The Friday Habit Interview with Mark Achler & Mert Iseri Part 1
An early employee of Apple and Head of Innovation at Redbox, Mark Achler has been creating and investing in tech startups since 1986. Today, he is a founding partner of MATH Venture Partners, a technology venture capital fund, and an adjunct professor at the Northwestern Kellogg School of Management.
Mert Iseri co-founded SwipeSense, a healthcare technology company acquired by SC Johnson in 2020. Prior to that, he co-founded Design for America, a national network of students using design thinking to create social impact, now part of the IBM Watson Foundation. He is currently an Entrepreneur in Residence at MATH Venture Partners.
Main Topic Notes
- How to sell your startup
- The importance of FAIR - Fit, alignment, integration and rationale
- Having an annual Exit Talk
Recap / Takeaways
- Don't see interactions as a single transactional moment in time, but as the start of a long-term relationship
- Stay humble and give back
- When you're a good manager, it's not about you, it's about your employees. You have to help them grow in their career and that will build trust
- Don't view selling your startup as an ending, but the beginning of something new to come
- When you sell you must make sure the buyers, employees, and customers are all considered and valued
- Find a buyer that makes what you do more valuable together
- Don't wait to start talking to potential buyers when you want to sell. Start years before.
- FAIR
- Fit
- Is there is a cultural fit between the companies?
- Alignment
- Are you aligned internally and with the acquiring company?
- Integration
- Is there a plan in place where these companies can deliver value together?
- Rationale
- Can you explain why joining forces strategically multiplies value?
- Annual exit talk
- Have a scheduled yearly time for the CEO to talk about how they're feeling about an exit
- Depending on why and when you're being bought, you can focus on adding value in that area
Connect with Mert
Connect with Mark
Connect With Us
Go to TheFridayHabit.com to find show notes for this episode. There you can also find links to our websites and ways to get in touch. At the bottom of the page you can download our guide to the Friday Habit system that will show you how to set aside one full day each week dedicated to working on your business instead of in your business.