Scott Brown

🌟Innovative VC Firm Overcomes Exits Drought with Secondary Sales🌟 ⛵Navigating a challenging landscape where exits are scarce, Santa Barbara Venture Partners (SBVP) has pioneered a novel approach to sustain its growth and attract investors for its second fund: secondary sales. Instead of waiting for traditional exits like IPOs or acquisitions, SBVP opted to sell shares of its portfolio companies, demonstrating its ability to generate returns for investors and stand out in a competitive market. 🎤According to Dan Engel, founder and managing partner of SBVP, these secondary transactions have been a game-changer, sparking investor interest and bolstering the firm's credibility. By leveraging its recent successes, including a lucrative stake in sports-betting company DraftKings Inc.' acquisition of digital lottery app Jackpocket, SBVP seized the opportunity to return profits to its limited partners (LPs) and pave the way for its second fund. 💡Engel highlighted the challenges faced by young VC firms in raising subsequent funds, particularly amid a downturn in exit activity and heightened investor scrutiny. With traditional exit routes becoming increasingly elusive, the pressure is on for firms to demonstrate tangible returns and establish a track record of success. ✨"For us, secondary sales have been a game-changer. They've helped us return profits to our LPs and attract investors for our second fund," said Dan Engel. 💰For SBVP, the decision to pursue secondary sales was driven by the need to provide liquidity to LPs and validate its investment thesis in the eyes of prospective investors. By strategically offloading portions of its holdings in high-performing portfolio companies like Bark Technologies and Rad AI, SBVP not only generated substantial returns but also bolstered investor confidence in its ability to deliver results. ⚠Despite the complexities and potential stigma associated with early share sales, Engel emphasized the importance of prioritizing investor returns and seizing opportunities to unlock value for stakeholders. With a focus on profitability and transparency, SBVP remains committed to its mission of delivering sustainable growth and maximizing returns for its LPs. 🔍 "Returning profits to our investors is our top priority. By strategically selling shares, we're proving our commitment to delivering results and driving value for our stakeholders," added Engel. As SBVP continues to explore secondary transactions and expand its investor base, the firm stands as a testament to innovation and resilience in the face of market challenges. 🚀 ✅ Looking to raise capital for your #fund and increase the international pool of your LP #investors?   🤝 Need warm #LP introductions?   📝 Selling #secondaries to increase liquidity?   🧐 Looking for co-investments?   ▶ G+QUANT's link for inquiries and fund decks: https://lnkd.in/gjC_EuTE #VCInnovation #SecondarySalesSuccess #InvestorReturns #ValueCreation 

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Discover how PreSales teams are evolving, adapting, and unlocking new opportunities in 2024 👀 From organizational structure to budgeting and analytics, explore the trends shaping the industry: https://lnkd.in/eGvrCeJT ​

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Moving forward with #AI is more than just a thought, it’s a commitment to change.

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Thank you Ronald Skelton from the How2Exit Video Interviews and Podcast for having me on your show!   We talked about:   - Lessons learned from my previous exits - Why business owners should have advisors to plan for their exits - How Optionality helps with business valuations and value creation. - Why build relationships with potential acquirers   And more.   👉 Watch here: https://lnkd.in/evCiKCMd

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99% of companies think #generativeai has huge potential to improve productivity. 99% of companies don't want to use #generativeai because of legal, quality, and compliance challenges. Let's change that. #digitalassetmanagement #dam #contentproductivity

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🌟 It was great to chat with Chrisley Ceme, Revenue Director at Senders, on the CRO Initiative podcast for a deep dive into the world of AI, marketing, and the role of fractional CMOs. We covered a lot of ground, including: 📈 What it means to be a fractional CMO in today’s AI-driven landscape – supporting companies (especially B2B SaaS) to integrate AI into their existing tech stacks for real, scalable results. From aligning CRMs and CDPs to using generative AI to create hyper-personalized outreach at scale, there’s a whole new world of marketing potential out there. 🔧 The tools and channels we’re finding most effective – scraping tools like Apify, automation tools like Zapier and Make, and prospecting platforms like Apollo and Clay are a few that I’ve seen make a huge difference. Knowing how to align these with demand generation efforts and CRM systems can turn lead gen into a powerful engine for top-line growth. 🎯 Demand generation and lead gen through AI – We discussed the importance of smart targeting and data enrichment. High-quality, focused outreach is more important than sending mass emails – especially if you want to avoid the dreaded “spam” label. AI now allows for super-personalized campaigns that were previously only possible for Fortune 500 companies. 👥 Balancing technology and human expertise – AI is great, but knowing how to add a human touch remains essential. Investing time on infusing LLMs with personality and context are vital for making that authentic connection with prospects. 💡 One takeaway I’d love to share: If you’re working in B2B marketing, especially in tech, this is a “gold rush” moment. Those who stay agile and adaptable are the ones who’ll thrive. Thanks, Chrisley, for an insightful conversation! Looking forward to seeing how the CRO Initiative continues to explore the future of marketing. 👏 Watch the first part here: #AI #Marketing #FractionalCMO #DemandGen #CCROInitiative #B2BSaaS #LinkedInFamily #Automation #TechIntegration

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Thought on the "demand neutral to negative" environment we're in. Even though we haven't seen SaaS spend accelerate yet, there are still plenty of opportunities to win and grow. Especially if you occupy a space in the market that is ripe for modernization. We're seeing a tremendous amount of Enterprise SaaS spend activity in the Digital Experience space - not net new spend, but shifting of spend from legacy monoliths to modern, headless and composable suites. And, in many cases this is actually a reduction in spend for the customer, but a new logo for us and tangible growth. I think this is happening across the board in MarTech for sure...as CMOs look to reduce their dependency on single vendors and capitalize on the wave of AI and digital personalization that is creating opportunity right now.

