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Home Podcast The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of Growth by Acquisition

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of Growth by Acquisition

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of Growth by Acquisition

Elizabeth Cholawsky & Taylor Viens

Business Acquisition | Data Technology

Whether you want to sell your company or are looking to buy another company to help your growth, there is a lot to consider. Tips, advice, and tales of the good, the bad, and the ugly sides to this process come from Elizabeth Cholawsky and Taylor Viens. They are with HG Insights – a leading company in the gathering and application of data to make informed acquisition decisions. In this episode, they discuss the importance of paying attention to other companies, the role that data can play in an acquisition, the importance of having a solid growth strategy, and more firsthand experience from a target and an orchestrator of acquisitions.

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Guest Profile

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of Growth by Acquisition

Elizabeth Cholawsky

Elizabeth Cholawsky is an established leader in the technology industry with a focus on growing SaaS-based businesses, from start-ups to mid-sized and enterprise companies. Prior to joining HG Insights, Elizabeth was the CEO of Support.com (SPRT), where she transformed the business from relying solely on outsourced services revenue to selling its own SaaS product that efficiently ran large contact centers.

Elizabeth has also held executive positions at Citrix (CTXS), Valueclick, and other innovative technology companies, in leadership roles spanning general management, marketing, product management, global client services, and contact centers.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of Growth by Acquisition

Taylor Viens

Taylor Viens is a writer, designer, and content strategist with 12 years of experience developing and managing content and communications campaigns. Working for tech companies (B2B + B2C), digital marketing agencies, and early-stage start-ups, Taylor has led or executed marketing programs for clients in tech (SaaS, Blockchain, Web3, data science), fine arts, and literature. He has written and edited 50+ books, published articles in Forbes, Vogue, and TechCrunch, and is Editor in Chief of Vanishing Pictures Press publishing house.

Topics Covered

  • What impact does technology have on the decision to ‘buy vs. build’ decision? [3:40]
  • What causes an acquisition to fail? [5:35]
  • How does a corporate development team fit into an acquisition strategy? [10:30]
  • What is the role of functional leaders in choosing targets for acquisition? [13:30]
  • What is the vision behind the overall strategy for acquiring businesses? [17:57]
  • How common is it for a public company to request shareholder approval? [23:47]
  • Who and what are the backgrounds of those sitting on an acquisition committee? [24:10]
  • How does the acquisition decision-making process work at the board level? [26:58]
  • What are the main considerations for a company looking at making a potential acquisition? [30:31]
  • What role does data play in acquisitions? [35:26]
  • What are some examples of insights that can be gained from gathered data? [45:30]
  • What is the most challenging part of an acquisition? [51:24]

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Resources Mentioned

A Roadmap to the Successful Sale of Your Business (152 pages)

A Roadmap to the Successful Sale of Your Business (152 pages)

You could spend a lifetime figuring out how to successfully sell your business and still end up confused or clueless. What if you can stop the guesswork and start taking action now?

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Download PDF 3.55 MB