How To Get Acquired

Hi there,

In this issue, I share some tips to help you get acquired. 
Also; 

📸 - Social Snapshot- Exited founder lifestyle

📊  - Who owns VC-backed startups?

🎙️ - The biggest shifts in earning, learning, and owning w/ Katelyn Donnelly

Welcome to issue 113.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Social Snapshot

 💭 Exited founders by Gill Verd on X.

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Investing in Avalanches vs Unicorns with Katelyn Donnelly

In last week's episode, I chatted with Katelyn Donnelly, GP of Avalanche VC. We unpack why she’s not looking for unicorns but rather the inevitable market shifts that can create massive outcomes. We get into why most founders miss the mark when pitching investors, and what makes a startup worth betting on.

Watch Now

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Data Corner

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Raising Capital for your startup?

Thunder's mission is to guide founders toward the right path to reach their North Star, be it through securing equity or debt financing or navigating the path to a successful exit. 

Talk to us

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What You Need to Know to Get Acquired

If you think M&A is just about getting a fat check and riding off into the sunset, you’re in for a rude awakening. Selling your company is a process; a long, strategic, often brutal one. And if you don’t approach it with the right mindset, you’ll either leave money on the table or, worse, kill the deal before it even starts.

So let’s break it down: how do you get acquired, and more importantly, how do you get acquired on your terms?

Know what you’re really selling

An acquirer isn’t buying your business just because they like you. They’re buying growth, market position, IP, talent, or some combination of those. If you can’t articulate exactly why your company is valuable to them, you’re not ready for M&A.

Ask yourself:

• Do I have predictable revenue? (Acquirers hate uncertainty.)
• Do I have a unique asset (tech, brand, customers) they can’t easily replicate?
• How do I fit into their strategic roadmap?

If you can’t answer these, an acquirer sure as hell won’t.

Timing is everything

Most founders think you sell when you’re tired or when someone randomly comes knocking. Wrong. You sell when your company is growing fast enough to be attractive but mature enough to be de-risked.

Here’s when you have leverage:

• Revenue is accelerating (not stagnant or declining—no one buys a sinking ship).
• You’re hitting inflection points (market dominance, product breakthrough, major partnerships).
• There’s a strategic shift in the industry (regulation changes, competitor consolidations, new tech adoption).

Wait too long, and your value starts declining. Sell too early, and you leave millions on the table.

Build relationships before you need them

M&A is a relationship game. No one buys a company overnight. Deals are built over months (sometimes years) of strategic conversations.

Start now by:

• Networking with corp dev teams at companies that could acquire you.
• Building relationships with potential acquirers long before you’re selling.
• Keeping investors and advisors in the loop—many acquisitions come through warm intros.

If the first time a big company hears about you is when you’re trying to sell, good luck.

Get your house in order

Want to torpedo your deal instantly? Have messy financials, shady cap tables, or legal risks. Acquirers will dig, and if they don’t like what they find, they’ll either walk or use it to drive the price down.

Before you even think about selling:

• Clean up your financials- every expense and revenue line should be tight.
• Lock down key contracts- including customer agreements, vendor deals, and IP rights.
• Fix your cap table- too many convertible notes, SAFEs, or uncapped liabilities will scare acquirers.
• Eliminate red flags- lawsuits, compliance risks, and major dependencies on a single customer or supplier can all kill a deal.

Know your number (and how to defend it)

You’re not just selling a business, you’re negotiating for your financial future. Too many founders pick a number out of thin air and hope an acquirer agrees. That’s not how this works.

Your valuation should be based on:

• Market comps: what have similar companies sold for?
• Revenue multiples: what’s the standard multiple in your industry?
• Strategic value: how much would an acquirer pay to not let a competitor buy you?

More importantly, you need leverage. If you only have one offer, you don’t have a negotiation, you've got an ultimatum. Run a structured process with multiple buyers, and you’ll be shocked at how much higher the offers go.

Structure the deal the right way

A $50M acquisition sounds great until you realize it’s structured as:

• 70% stock in a sinking company
• 3-year earnout you’ll never hit
• Clawbacks if revenue dips

Cash is king. Always optimize for the highest possible cash component upfront. If there’s an earnout, make sure the milestones are achievable. If stock is part of the deal, ensure liquidity terms are favorable.

Don’t go it alone

You will get squeezed if you try to DIY an acquisition. Acquirers do this all the time, you don’t. That’s why companies that work with experienced advisors, M&A lawyers, and investment bankers consistently get better deals.

This is where Thunder comes in. We help founders navigate M&A, from exit strategy planning to deal structuring, so you maximize value and don’t get steamrolled in the process. If you’re even thinking about an acquisition, get in touch. Because the best M&A outcomes aren’t random, they’re engineered.

M&A is a game. Play to win.

Selling your company isn’t about luck. It’s about preparation, positioning, and execution. If you wait until you need to sell, you’ve already lost. The founders who win at M&A are the ones who treat it like a strategic move, not an emergency exit.

Get your business acquisition-ready before the opportunity comes knocking because the best deals happen when you don’t need to sell, but the right buyer needs to buy.

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