Summary

In this episode of the Inorganic Podcast, host Christian Hassold delves into a case study on the startup Crisp (gocrisp.com), which has successfully executed four acquisitions over the last 2 years. The discussion covers the company's background, the leadership dynamics, and the strategic rationale behind its inorganic investments. The episode serves as a case study to demonstrate what good M&A looks like in an early to mid stage SaaS company and what features of M&A targets companies should be thinking about at that stage. As a part of the discussion, Christian dives into some of the deal specifics and the economic benefits to Crisp based on opinion and publicly accessible information.

Takeaways

- M&A could be as effective as traditional sales, marketing, and product investments.

- What problem is Crisp solving and why is it important

- Background on Crisps substantial financing and debt rounds

- What kinds of M&A has Crisp executed and why

- How the deals Crisp has executed have likely helped fuel their growth

- What can other startups learn from Crisp's approach to M&A

- Order of the kinds of deals a company might do is a consideration in building the M&A muscle in an early to mid-stage SaaS company

- The startup ecosystem often underestimates the value of M&A

Chapter Markers

0:00 Introduction

03:19 The Case for M&A in Early Stage Startups

05:14 Crisp's Company Profile

08:28 Pre-conditions for M&A in Early Stage Startups

13:37 Breakdown of Crisp's Four Acquisitions

20:37 Crisp's Acquisition Strategy

22:01 Financial Case for Crisp’s M&A

24:28 Analyzing the Order of Crisp's Deals

26:37 Reflecting on Crisp's Strategy

28:10 Conclusion

Connect with Christian & In/organic Podcast

Christian's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hassold/

In/organic on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inorganic-podcast

In/organic on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InorganicPodcast/featured

Episode References:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aretraasdahl/

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/crisp-raises-50m-series-b-140500449.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://www.sec.gov/edgar/search/#/ciks=0001818100&entityName=Crisp%252C%2520Inc.%2520(CIK%25200001818100)

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Episode Outline

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