Dave Kauppi Contributor Bio

Bio

Dave Kauppi is a Merger and Acquisition Advisor with MidMarket Capital, Inc. He combines fourteen years of M&A deal making experience with a Wharton Finance Degree and IBM sales process resulting in many successful client business sales.

MMC is a Merger and Acquisition Advisory and Investment Banking Firm specializing in providing business intermediary services to entrepreneurs and lower middle market corporate clients in a variety of industries. The firm counsels clients in the areas of M&A and divestiture, family business succession planning, valuations, minority interest shareholder sales, business sales and business acquisition. MMC specializes in Technology, Information Technology, Healthcare, and intellectual property focused companies. We have helped several clients exit at strategic value multiples.

As the author of the Exit Strategist Newsletter, Dave has published over 100 articles on the complexities and process of the private business sale. He is also the author of Selling Your Software Company - An Insider's Guide to Achieving Strategic Value (which can be found on Amazon).

Dave is a Certified Business Intermediary (CBI). He has completed several transactions through creative deal structure, bridging the valuation gap between the buyer and the seller, and by earning the trust of both buyer and seller.

Articles by Dave Kauppi

Lessons Learned from Negative Buyer Feedback

A business owner that is contemplating the sale of her or his business could greatly benefit from rigorous buyer feedback two of three years prior to actually beginning the business sale process.
Selling Enterprise Software – Maybe Selling Your Company Is the Best Strategy

Strategies for software companies weighing their options between scaling or selling.
When an EBITDA Multiple Doesn’t Work for a Valuation

Getting a strategic valuation done might work better for your company than a traditional EBITDA multiple.
How a Letter of Intent to Buy Your Company Is Like an Apartment Lease

In a business purchase letter of intent, just like in an apartment lease, the party producing the document will attempt to stack the deck in their favor.
The Art of Getting Strategic Value for Software Companies

If you want to get top dollar for your software company, you need to think strategically and entice the right buyer with the right information.
Letting the Market Bridge the Valuation Gap

Using FMV to help business owners bridge the gap between the valuation they want and that which they're likely to receive increases likelihood of closing.
The #1 Cause of Middle Market M&A Deal Failures

Clarifying the letter of intent in the beginning can help you avoid killing a deal in the end.
Recasting EBITDA in a Technology Business Sale

The right way to recast EBITDA so your business gets the right valuation when it goes to market.
When You Sell Your Software Company Can Have a Big Impact on Your Sale Price

Software sales are time sensitive. The best time to sell your company is when your largest competitors are moving in the market. Here's why:
Traditional Valuation Techniques May not Apply for an Information Technology Company

Learn why more traditional valuation methods may not be the best for your IT company.
Experience Trumps Smarts in the Sale of Your Information Technology Company

Selling a business is not rocket science, but a successful sale comes from experience.
To Grow or Sell Your IT Company – A Crossroads Decision

Owners of software companies with a great new product are often frustrated by their inability to gain broader market acceptance. What's the issue here?
Private Equity Groups Can Recognize Strategic Value in a Tech Company Acquisition

There has been a surge in acquisition interest in technology-related companies from private equity. This article examines the change in approach.
Build Your Recurring Revenue Before You Sell Your Software Company

Owners should take serveral actions in anticipation of selling a software business or an IT Services business. Many of these actions would be implemented by the acquirer post acquisition. If they are implemented prior to the...
Maximize Your Selling Price by Finding the Right Buyers

Selling Your Company - Maximize Your Selling Price By Finding the Right Buyers Most companies that decide to sell have some characteristics that can drive down the value of their company up, such as customer concentration or...
Stick to Your Guns When Selling Your Business

Unless you are one of the rare companies that is viewed as a valuable strategic acquisition by a company with high-valued stock as their currency, your selling price is going to closely approximate your industry's valuation...
When Deciding to Sell, Prepare for Disappearing Owner Perks

When representing business sellers it is important to recognize that this is usually their first and only experience in selling their business. No matter how smart they are, there is no replacement for experience in this...
Preparing for an Actual Increase in Purchase Price During Due Diligence

One of the things I like best about representing small business owners as an M&A advisor is that no two days are the same. Yes, deals have common elements, but it is those unique details at the margin that must be handled on...
11 Reasons to Use Earnouts in the Sale of Your Company (Part 2)

In part one, I listed six out of the 11 reasons why a technology (or other) business owner should consider an earnout as part of his/her sale transaction structure: 1) earnouts offset your historic small sales; 2) buyers'...
11 Reasons to Use Earnouts in the Sale of Your Company (Part 1)

The purpose of this article is to present earnouts to sellers of technology companies as a method to maximize their transaction proceeds. Sellers have historically viewed earnouts with suspicion as a way for buyers to get...
Venture Capital Alternative for the IT Entrepreneur

If you are an entrepreneur with a small information technology-based company looking to take it to the next level, this article should be of particular interest to you. Your natural inclination may be to seek venture capital...
For High-Tech M&A, Strategic Value is Not Automatic

Wow did I get a real world demonstration of the saying, "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder," recently. If I could rephrase that to the business sale situation it could be, "Strategic value is in the eyes of each unique...
In a Business Sale, the Buyer Has the Upper Hand (Part 3)

In parts one and two of this article series, we discussed the natural experiential advantages that a business buyer's team would bring to the table in a business sale transaction; identified buyer attacks on the transaction...
In a Business Sale, the Buyer Has the Upper Hand (Part 2)

In part one of this article series, we discussed the natural experiential advantages that a business buyer's team would bring to the table in a business sale transaction. The seller is usually embarking on their first...
In a Business Sale, the Buyer Has the Upper Hand (Part 1)

Unless your company is one of those must-have, breakthrough, technology companies with buyers crawling all over you, you are subject to a process that greatly favors the business buyer. This is part one of a three-part...
How to Avoid Lowball Offers When Selling Your Company

We are in the middle of a merger and acquisition engagement representing a human resources consulting company. We had contacted several industry players and had received some good initial interest. Several buyers dropped out...
Valuing the Growth Rate in the Sale of a Technology Company

In the sale of privately held businesses, there seems to be no mechanism, and certainly no attempt on the part of buyers, to account for the selling company's growth rate. In the public market, this factor is widely...
Business Owners Beware of the Unsolicited Offer

When a company approaches you and broaches the subject of acquiring your company, it is very difficult to suppress those feelings of riches beyond your wildest dreams. Your thoughts start to move from the twelve hour work...