Notes from Engineering an Acquisition

Zoe on 2020-07-22


Full disclosure Dan is a friend, we have known each other for a years. That out of the way. You should also watch the full talk. Dan covers the points in more detail and answers some great questions at the end.

Building the company

  • Lesson 1
    • Build your networks
    • Make use of those networks
  • Lesson 2
    • Release early
    • Get feedback
    • Act on the feedback
  • Lesson 3
    • Have a vision of what you want to accomplish with the company
  • Lesson 4
    • Find the right investors
    • Keep control of the company
  • Lesson 5
    • Build your team
    • Let them get on with it
  • Conclusions
    • Maximise your luck
    • Have a plan
    • Be ready

A Due Diligence Checklist for being Acquired

  • Financial
    • Do you have accurate books?
    • Make sure you have no skeletons in the closet.
  • Legal
    • Do you have client contracts?
    • Do you have supplier contracts?
    • Do you have employment contracts?
    • Do you have contractor contracts?
    • Do you have insurance?
  • Intellectual Property
    • Have you registered all trademarks, patents and designs?
    • Do you have Contractor and consultant IP assignments?
  • Engineering
    • Do you have defect tracking?
    • Do you have a disaster recovery plan?
    • Do you have technical documentation?
    • Do you comply with the licenses of all the libraries and software you use?
    • Is your methodology, process and how you prioritise documented?
    • Do you have monitoring and alerting?
    • Do you use source control?
    • How do you handle security issues and reporting?
    • How do you handle testing and QA?
  • Warranties