What Venture Capital Firms are Looking to Buy

David Garcia is the CEO and Founder of ScoutLogic, a pre-employment background screening company. David is also the Senior Advisor for Norwest Venture Partners, where he helps provide his expertise on sales, marketing, operations strategy, and more. David offers insight in this week’s episode on what venture capital firms are looking for when they’re about to make an offer, or acquisition, on a company. He also offers advice on what Founders should be doing if they’re looking to exit out of their company. 

Key Takeaways:

[1:40] What do you do when you’re getting ready to put your company on the market? And more important, what do buyers look for? 

[3:35] What types of companies does Norwest Venture Partners prefer to acquire? 

[4:55] David has not seen hiring slow down at all at his background screening company. 

[8:00] You’d be surprised to know that management and finance don’t always have a clear picture of their own finances. 

[11:00] What is the number one thing that destroys your credibility as a company when a venture capital firm is looking to buy? 

[15:00] The last thing you want is for your customers to hear it from someone else that you’re being acquired.

[18:55] What are some of the best ways to tell your company’s story to an investor? 

[21:55] For a lot of investors, it’s more than the dollar and cents amount. They want to see how the leadership works, and how the customers respond to your company. 

[22:10] When does it make sense for a founder to think about their own role in the company? 

[25:55] What do you do if staff have equity in the company? 

[26:35] What are the most likely jobs that could be put at risk? 

[30:10] David shares his thoughts on who your outside advisory team should be in this process. 

[34:45] What are some of the most common mistakes business owners make? 

[37:55] No matter what, you want a clean story for your business so that you can get the maximum profits out of this. 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Dynastylc.com

Email Todd: Todd@Dynastylc.com

Scoutlogicscreening.com

Nvp.com

David on LinkedIn