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A primer to think about exits at tech startups from a presentation I gave November 2012 at Rincon Venture Summit
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Planning for an ExitSome Lessons for VCs
& Entrepreneurs
Mark Suster
Rincon Venture Partners LP & CEO Summit, November 2012
@msuster
Understanding the Market for Venture
Exits
Most Entrepreneurs Have Unrealistic Expectations of Exit
ValuesI can always
get acqui-hired for 15 million
bucks
I can always get acqui-hired for 15 million
bucks
Or As Pandodaily Put It
Of course it’s much harder than that – but you wouldn’t know it
from the press
Most VCs Don’t Have a Strong Sense of Exit Values Either. It’s
Not Only HRs
The Fallacy of Bimodal Returns. Great Funds Often Built in the
Middle
Source: USV return data per AVC.com
The Reality Is - There Aren’t Many VC Exits > $100 million
Source: Capital IQ
And Many of These Raised Huge Sums of Money so Returns Aren’t Clear
And There Aren’t Many VC Tech IPOs Either
Source: Capital IQ
The Median VC Exit Value for 2010 Was $70 million
Guess What?Entry Price Matters
Source: Flag Capital via Bryce.VC
What Does This Mean for Entrepreneurs and
VCs?
I Recommend Entrepreneurs Start Lean, Only Go Fat If Product/Market
Fit Fat
Inflection Point
Keep Options Open
Pro
gres
s / C
apita
l
Time
When The Hors D’oeuvres Tray is Passed Take Two
And Put One in Your Pocket
Just Don’t Take the Whole Tray!
Total investment ($m)
Small Initial Check
ownership %
20%
As a VC We Try to Lean in Early on Winners & Avoid “The Mark Up
Game”
10%
$0.5 $2m
30%
Lean Early on 20-25%
Big Winners
$8m$4m
Get Ownership
in Solid Performers
1
3
2
“Fat is good when you’re on to something really special, but …
Sometimes NOT Having a Big VC Above you in the Cap Table is a
Great Thing for both VC & Entrepreneur”
It Keeps a lot More Options OpenSource: Mark Suster. Having been burned before by misaligned incentives on exits
Selling Your Company
Companies Are Bought, Not Sold
PR Matters. I know. It shouldn’t. It does.
Get Biz Dev or Sales Deal People buy people they know.
Start Early. Need to Take Early Meetings (just like raising VC)
Leverage VCs. Corp Dev use as a quality filter
Use Banks Wisely. Some deals fees nothing compared to price increase, closure %. But bank must have skin in the game.
Need to Know What Type of Acquisition You Would Be
Purchase Price
Value to Acquirer
Talent Hire
Product Gap
Strategic Threat
Revenue Driver
Defensive Move
$1m / Dev Location Matters
Avoid or Delay Disruption
Can’t Afford to Have A Competitor Own
Organizational Purchases
IT Dep’tBusiness Buyer Legal / FinanceSell Your Product
ProductSales Corp DevSell Your Company
Champion You
Beat You Up
In some companies Corp Dev leads strategy / investments. In others they are the deal execution teams. Know your buyer.
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