Inorganic Podcast

Summary

In this episode of the Inorganic Podcast, co-hosts Christian Hassold and Ayelet Shipley chat with Chloe Cotoulas, Partner at Everos Group and an investment banker with a diverse background in advertising and finance. On this episode they discuss Chloe's unique career path, the evolution of holdcos in the advertising industry, and the impact of market trends on large-scale independent agencies. The conversation also explores the future outlook for deal activity in the coming quarters, emphasizing the importance of AI and experiential marketing in shaping the industry.

Takeaways

In this episode, co-hosts Ayelet Shipley and Christian Hassold discuss WPromote's acquisition of Giant Spoon. They delve into the intricacies of the acquisition process, emphasizing the importance of trust and the contributions of a strong deal team. The conversation also touches on market reactions to the acquisition and the importance of post-merger integration planning. The hosts conclude with reflections on lessons learned and future goals for the newly formed agency.

Takeaways

Summary

In this episode of the In/organic Podcast, co-host Christian Hassold shares insights from the KPMG Technology M&A Conference, discussing the current landscape of mergers and acquisitions, particularly in the tech sector. In this episode, Christian shares highlights from the conference, including the pervasive influence of AI on M&A decisions, the challenges and opportunities presented by the AI investing landscape, and the importance of creative deal structures in navigating the current market dynamics. The episode also covers the “operator's dilemma” faced by CEOs - that is, the rise in peer pressure to do M&A, a...

Summary

In this episode of the Inorganic Podcast, co-hosts Ayelet Shipley and Christian Hassold welcome Brian Burt, founder & CEO of Canopy Management. In this episode, we discuss Brian's entrepreneurial journey, with an emphasis on his principles for building the business and expanding through highly accretive tuck-in M&A transactions. Brian also shares the importance of cultural fit in successful integrations. He then discusses the challenges and opportunities presented by AI in the retail media space, emphasizing the need for omnichannel marketing strategies. The conversation underscores the importance of momentum in business and the role of performance-based incentives...

Summary

On this episode of the Inorganic Podcast, co-hosts Christian Hassold and Ayelet Shipley are joined by guest Jeff Cohen, newly minted Chief Business Development Officer of Skai, former Principal Evangelist for Amazon Ads, and in general a seasoned operator with an extensive background in commerce and tech. In this episode, the hosts and guest explore the current state and future vision of omnichannel commerce. Their discussion spans the immediate and long-term prospects of retail media agencies and the defensibility of these businesses based on their commonly observed category-specific expertise. As a part of this discussion, they...

Summary

In this episode of the In/organic Podcat, co-hosts Christian Hassold and Ayelet Shipley welcome guest Matt Bodnar, founder and managing partner at Eidolon Capital. Matt is a business owner and investor with substantial experience using M&A as a lever to acquire and grow businesses. In this episode, Matt discusses how he has leveraged his intellectual interest in valuations and deal structuring to execute creative and accretive deals. Further, Matt discusses the importance of understanding earnings and multiples in business valuation, the impact of size on valuation, and the challenges of customer concentration. Additionally, he...

Summary

In this episode of the Inorganic Podcast, co-hosts Ayelet Shipley and Christian Hassold discuss the complexities of earnouts in agency acquisitions in the context of discussions covered at DealCon 2025. In this episode, Ayelet and Christian explore the reasons earnouts are used, the difficulties in negotiating them, and the importance of maintaining operational control and alignment between buyers and sellers. The conversation emphasizes the need for clear expectations and mutual understanding to navigate the intricacies of earnouts effectively.

Takeaways

Summary

This conversation explores the insights and experiences gained at DealCon, an event focused on agency founders and owners looking to grow through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The speakers discuss the importance of understanding the intricacies of deal-making, the role of capital in acquisitions, and the dynamics of cultural integration. They also touch on the common feelings of imposter syndrome among those in the M&A space and the various paths to success in this field.

Takeaways

In this episode of the Inorganic Podcast, Co-host Christian Hassold provides a follow-up on episode 29, correcting the previously reported details on the planned acquisition of Acculinks by Verisk. He explains that Acculinks, a 165-person company specializing in rooftop estimation software, will be acquired for $2.35 billion. Despite initial confusion about the high purchase price, Hassold reveals that Acculinks has impressive financial metrics, including $150 million in annual revenue, 80% of which is recurring, and a 55% EBITDA margin. The planned acquisition is notable for its high ARR and EBITDA multiples, which are significantly above market averages. Hassold also discusses the financial strategies Verisk employed...

