(To see the video above, please click the image, and then click on the Play button.) Private equity and venture capital investors are copying our sisters in the hedge fund world: we’re trying to automate more of our job. When I was single, I registered for (a lot of) dating websites. When I met my...
[Continue Reading]Limited partner due diligence on VC and private equity funds
As a VC, I have a standard due diligence list for companies I’m reviewing. Similarly, limited partner investors have their own due diligence standards, and we manage our firm to keep in line with their expectations. To quote one LP: what they want is “PSEA”: People, Strategy, Execution, and Alignment. I’ve listed below some of...
[Continue Reading]Ready to join a new management team? Here’s how to do your due diligence first
I get emails every week from mid-level and senior executives who want to join a growth company. You’re going to be spending 40+ hours/week with your new colleagues, which is more time than most of us spend with our spouses. So I put together some notes on how to due diligence a management team, from...
[Continue Reading]Free Webinar on Due Diligence Best Practices — 1-800 Flowers, Sullivan Cromwell — August 6
Please join me next Thursday, August 6 for the second in The Deal‘s complimentary 3-part series on Corporate Development: "Due Diligence Best Practices". The Deal’s Ken Klee moderates. My fellow panelists are Frank Aquila, a leading partner in Sullivan & Cromwell‘s M&A Group, and David Siegel, SVP of Strategy and Corporate Development at 1-800 Flowers....
[Continue Reading]Why not to trust news photos
I normally don’t discuss political topics on this blog, but this particularly struck me as an example of one of my favorite themes: the importance of ‘peeling the onion’. At first glance, it’s just a picture of smoke from damaged buildings from the conflict in the Mideast. At second glance, it’s a fine example of...
[Continue Reading]TieCON East: Trends in Investment Research and Due Diligence.
My colleague Scott Lichtman took some detailed notes on the TieCONEast panel last week on "Trends in Investment Research and Due Diligence". Podcast is here. CONFIRMED SPEAKERS Graham Field, Managing Director, AQ Research (Moderator) Graham is the Managing Director of AQ Research, which provides quantitative global analysis of the accuracy of sell-side research. Graham established...
[Continue Reading]The Secrets of Great Due Diligence
The Secrets of Great Due Diligence Sealing the deal is the easy part; first comes due diligence. Here’s how to calculate your target’s stand-alone value. A Harvard Business Review excerpt....
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