Dan Herr

Please... if you’re selling a business, don’t do this. A founder wanted to maximize the sale of his business. He came up with a plan: - Slash marketing & R&D team - Inflate recurring revenue by discounting their annual plan This is a bad plan. Buyers will see right through this with a little due diligence. Instead, do this: - Reduce churn rate - Document & automate operations - Make the business work without you - Clean up your books and records There are concrete steps to make your business worth more at sale. But *hacking* your valuation will hurt you later. #acquisitions #founders #saas

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Players in the VC world have access to tons of tools like what we're building at They Got Acquired Data. How badly does the lower-to-middle market M&A community want insight on private transactions, bootstrapped company sales, and who's buying? We're about to find out.

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The state of venture capital is wild right now. We are witnessing a surge of innovation across the spectrum: - Funds merging - VC doing PE - PE doing VC - Secondary funds - Buyout funds - Spin-out funds - Debt funds - Continuation funds - Infrastructure funds - GP turnover - Hard Tech surging - Family Office uptick

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Big rounds are back. VC Funding is flowing. In April, there were 28 fundraising rounds announced with >$10M in funding. We've seen private market (pre-launch) deals valued >$3B recently. Private Markets are hot. Public Market comps (FDVs) are hot. But who will buy our multi-billion dollar bags? Deal Flow Digest April w/: - Recap of largest web3 funding rounds - Airtable with ALL the data - Hackathons & Demo Days - VC Fundraises Read more here: https://lnkd.in/g7V4KrAj

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Today's Boring Biz: Pool Leak Detection Company - $2.3M Revenue - $610K Cashflow - South Carolina - Day 39 of "50 States In 50 Days" Note: We do not represent this deal, highlighting for informational purposes only for viewers What do they do? 1. Leak detection services 2. Electronic detection equipment 3. Pool inspections Investment Highlights 1. Strong market demand 2. Established reputation 3. Business systems in place Investment risks/concerns 1. What is the competition 2. Customer concentration 3. Length of contracts #SMB #ETA #finance #Cashflow #investing #search #searchfund #privateequity #microprivateequity #smallbusiness #venturecapital #vc #entrepreneur #business #businessowner #pool #leakdetection #southcarolina #servicecompany Disclaimer: Hypothetical and illustrative only. Please do your own research (DYOR) or work with tax and legal professionals before making a decision. This video are intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice, nor should be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security by SMB PE LLC or any third party

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I have this rule where if I see/hear the same thing 3x in 1 week (ex. hear someone's name 3x, hear operators at diff co's are facing the same problem 3x, hear the same hot take 3x, etc)... then I carve out 3+ hrs & dive deep You have to notice repetition & action on it

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Most founders follow up too much. Or not enough. Here's the sweet spot (so you can 3x your response rates) First, 85% of follow-ups fail because of: • Generic "just checking in" DMs • Following up daily (desperate energy) • Copy-pasting the same message • Giving up after 1-2 attempts Most investor DMs get deleted or forgotten after 15 seconds. It’s just the way it is... Follow-up solution: The 3-7-14 method: If your first message gets ghosted, wait 3 days. Then launch this sequence. DAY 3: Share Relevant Industry Insights "Saw this analysis of AI startups' unit economics. Reminded me of (relevant application) ... " No response to that? Bide your time until 7 days after the initial message. DAY 7: Offer Specific Value: "Saw your recent post about enterprise sales. We’ve interviewed 5 CIOs this week. Here are 3 surprising findings..." If you hear crickets after this, don’t stress. Give it another week. Then slide in with an update: DAY 14: Update On Progress: "Since our first message, we've (Specific Outcome Unlocked) and signed XYZ client. Still interested in connecting?" You can use a simple tracking table and create specific follow-up templates in a tool like Notion to track this. No need to go overboard. Tips to run this strategy smoothly: • Add calendar reminders for each follow-up • Track response rates by message type • Follow their social media for conversation starters • Give without asking for anything If you don’t hear back after this, give it two weeks, then circle back with another update. Benefits of the 3-7-14 method: • Non-pushy relationship development • Regular investor feedback loop • Top-of-mind positioning • Stronger network over time Persistence without pestering is an art. The difference between funded and ghosted often comes down to follow-up strategy. Make yours count. ____________________________ Hi, I’m Richard Stroupe, a 3x Entrepreneur, and Venture Capital Investor I help early-stage tech founders turn their startups into VC magnets

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Valuations are starting to (only slightly) be in check. Investors looking for revenue, quality of revenue, margins, and repeatable GTM. This has the best founders focused on what matters, and reaching out to their Boards and advisors for real advice and guidance. Good stuff.

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Pitch decks should be updated monthly during an active raise. Most importantly, numbers and traction should be current. Plus, investor questions and feedback can give insight to continually improve the story + how you present it.

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Dear startups, As tempting as it is and no matter your margins, please do not do “lifetime deals” on Product Hunt or anywhere else. You may drive a short term revenue pop, but you’re taking on unknown liabilities in perpetuity. At some point you’re going to want to exit, and your potential acquirers aren’t going to be keen on absorbing all that risk or unwinding those deals. Focus on building the right value proposition through actual MRR and retention. One should not expect any type of multiple on revenue that is driven through lifetime deals as you’re taking all the upside off the table upfront and leaving the ongoing support cost to your acquirer. Not to mention, there’s just no way to account for that revenue correctly. #startups #saas

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4 unforgettable lessons after making 50+ VC investments over 10 years. 1. Not all funding is created equal. The right partner matters more than the dollar amount. 2. A Tier 1 investor's prestige comes with a price. Better deals probably exist elsewhere. 3. Long-term success comes down to culture-fit and compatibility 4. Vision and the ability to scale are THE paramount traits an investor needs Founders: don’t just take any deal you can find. It could cost you dearly down the line.

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Founders often set prices too low, leaving a lot of value on the table. Start with pricing that's on the high end, and then use discounting to test where it should land. This can help safely find the price sweet spot without having to raise prices (never ideal).

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😱Pretty worrisome for founders, but great news for VCs😎 Fewer startups equate to less work, fewer intro calls, fewer funding opportunities, fewer bad decisions... Where next? #VentureCapital #VentureFunding #VentureDebt #Fundraising #Innovation #Technology #Entrepreneurship #Investing #Network #Investors #LPs #GPs #EmergingManagers #FamilyOffice #Markets #Economy #Business #Founders #Startups #StartupFunding #ai #artificialintelligence #unicorn #secondaries #secondarydeals

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Most founders wait too long to sell their business. They think: “I’ll sell when things slow down.” But here’s the truth. Buyers don’t pay for what your business used to be. They pay for what it could become. And that means you want to sell when your business is growing, not slowing. If you have a track record of consistent profits and year-over-year growth, your business is at its most attractive: - Buyers see low risk because the numbers are steady. - Buyers see high potential because the trend is upward. Growth tells them your business isn’t just surviving—it’s thriving. And that gets premium offers. The most common mistake? Founders hold on too long. They wait until growth dips or the market changes. By then, the valuation suffers, and those offers? They shrink. If your business is growing, it’s not “too soon” to sell. Peak growth means peak valuation. The right time to sell isn’t when things slow down, it’s when things are taking off. #acquisition #mistake

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