Our Guest: Diamond Innabi is a Principal at Software Equity Group (SEG), a boutique M&A advisory firm headquartered in San Diego that focuses on B2B vertically focused software and SaaS companies.

Episode Topics:

• Understanding the full cycle - from prep to closing - of selling your company.
• When should CEOs engage with an investment banker or consider an M&A path?
• Common mistakes that founders, CEOs, and boards make during the M&A process.
• Diamond's advice to founders who are interfacing with potential acquirers.
• Overview of SEG’s 20 Factor Valuation Scorecard.
• Difference between strategic buyers and private equity firms in terms of acquisition criteria.
• Diamond elaborates on the 2023 M&A Report: “The higher-than-usual volume of low multiple deals is a result of from negative transaction catalysts like evaporating cash runway, challenging debt dynamics, competitive concerns, or investors opting to exit their lower-performing assets to focus on high performers.”
• Factors influencing premium valuations for select companies.

Resources:

https://softwareequity.com/research/

https://softwareequity.com/company-valuation-formula/

https://softwareequity.com/research/saas-ma-buyers-perspectives

About Cloud Returns by Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Returns covers ALL types of software investing, whether seed, venture capital, growth equity, private equity, debt, and the public markets.

Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack.

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Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions.

Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products. Recent report examples include: Board Management Software, Account-Based Marketing Software, Cap Table + Equity Management Software, Lead Routing Software, and Sales Training + Onboarding Software.

Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value.

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