt securities, such as bonds. Source.
Put Option: A put option gives you the right, but not the obligation, to sell a stock at a specific price (known as the strike price) by a specific time – at the option’s expiration. For this right, the put buyer pays the seller a sum of money called a premium. Unlike stocks, which can exist indefinitely, an option ends at expiration and then is settled, with some value remaining or with the option expiring completely worthless. Source.
Links
Want to Sponsor an Episode? Click Here
Do You Know What the Value of Your Business is?
Take our Value Builder Assessment to get a free estimate of business value and see how your company stacks up against the 8 Key Drivers of Business Value.