3. Real Ventures
$2.5M
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Commercial
Proof Points
Acquisition
Opportunities
4. M & A: VC Perspective
‣ Why do VCs invest?
‣ VC Fund Math
‣ $ 50M Fund -> $ 150M returned
‣ 10% - 20% average ownership at exit
‣ $ 750M - $ 1.5B exit proceeds
‣ All about the exit
5. M & A: When to Sell
‣ Considerations:
‣ 1st time
‣ What’s “best” for the product / vision?
‣ Stakeholder interests?
‣ Gut
‣ Market / economy
‣ # of years risk taken off the table
6. M & A: Good vs. Great Exits
‣ Momentum & pace
‣ Market leadership
‣ Unbelievable tech team
‣ Highly visible
‣ Existing relationships
‣ Potential for disruption
‣ Luck & timing
7. M & A: Profitable Exits
‣ Small amounts of Capital
‣ Speed matters
‣ In the deal flow
‣ Disruption
‣ Timing
8. M & A: The Acqui-exit
‣ Most exits are modest
‣ Big tech giants struggling to hire and
innovate
‣ Key decision point for VCs early on
‣ Do we continue to invest?
‣ Seed execution is more important than
ever
9. M & A: Getting Buyers
‣ Build relationships
‣ Product Dev
‣ Corp Dev
‣ Biz Dev
‣ Airmiles -> Valley
‣ Work your stakeholders
‣ Non stop hustle
10. M & A: Alternatives to Exit
‣ Secondary Sale
‣ Raise more $
‣ Management team
11. M & A: Role of VCs
‣ Intros (& lots of them…)
‣ Sounding board
‣ Board Committee
‣ Help on diligence
‣ Increase the price
Don’t worry about “blocking” rights
12. M & A: Tips & Tricks
‣ Be organized (always)
‣ Have the right advisors
‣ Be wary of agents
‣ Avoid earn-outs
‣ Cap tables are malleable
‣ Make the buyer pay for retention
13. M & A: Case Studies
Motivated buyer
Timing
Relationships
Market leadership
14. M & A: Final thoughts
‣ Great time to be an entrepreneur
‣ More and more exits happening in Canada
‣ We need the 2nd generation of founders
‣ Know what success means to you and what
type of outcome you want *before* raising
VC