In this episode of the Inorganic Podcast, co-host Christian Hassold provides an explainer for episode 33, which discussed the acquisition of 1WorldSync by Syndigo. In this explainer episode, he gives a detailed explanation of what both of the companies do, including their important role in syndicating content to product detail pages (often referred to as PDP's). In addition, he explains the difference between product detail page content and supply chain content. Christian also elaborates on why the multi-billion-dollar industry of standardizing and communicating accurate product information to retailers exists and how it benefits consumers.

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Summary

In this episode, co-hosts Ayelet Shipley and Christian Hassold welcome guests Erik Morton, former EVP of Corporate Development for Rithum (formerly CommerceHub & ChannelAdvisor), and Chris Barnes, former SVP of Corporate Development for Syndigo, to discuss the announced acquisition of 1WorldSync by Syndigo. In this episode, the guests discuss the origin of both Syndigo and 1WorldSync, the deal rationale, as well as some of the reasons why the acquired business had some potential barriers to finding the right acquirer over the course of its year long sale process. The discussion highlights the dynamics of M&A in...

Summary

In this episode of the Inorganic Podcast, hosts Christian Hassold and Ayelet Shipley, along with guest Anthony Costanzo, delve into the topic of becoming a “platform”, that is, an agency that becomes the foundational business for additional add-ons to expand service offerings or grow into new client categories. They discuss the characteristics of successful platforms, including company behaviors, leadership attributes, and the important role of investors. The conversation highlights real-world examples of successful platforms and emphasizes the need to align the vision and investment strategy between founders and investors. The episode concludes with insights into the futu...

Summary

In this episode of the Inorganic Podcast, co-hosts Christian Hassold and Ayelet Shipley discuss the critical aspects of preparing an agency for sale. They explore the importance of understanding sellability, the perspectives of both buyers and sellers, and the traits that make a business attractive to potential buyers. The conversation emphasizes the need for operational excellence, financial management, and emotional readiness when navigating the sale process. Key takeaways include the significance of starting preparations early, the risks associated with client concentration, and the value of having a strong team in place to support the sale.

Summary

In this episode, co-hosts Ayelet Shipley and Christian Hassold discuss the latest trends in digital agency M&A, focusing on recently announced deals, including Accenture's acquisition of Superdigital, Podean’s acquisition of Commerce Canal with backing from Mountiangate, Impact XM’s acquisition of Shelton Flemingand, and Gravity Global's acquisition of Marketing Doctor. As a part of their discussion, they debate the rationale and industrial logic of these acquisitions, as well as what they indicate about agency M&A as a whole. The conversation highlights the evolving nature of the agency market and the impact of technology and...

Summary

In this episode of the Inorganic Podcast, Christian Hassold discusses five notable acquisitions in SaaS, specifically those where larger companies acquired smaller or earlier-stage companies. As a part of this discussion, Christian highlights deal values (announced and speculated), the industrial logic of acquirers, and other key details surrounding the acquisitions.

Acquisitions Covered

Vanta + Risky on July 17, 2025

Rokt + Canal on July 17, 2025

Darktrace + Mira Security on July 21, 2025

Verisk + AccuLynx on July 30, 2025 

Descartes + Finale Inventory on August 4, 2025

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

03:17 P...

Summary

In this episode of the Inorganic Podcast, hosts Ayelet Shipley and Christian Hassold, co-hosts of the In/organic Podcast, discuss the current state of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the agency sector, focusing on Q2 activity. They explore market trends, deal multiples, notable acquisitions, and the importance of strategic fit in the current M&A landscape. The conversation also touches on the valuation of tech-enabled agencies, the luxury market's unique characteristics, and expectations for future market activity in Q3 and Q4.

Takeaways

Summary

This is part two of a two-part series where Christian Hassold and Ayelet Shipley demystify the complexities of agency valuations, exploring the interplay between buyer and seller motivations, and discussing real-world scenarios that illustrate various deal structures. They emphasize the importance of understanding the unique dynamics of the agency market, including the factors that influence valuations and the creative structuring of deals to meet the needs of both parties. 

Discussion Highlights

Summary While recording episodes 26 and 27 of the In/organic Podcast, Ayelet and Christian delved into a small rabbit hole, discussing buyer and seller dynamics in transactions involving unsophisticated buyers and sellers - a term commonly used in the industry. We clarify in the video that unsophisticated really means buyers who do not do a lot of acquiring or sellers who are usually selling their company for the first time and do not have good M&A counsel.

