The Strategic Guide to Selling Your Software Company: Essential Advice from a Veteran Deal Warrior [Paperback]

William Venema (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 6, 2006

THE STRATEGIC GUIDE TO SELLING YOUR SOFTWARE COMPANY: ESSENTIAL ADVICE FROM A VETERAN DEAL WARRIOR is an indispensable reference for anyone who is considering the sale, merger and/or acquisition of a software company. Venture capitalists, investment bankers, attorneys, and CPAs will also find this book helpful in preparing for software acquisitions and mergers. William H. Venema is an experienced deal attorney with scores of merger and acquisition transactions to his credit involving the purchase and sale of all types of businesses. Through this book, Bill Venema offers a fresh perspective and examines all aspects of selling a software company from deciding to sell to closing the deal. In addition, the book includes many useful forms and essential merger and acquisition checklists as it presents a systematic approach to the process.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Lulu.com (April 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1411686624
• ISBN-13: 978-1411686625
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crisp, well-focused review of the subject, June 22, 2006

By 

F. Dempsey - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Strategic Guide to Selling Your Software Company: Essential Advice from a Veteran Deal Warrior (Paperback)

Venema has employed a very clever vehicle to organize and explain the complicated process of selling a software company - or in a more general sense, selling any kind of company. I have just completed the sale of a B-to-B media company, and I found his book invaluable to my layman's understanding of the process.

As a former Army officer and attorney, Mr. Venema chose to organize his presentation of the sales process around the Army planning and operations models: "There's a lot to be said for the time-tested procedures that the Army uses to make decisions, develop plans, manage operations, and lead soldiers. I've found that these procedures work very well in analyzing the process of selling a business and efficiently managing the execution of that process." And I wholeheartedly agree.

Venema clearly and concisely explains the process, the pitfalls, and the outcomes while keeping his eye on the ultimate objective: to achieve a profitable deal while covering all the bases. He does not fall into the trap of excessive legalize and doubletalk as so often happens in guides like this. He helps you organize your thought process.

If you're even considering selling your software company, or any other kind of company for that matter, you will find this book to be extremely helpful to the process. The successful outcome is predicated on your preparations before you actually get an offer, or seek a buyer, and then get the attorneys and investment bankers involved. This book will get you off to a very good start.

4.0 out of 5 stars Deal making, Military style, August 26, 2011

By 

Rajeev Pokkyarath (Bangalore, India) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Strategic Guide to Selling Your Software Company: Essential Advice from a Veteran Deal Warrior (Paperback)

Bought this one some years ago when I was peddling around a tiny software entity and wanted to get a better grip on the legal issues and tax related matters. Was the book helpful? The latter part was; towards the middle/end of the book, the author covers some ground on issues like liability, due diligence, valuations and the various elements/nuances of the deal making process. The first part, however, seemed too generic to be of use for a book with this title; the focus there is decion making, army style (the author is a West Point graduate and refers to the army manuals pretty often). The author does makes a genuine attempt to convey what he has learnt from his experience as an attorney and a military officer and that shines through. There is nothing "Top Secret" about it though.

5.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful - buy this book before you start the transaction!, September 1, 2006

By 

Jan Leeman (Palo Alto, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Strategic Guide to Selling Your Software Company: Essential Advice from a Veteran Deal Warrior (Paperback)

I found this book very helpful particularly Chapter 6: "Developing the Plan" and Chapter 7: "Conducting the Operation". As a director and investor (but not a lawyer), the information on the key purchase agreement terms was quite valuable in formulating a negotiation strategy. A good reference book!