For many entrepreneurs with ambitions to establish a startup, venture capital is the Holy Grail of investment money. But venture capital can come with certain strings that could impact futureexit plans. In many cases, the entrepreneurs desire and timing for exit conflicts with the venture capital partners. In this episode Gower Idrees, CEO of RareBrain, briefly details how venture capital companies work, what they may want in return for their investment, and the involvement they will typically seek to have in the future exit of your company. Idrees also explains why it is crucial to negotiate control covenants and board control as part of your negotiation—instead of waiting until after securing investment.

Acquiring another company to drive growth can be a complicated transaction in the best of circumstances. But it can become an expensive lesson of “buyer beware”, if the seller uses various devious means to reduce the working capital in the business. Too often, an acquirer will discover their new acquisition has fewer assets on its balance sheet than they expected and even worse, the acquirer ends up having to provide more working capital than they anticipated. In this video Gower Idrees, CEO of RareBrain, offers insight into the ways a seller can change the existing assets and liabilities of their company without impacting the EBITDA, and offers would-be acquirers some strategies that can protect them against sellers’ financial games.

In the eyes of lenders, not all financing is created equal. As a general rule, many businesses discover it is easier to secure financing for an acquisition than it is to raise necessary capital to organically grow the business. Even so, lenders will conduct careful due diligence on any acquisition financing request, so companies need to take the process seriously and be properly prepared. In this podcast Gower Idrees, CEO of RareBrain, offers insight on what lenders are likely to look for in an acquisition financing and how businesses can best prepare for the process.

When assessing the financial health of a company, its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is often the focus of buyers, especially those buying a company to grow by acquisition. In this episode Gower Idrees, CEO of RareBrain, explains why it is wiser to focus on free cash flow vs. EBITDA when acquiring a target company, and provides an example of how EBITDA can create a misperception of how much cash is actually available to service debt obligations.

Getting any kind of business financing is a complicated and difficult process. For business owners looking to grow their company internally, raising capital to finance that organic growth requires more than just presenting a proposal on how they plan to achieve that growth; they must defend that proposal to the lender and convince them of its viability. In this episode Gower Idrees, CEO of RareBrain explains why it can be easier to secure financing for an acquisition than to raise the capital needed to grow your company through natural expansion. He also offers insight on what to expect from lenders when requesting acquisition financing.

There are a number of reasons for a business owner to grow their company through an acquisition. Rather than having to go through growing pains to establish new operations for a new product or service, an acquisition can let a company hit the ground running, enabling it to grow faster, quicker, and cheaper than traditional growth methods. In this podcast Gower Idrees, CEO of RareBrain, outlines several other synergistic advantages provided through an acquisition.

Acquisitions can help companies drive growth, market share, reduce R&D time & costs, improve time to market and create economies of scale among a plethora of other reasons. However, despite all the advantages and benefits, acquisitions are not automatic pots of business gold; they can also have significant risks and often fail. In this podcast Gower Idrees, CEO of RareBrain, explains some of the more common reasons an acquisition can fail, so businesses considering growth through acquisition are better prepared for the potential pitfalls.

Historically, acquisitions have been a popular growth strategy to increase top line revenues and market share. But it needs to be the right acquisition targeted for the right business reasons. If not done correctly, it can wreak havoc on the company’s growth plan and momentum. In order to make an acquisition successful, you need a strong strategic rationale for pursuing the target company. Moreover, this rationale must create value and have cultural alignment. In this episode Gower Idrees, CEO of RareBrain, outlines the most successful acquisition models.

In order to maximize the full value of your business, it is mission critical to secure an experienced, knowledgeable, and business savvy merger and acquisition advisor to explain the various factors that can promote, or hinder, a company’s performance. A good M&A adviser will also help protect business owners against shrewd buyers looking to take advantage at any sign of unpreparedness. In this podcast Gower Idrees, CEO of RareBrain, outlines the steps a smart M&A advisor will take to increase your sale value before entering the market and preserve the purchase price during due diligence.