Creative Deal Structuring, Getting Max Value & A DEEPER Dive: A.I. In Our Future, Enabling or Disruptor?

This Week On How2Exit, Chatting With PE expert and reviewing older shows for lessons learned- DEEPER into A.I. Good or Bad, it's here.

Author

Ronald Skelton
March 28, 2023

This week being spring break, we did 1 interview and a few reviews of great interviews in the past:

Summary/Abstract

Mark Achler is the founding partner of Math Venture Partners, a venture capitalist group that invests in early-stage technology companies. Mark's origin story starts with his family's first computer retail store in 1980, followed by a job at Apple in 1983 as the worldwide introduction manager for the Apple IIc. After moving to Chicago with his wife, Mark became an entrepreneur, building the first object-oriented programming language for a personal computer. He then took in venture capital, sold the company to Symantec, and attempted a second company that failed. His third company, a game development tools company, was successful and sold in May.

The speaker began his career as a high school history teacher, but eventually had the opportunity to become an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. In the late 90s, he had some successful investments before the dot com crash. He went back to his investors and released them of half of their commitments, and stopped taking fees. After this, he co-founded a healthcare company that did well, before taking a job with Redbox as the Chief Innovation Officer. He helped to take the company from startup to 2.5 billion in revenue within five years.

Ron Skelton and Mark Achler are discussing Mark's book, Exit Right. Mark has had an eclectic career, including serving as a CEO, interim CMO, and venture capitalist. He has also been a professor at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management for 10 years. The book focuses on how to sell a business. Mark has sold companies as a CEO, invested in over a hundred businesses, and been on dozens of boards. He has witnessed many successful transactions. He wrote the book with his co-author Mert Iseri, who had a successful sale of his own business. Mark believes that understanding the nuances of selling a tech company can help ensure a successful transaction.

The speaker was discussing his experience of selling a tech company to SC Johnson and how he used the experience to write a book to help other entrepreneurs and business owners better understand the exit process. He interviewed CEOs, bankers, M&A attorneys, and heads of corporate development to gain insight into what makes a good transaction, why some transactions fail, what makes a good client, and more. He wanted to provide real stories and advice to help entrepreneurs navigate the process and make better decisions.

. Listen here: (56:16)

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This week’s “DEEPER” Dive:  OpenAI’s ChatGPT is the New 4 min Mile. How will A.I. Play a Role in SMB M&A, This Year!

Make no mistake about it, OpenAi”s ChatGPT is the new 4 min mile. The walk on the moon, the introduction of the internet.  Now that corporations, engineers, and even countries can see what is possible and how fast we are willing to use it, the race is on.  It’s here to stay, and it’s going to change how you and I exist.   It’s in the news every day, it gained over 100,000,000 yes 100 Million users already (that was in the first 2 months).

I’m not sure whether to be excited or terrified … part of me says it a bit like the shinning…  Here’s A.I.

If you are afraid of AI, scared of it achieving world domination, DO NOT search YouTube for…….

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FROM THE Editor:

Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided for informational & educational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. We are not attorneys, tax, or financial advisors and not qualified to give any such advice. 

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