Brad Feld alerted me recently to a newly published book by William H. Venema, entitled Top Secret: The Strategic Guide to Selling Your Software Company, Essential Advise from a Veteran Deal Warrior. Mr. Venema is an attorney who has represented a number of software company executives with the sale of their businesses.
I applaud Mr. Venema for the effort and feel the book gives a good overview of the types of processes and issues that executives and boards need to navigate when selling a business. What this book fails to do, and to be fair, no book would accomplish, is to equip the constituents involved with a sale of a company with the depth of knowledge and judgment that only comes with years or decades of transaction experience. Mr. Venema, does make this point but it’s worth reiterating; sellers should surround themselves with deeply experience advisors including accountants, lawyers and in many cases investment bankers.
While its detailed military analogies fail to deliver better understanding and are a distraction, I recommend this book to any technology entrepreneur who is seeking a sense of the M&A process. The issues around intellectual property and where value lies (or not) are just as relevant to any technology company not just software vendors.
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