We did not get into the details in this recording, but the key takaways are:

If you...

Summary

In this episode, Christian Hassold and Ayelet Shipley delve into the complexities of agency valuations, exploring the interplay between buyer and seller motivations, and discussing real-world scenarios that illustrate various deal structures. They emphasize the importance of understanding the unique dynamics of the agency market, including the factors that influence valuations and the creative structuring of deals to meet the needs of both parties. In this conversation, Ayelet and Christian delve into the intricacies of business valuation, particularly focusing on earn-outs and creative deal structures. They explore how earn-outs can bridge the gap between current cash...

Summary

In this episode, host Christian Hassold chats with Ayelet Shipley, the head of corporate development and deal management for Speed M&A by Jones-Spross. Ayelet shares her unique journey from aspiring therapist to corporate development leader, emphasizing the importance of sales skills and psychological insights in the M&A process. The conversation delves into sourcing opportunities, qualifying conversations, and understanding client expectations, drawing the connections between the similarities of enterprise sales and M&A deal origination.

In this conversation, Ayelet and Christian delve into the intricacies of the acquisition process, focusing on understanding...

Summary

In this episode of the Inorganic Podcast, host Christian Hassold discusses the recent acquisition of ContentServ by Centric Software with their co-founder and former board member Armin Dressler. Their discussion spans the history of Contentserve, its journey from an on prem to SaaS solution, transition of leadership to the current CEO, Michael Kugler, and the details of the M&A process. This episode discusses the acquirer, their rationale and some of the inside baseball on the deal valuation. 

Chapters

0:00 Introduction

2:54 How Contentserv Built Its Market Position

10:01 K...

Summary

In this episode of the Inorganic Podcast, hosts Christian Hassold and guest Erik Morton delve into the planned acquisition of Brightcove by Bending Spoons. They explore the dynamics of the deal, the market context, and the implications for both companies. Brightcove, a pioneer in online video hosting, faced challenges in a competitive landscape that evolved substantially due to digital video creation and storage innovation, notably the free models offered by YouTube and Vimeo. Christian and Erik discuss Bending Spoons' pattern of being an acquirer of distressed businesses and how they typically run the businesses post-acquisition to...

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...

Summary

In this episode of the Inorganic Podcast, host Christian Hassled discusses the acquisition of Command AI by Amplitude Software. The conversation delves into the deal's details, including the financial aspects, the rationale behind the acquisition, and the implications for both companies. Christian highlights the challenges faced by early-stage startups in the current economic climate and the strategic decisions that founders must make to exit now or continue burning cash not knowing if the fundraising market will the there for them when they need it. The episode concludes with key learnings from the transaction, emphasizing the importance of...

Summary

In this episode of the Inorganic Podcast, Christian and Erik delve into the complexities of take private transactions, using Smartsheet's recent acquisition as a case study. They discuss the economic challenges facing public companies, the lifecycle of a business transitioning from public to private, and the strategic considerations for boards contemplating such moves. The conversation highlights the importance of fairness opinions and the intricate dynamics of investor strategies in these transactions. In this conversation, Erik and Christian delve into the complexities of take-private transactions, focusing on the negotiation dynamics, the role of advisors, regulatory considerations, the im...

Summary

In this episode of the In/organic Podcast, host Christian Hassold and guest Keith Anderson delve into the evolving landscape of data measurement, focusing on WPP's potential divestment of Kantar. They discuss the implications of this move, the importance of independent measurement in advertising, and the future of Kantar in the market. The conversation also touches on the challenges agencies face in adapting to a rapidly changing media environment and the need for collaboration and innovation within the industry.

Takeaways

Summary

In this episode of the In/Organic Podcast, host Christian Hassold explains the “why” behind MasterCard's $2.6 billion acquisition of Recorded Future. Christian’s breakdown of the acquisition story explains Recorded Future’s role in cybersecurity, national security, and how the CIA venture arm, In-Q-Tel landed on their cap table. The discussion includes context on the origins of Recorded Future, its unusually limited capital requirements, and how Recorded Future has likely out performed many other companies that achieved near billion-dollar valuations over the past five years.

Takeaways

Summary

In this episode of the In/Organic Podcast, host Christian Hassold provides a teardown on the massive $206 million acquisition of Bentonville-based SupplyPike by SPS Commerce (NASDAQ: SPSC). In this episode, Christian provides a deep dive into the deal's details, its structure, and an informed hypothesis on the deal multiple. Christian also explores the backgrounds and business models of both SPS Commerce and Supply Pike, highlighting their roles in facilitating commerce between brands and retailers. Further, he analyzes the strategic rationale behind the acquisition and the implications for investors, founders, and employees. The episode concludes with key...