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Forget Inbound and Outbound artificial boundaries...and your old-fashioned play(s)/silos by Sales or Marketing in our new "B2B buyer in full control" world. No more spamming, sequences, non-personalised, un-engaging messages please SDR/AEs bombarding me;)... ending up straight into our Junk and Trash WATCH my one-min summary shown (SLIDES AVAILABLE) in June's Revenue Marketing Alliance Product Marketing Alliance ABM summit (watch on demand see link in comment) on https://lnkd.in/e2-4aZXR Thx as always Andrei Zinkevich Vladimir Blagojević Fullfunnel.io too for the usual inspiration, Elena Simou also, lkg fwrd to sharing more soon! It is all about an integrated AllBound, "a la ABM" playbook and even more importantly a GTMOps / RevOps mindset and framework. ABM = GTM: Pure & simple. Not Marketing, not Sales but cross-Product, CS, Sales, Marketing and related teams, all for the full customer journey benefits...from new sales to renewal & expansion (incl Partners) You need to (1) focus on enabling & boosting your Go To Market strategy, which motion(s) or which mix of, PLG, SLG, PLS or whatever.. (2) adapt your ABM playbook, craft your strategy and segmentation as you see here from top to bottom. What are the cohorts, firmographics, attributes, triggers, HubSpot properties, you name it, that are critical to define these cohorts with first, second or third-party data or other... selecting your most promising accounts using predictive AI, scoring, buying intent tactics and MarOps set-up

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It’s not an exaggeration to say that Matt Wallaert’s book, Start at the End, has evolved my approach to business by: (1) codifying a scientific method for centering the customer, and (2) sequencing the requisite considerations toward making impact in a scaleable framework. He came to speak to Philo about applying behavioral science to streamline business prioritization with customer psychology at the center. It boils down to recognizing that businesses, products, and advertising are inherently designed to change behavior. Getting specific about the things that either promote or inhibit that behavior allow us to design specific interventions around them. KPIs are the way we figure out which interventions work, but are not the core objective. Matt's narrative style is a compelling mix of psychology, business cases, and snarky cultural commentary (some spicy takes for what he labels 'Mad Men' marketing, but I'll let it slide for now). I highly recommend to any folks trying to orient their businesses toward bigger leaps.

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Salesloft’s data science team recently gathered insights from over 2,000 meeting recordings and transcripts associated with more than 1,200 deals. What did they discover? The deals that discussed timing early on in a deal cycle tend to accelerate to the next stage faster and are more likely to move to closed won. Sales leaders, your reps can use these timing-related questions and statements in their next discovery: https://lnkd.in/e9G2mumG

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Hey everyone, the latest episode of Go Fast Grow Fast just dropped and it's packed with insights on scaling companies from hundreds of millions to billions in revenue. My guest is Alan Gonsenhauser, who has been a CMO 10 times and advised over 130 marketing leaders, mostly at private equity-backed companies. Alan shares his perspective on what's working and what's not when it comes to driving growth at later-stage companies. We dig into the importance of customer experience and net revenue retention as the dual true north metrics. Alan explains why most companies are dropping the ball when it comes to truly loving their customers. We also talk about the evolving role of the CMO and why data fluency is becoming a must-have skill for marketers who want to grow in their careers. Alan shares examples of how he's helped align marketing and sales teams to work together more effectively which is one of the most unsexy but high leverage problems to solve. And of course, we discuss how AI is impacting marketing. Alan shares how he's using tools like ChatGPT in his day-to-day work for content creation and analysis. His advice - embrace AI as a tool that can give you superpowers if you learn to use it well. Alan drops a ton of wisdom in this conversation, so if you're a founder, marketer, or growth leader, hit the link and give it a listen. And let me know what you think!

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The secret—if it ever was one—is out on private equity fondness for vertical software. While PE-backed acquisitions were down 50%+ from a peak in 2021, vertical buyouts have continued to grow, and the fervor seems to be gaining steam. In today’s essay, we will pose an answer to one question: is PE a viable path to exit for a venture-backed startup?

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This article by Michael Cohen and Sabaa Quao just hits the nail on the head for the tough discussions to be had in boardrooms. With privacy and AI looming, the adtech and martech landscape is getting disrupted like never before, and its more important than ever for the CFO + CMO duo to come together and make things work. Points to ponder 1. Speak the same language by understanding causality and incrementality. Get deeper into each other's role, hone in on the true levers of growth and which are the right metrics to make decisions on. 2. Get aligned on the right tech initiatives and stack together by understanding how data, AI and measurement will get them to their collective goals. 3. Make accountability a part of culture (agency included) and incentivize everyone based on real growth (not vanity metrics). #marketing #cmo #cfo #measurement https://lnkd.in/gGGKQHps

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If you haven't seen a 28Stone live presentation before, I highly encourage you to tune in! Thrilled to welcome Thomas Dolan and his #allstar team on our upcoming webinar for a deep-dive into their latest #AI enabled solution for market maker #communications, #analytics, and decision-making. REGISTER: https://lnkd.in/e9advXYj #AI #GenAI #CapitalMarkets #FinTech

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Cloudinary CRO Allison Metcalfe joins the GTM Podcast from GTMnow to share a variety of insights on building a great SaaS business: from customer stories as an incredibly powerful growth lever to balancing product led with enterprise sales motions. Give it a listen: https://okt.to/x2YpUj

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Learn more from Rahel about the ROI of structured content

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