Posts Categorized: Business Valuation

The Backstory Behind E&J Gallo’s Acquisition of Barefoot Cellars

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey built Barefoot Cellars to sales of more than 600,000 cases of wine per year when they got the attention of E&J Gallo, America’s largest winemaker. Gallo was impressed with how quickly a $7 bottle of Barefoot moved off retailers’ shelves and were intrigued by Barefoot’s use of grassroots sponsorship to… Read more »

From 10 Employees to 10X Revenue

Alex Bates co-founded Mtell in 2006. The software company used artificial intelligence to predict when a piece of heavy machinery like an oil rig was about to fail so workers can preemptively fix what’s about to break. If that sounds like a niche service offering, it was. Bates and his co-founder were able to grow… Read more »

Why You Should Fire Yourself

If you find yourself in a position where your customers always insist on speaking with you directly instead of your employees, then you might want to consider shifting your structure so you can improve the value of your business. Here’s why: a business that can thrive without the owner at the center of all its… Read more »

The Snag Of Selling To Private Equity

Sherry Deutschmann got the money to start LetterLogic Inc. – a company that printed and mailed patient statements for hospitals – by having a yard sale. She made her first desk out of an old door. From these humble beginnings Deutschmann built LetterLogic into a $40 million juggernaut which she recently sold for more than… Read more »

Ownership Has Its Privileges

Walk down Nashville’s Lower Broadway any night of the week, and you can hear aspiring artists belting out cover tunes from Elton John to Garth Brooks. In many cases, these musicians come to Nashville to be discovered but pay their rent using the tips they get by playing other people’s songs. Most are lucky to… Read more »

When Disaster Strikes A Founder

Tom Pisello built Alinean, a consulting company which offered a set of tools to help salespeople express the value of picking their solution. The business was cruising with about half of its revenue coming from recurring licensing fees and the other half from consulting when disaster struck the Pisello’s family. Pisello’s wife succumbed to a… Read more »

Understanding M&A Purchasing Agreements

M&A purchasing agreements can have a lot of moving parts.  A recent article from Meghan Daniels entitled, “The Makings of the M&A Purchase Agreement” serves to outline a range of facts including that every M&A deal is different.  The article, which serves as a general overview, raises a range of good points. Components of the… Read more »

The Hidden Secret That Made This Company Worth A Ton

Ian Silverberg wanted to get into the health club business and approached a former employer about buying his gym. As Silverberg did his due diligence, he realized the club was sitting on a real estate goldmine that would all but guarantee his exit would be lucrative. Silverberg went on to separate the health club from… Read more »

Key Mistakes that Could Impact Your Sale

The old saying, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” most definitely applies to any business owner that believes he or she will someday want to sell his or her business.  The bottom line is that every business owner has to transition out of ownership at some point.  In a recent Inc…. Read more »

What You May Get Wrong About Business Valuations

Business valuations are important to successful planning. They tell you what your business is worth to a potential buyer. Though business valuations seem simple on the surface, even the smartest and most successful business owners can misinterpret their importance. Business valuations generally tell you two things. First, they tell you whether you can sell or… Read more »