In M&A, Time Is Not Your Friend | Jeff Durso

The Wise Exit

E16: Today I have a special guest, fellow podcaster and serial entrepreneur with multiple exits under his belt, Jeff Durso. Jeff is a Massachusetts native who after attending MIT, sold his first business at the height of the internet bubble in 2000. We'll hear how a strategic partner can turn into an acquirer without any notice and how a well-timed silence during the subsequent negotiation with that buyer was worth an extra $1 million to Jeff.

On his second exit, Jeff describes the incredible hurdles he and his team overcame to get multiple investors in. With signatures in place to not blow up a deal. Jeff shares his lessons learned on keeping your cap table clean and how time is not your friend in any M&A engagement.

Currently, Jeff is the host of the Founder Breakthroughs Podcast, interviewing fellow founders on their incredible stories, as well as running Startup Mastermind, helping new founders get their businesses off the ground.

Episode Highlights:

(5:30) ... How a throwaway bullet point and a timely moment of silence created another $1M to Jeff and his partners

(9:00) ... The cars that became the motivation for Jeff and his partner (and brother) to sell their first business - Acura NSX and a red Ferrari 355 Spider

(17:17) ... Selling at the top of the NASDAQ

(22:29) ... In Jeff's 2nd company, the 43 investors and an error by the State of Delaware that almost killed the deal.

Episode 16 Reference Materials:
The Top 6 M&A Deal Killers of Any Business Sale Process

Mergers & Acquisitions Explained: M&A 101 for Business Owners

Where To Find Jeff Durso:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffdurso/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/JeffDurso

Where To Find Todd Sullivan (Host, M&A Expert, and CEO of Exitwise):
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddfsullivan/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Todd_Sullivan
Exitwise - https://exitwise.com/
Email - [email protected]