On Wednesday, August 11th, we hosted our annual High Alpha Finance Flight School, an invitation-only, functional-specific event providing networking and educational opportunities for our finance leaders inside the High Alpha portfolio.
While our speakers from CRV, LogicGate, and Socio had a ton of valuable knowledge to share, here are a few key takeaways that bubbled up to the top for our team:
1. Build the Company As If You Will Own It Forever
According to Kevin Jacobson, COO & CFO at High Alpha portfolio company, LogicGate, it’s essential to approach your work as a finance leader with the right mindset. Building a company is about creating long-term value, not about searching for an exit. If you optimize for an exit, you’ll end up more focused on decisions that can be short-sighted and won’t maximize business value. If you approach your work with the mindset that you plan to own the business forever, you’re much more likely to create a company with enduring value that will be more attractive to potential acquirers.
2. CFOS Have the Ability to Generate Insights That Other Company Leaders Might Not See Themselves
Helping executives and employees understand your company starts with finance. The CFO has a unique cross-functional perspective and can use key insights that others may not identify to serve as a strategic partner to other leaders in the company. This enables the CFO to support others by identifying business opportunities and providing coaching on how to improve decision-making.
3. Identify the Right Strategic Partners and Approach Corporate Investors Early
According to Matt Garratt, Partner at CRV, build relationships with strategic, corporate investors early. Focus on one or two partners that are going to be your biggest ally — don’t spread yourself too thin. Start to develop business relationships and use their expertise to navigate through the labyrinth of a large corporation. These relationships will give you a better understanding of the corporate structure of that large enterprise and who is possesses the agency to make big decisions. Successfully identifying those individuals will increase the chances of creating a meaningful and valuable partnership for both parties.
4. During an Acquisition, Build a Strong Team That Has Previously Worked on a Deal with the Same Acquirer
Look for partners such as accountants, lawyers, and advisors who have gone through a similar acquisition multiple times, ideally with that same buyer.
For example, Socio Co-Founder and CEO Yarkin Sakucoglu spoke with leaders from companies that Cisco also acquired to uncover the exact teams that they used and all of their pros and cons. He quickly uncovered a legal partner that had the most experience selling companies to Cisco. That team became a “data-driven sounding board” giving Socio advice based on their previous experience.
Thank you to all of our speakers and attendees for making the Finance Flight School 2021 a huge success. We hope to see you next year! If you want to learn more about High Alpha events, make sure to head over to our website.
Thank you to all of our speakers and attendees for making the Finance Flight School 2021 a huge success. We hope to see you next year! If you want to learn more about High Alpha events, make sure to head over to our website.