My Guest My guest today is Jim Sharpe, somebody who I’ve been fortunate enough to call a mentor and friend for over 10 years now. This is Jim’s second appearance on In The Trenches (you can access the first episode here) In this week’s episode, we build upon the first-hand accounts presented in episode 1Continue reading “When Search Funds Don’t Go As Planned (Part 2): Trends & Observations With Jim Sharpe”
Author Archives: sdivitkos
When Search Funds Don’t Go As Planned (Part 1): 3 Searcher Case Studies
My Guests If one were to attend a randomly selected group of Search Fund conferences, they’d be forgiven for thinking that every search fund is a smashing success. When I was both a searcher and a CEO, I often left these types of events with a certain sense of insecurity and self-doubt, as everybody seemedContinue reading “When Search Funds Don’t Go As Planned (Part 1): 3 Searcher Case Studies”
75 Things That I Think Are True
Listen to this Blog Post Like many of you, I’m a sucker for a good quote. The best quotes often distill a lifetime of wisdom into only a few words, which is likely why some of them continue to resonate for decades (and in some instances, even centuries) after first being articulated. Over the years,Continue reading “75 Things That I Think Are True”
The State of Lower-Middle Market Credit: Two Major Bank Failures, Rising Interest Rates, and a Looming Recession
My Guests To say that it’s been an active 6-18 months in the banking sector would be an understatement: Beginning as recently as January, 2022, we’ve seen the US Federal Funds rate increase from .08% to 4.83%, which, at least in part, precipitated the rapid collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, and the rescue of FirstContinue reading “The State of Lower-Middle Market Credit: Two Major Bank Failures, Rising Interest Rates, and a Looming Recession”
The Merits, Risks, and Possible Unintended Consequences of Earn-Outs
Listen to this Blog Post When acquiring small to medium sized businesses, buyers often utilize a tool called an “earn-out”, which is a form of contingent consideration that sellers may receive at some point in the future in addition to the cash that they stand to receive at closing. Though earn-outs can be useful andContinue reading “The Merits, Risks, and Possible Unintended Consequences of Earn-Outs”
Mental Health for High Achievers: Anxiety, Ambition, Perfectionism, and Balancing Striving vs. Self-Acceptance
My Guest This week, I was thrilled to be joined by Andy Johns. The bulk of Andy’s career has been spent in the start-up and technology ecosystems, with growth and product-oriented leadership roles at Facebook, Twitter, and Quora, among others. Following his time at these three companies, Andy became VP of Growth, VP of Product,Continue reading “Mental Health for High Achievers: Anxiety, Ambition, Perfectionism, and Balancing Striving vs. Self-Acceptance”
The 2023 SaaS CEO Survey
Listen to this Blog Post The Data Set The year in which each target company was acquired is detailed in the chart to the right. As can be seen, we were able to achieve reasonably good diversity by vintage year, with 18 of the 41 transactions taking place in 2019 or earlier, and 23 ofContinue reading “The 2023 SaaS CEO Survey”
Kent Weaver: Building, Working With, and Learning from your Board of Directors
My Guest Today, I was thrilled to be joined by Kent Weaver. Early in his career, Kent was an acquisition entrepreneur, having acquired Sacramento-based Progressive Home Care. Subsequent to the acquisition, Kent ran the company for approximately 9 years before a successful exit. He has been investing in small and medium-sized businesses ever since. KentContinue reading “Kent Weaver: Building, Working With, and Learning from your Board of Directors”
Are You Selling to the Wrong Customers?
Listen to this Blog Post In my experience, among the countless strategic decisions that software CEOs must make, the decision of which end markets to serve doesn’t seem to command the time, attention, and level of thoughtfulness that it probably should. Leaders who run mature and established companies often take comfort in the product/market fitContinue reading “Are You Selling to the Wrong Customers?”
Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Working with a Partner, with Dr. Noam Wasserman, Author of The Founder’s Dilemmas
My Guest My guest today is Noam Wasserman, recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts in how to form and maintain high performing partnerships in entrepreneurial contexts. Noam is currently the Dean of the Sy Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University in New York City. Prior to this, Noam was a professor atContinue reading “Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Working with a Partner, with Dr. Noam Wasserman, Author of The Founder’s Dilemmas”