“There is no worse feeling than hearing that one of your competitors got bought, and you didn’t even get a phone call.”
Subscribe to This Week in Local on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
In Episode 49 of This Week in Local, Localogy’s Charles Laughlin facilitates a mini-masterclass on “BD-led M&A” with Josh Scherman of B2B Software Advisors.
Josh is a small business SaaS veteran, ex of ConstantContact and SurePath Capital Partners, among others. Now he advises SMB software companies, including on how to position themselves for successful exits.
In brief, “BD-led M&A” is something we often see when we read about a software company being gobbled up by a bigger fish.
The companies involved in these transactions often knew each other long before one purchased the other. And these relationships often begin with partnerships struck by business development pros (now more likely to be using the “partnerships” label) traveling from one industry conference to another to forge integration partnerships, reseller relationships, and so on.
Often these relationships mark the beginning of a courtship that leads to an attractive exit for one of the parties.
In the episode, Josh cites several well-known examples of BD-led exits. Topping his list is Endurance International’s 2015 acquisition of ConstantContact.
As a more recent example of an M&A-led exit, Josh cites Atlassian’s acquisition this year of video messaging platform Loom. Josh points to this LinkedIn Post from Loom Co-founder Vinay Hiremath, which he says reads like an advertisement for BD-led M&A.
Time Stamps
- What is BD-led M&A? 0:23
- Josh’s history and bona fides 1:24
- Difference between BD and sales 6:55
- Real world BD-led M&A examples 11:07
- Exit advice for SaaS founders 21:59
- Optimism for 2024 26:44
- Vertical SaaS remains king 29:35
Like, Follow, Rate, and Review
This Week in Local is Localogy’s weekly podcast featuring engaging conversations on topics important to the local digital ecosystem. The show’s hosts, Localogy’s veteran analysts Mike Boland and Charles Laughlin, have been covering the local digital ecosystem for decades.
Please subscribe to This Week in Local wherever you listen to podcasts. Also please take a moment to give This Week in Local a five-star rating and a review on Apple Podcasts. Your engagement is critical to helping others discover This Week in Local and include it in their weekly podcast feed.
Would you like to recommend a podcast guest, ask us a question, or sponsor an episode of This Week in Local? If so, please write to us at podcast@localogy.com.