Summary

In this episode, Christian Hassold, host of In/Organic Podcast provides a mid-year market update for the M&A market in the SaaS industry. He discusses the macro conditions and factors influencing M&A activity, such as interest rates and FTC oversight. He also reviews his prediction on the increase in startups buying startups and analyzes four specific deals completed in the past six months. Overall, M&A activity is slightly up, but valuations are down, and deals are stalled due to disagreements on purchase prices. However, deals are getting done, likely at lower valuations

Episode Summary

There are plenty of problems to solve in the ecommerce space. As the market gets larger it also gets more complex with new problems to solve arriving almost daily. Throughout my career in ecommerce, I have come across a “mafia” of founders - that is people who see and experience the problems firsthand, build a software solution to solve it, get the business to the right scale for an exit; rinse, and repeat. We are oversimplifying some of the complexities, but it can never be understated how much focus and commitment is required to build and...

In this episode of the In/organic Podcast, our host, Christian Hassold discusses the concept of ecosystem mapping and its importance in corporate and inorganic strategy. He emphasizes the shift from market mapping to ecosystem mapping and provides insights on building a comprehensive ecosystem or market map. Christian also shares his approach to gathering information, categorizing companies, and creating market maps. In this conversation, Christian discusses the process of market mapping and rank stacking in the context of M&A strategy. He provides examples of market maps, explains the relationship between market maps and company strategy, and outlines the...

M&A in scaling SaaS companies is on a gradual incline. It's become a great way for SaaS companies to expand their reach into TAM, grow their share of wallet, or expand into new geographies. There is also a large pool of companies available to acquire. The challenge is the M&A function in scaling SaaS companies is often put at risk by hiring an inexperienced leader, not having any clear owner, or not setting the function up for success.

In this episode, Christian Hassold, host of the In/Organic Podcast provides a detailed understanding of...

This episode was recorded at Deloitte University in Westlake, Texas during the Deloitte M&A Executive Forum on March 7 & 8, 2024. I was joined by my friend and colleague Kim Baird, Principal at M&A Maximizer, a boutique integration consulting firm based in California. 

In this episode, Kim and I took a break from the rich sessions we enjoyed at the Executive Forum to share our key learnings and insights from a series of panel sessions that included dealmakers and leaders from Deloitte's M&A practice, Bank of America, DLA Piper,  and Generac Power Systems. Our discussion covers th...

It’s a tough decision to exit a business, but it says a lot about a leader who can make a call on when it's the right time and gets it done. The alternative is kicking the can forward and risking the possibility that you lose control of your destiny. When selling a SaaS business, you optimize for 3 things; 1) best outcome for investors, 2) doing right by your people, 3) doing right by your customers. The trade-offs are never easy and it’s hard to 100% optimize for each. 

In this episode of In/organic, I sat down with Jon G...

Summary

Successful integrations are required to achieve the full value of any acquisition. Most know that the odds are stacked against the acquirer from the start - so how does one move the odds in their favor? How should a SaaS leadership team plan and execute an integration process with an acquired team of less than 100 people and the acquirer is less than 1,000 (roughly)? This is a large company buying a much smaller company and the assumption is the buyer is a first-time acquier. Deal economics certainly impact acquired founder and employee sentiment, but how the actual...

Building a multi-product company inorganically is no easy feat. It requires a strong product team, tight alignment among executive leadership, and a solid M&A function to identify and pursue the targets of interest. This is a fairly common strategy, but how does it work?

On this episode of In/Organic, we are joined by Chris Barnes, former SVP of Corporate Development at Syndigo, a SaaS and services business backed by Summit Partners and The Jordan Company. Syndigo was scaled to hundreds of millions in revenue through a sophisticated roll-up strategy. Under Chris's leadership, the company...

In this episode, our host Christian Hassold is joined by Laurent Gout, VP of Corporate Development at Auctane, a Thoma Bravo-backed SaaS company that powers shipping businesses all over the globe. In this episode, Christian and Loran walk through building an M&A function from scratch with a SaaS company. Topics they cover in this episode include who should run the M&A function, what kind of support will they require, what is the leaderships role in the M&A process, how to inform M&A strategy, and working with financial sponsors. Laurent shares valuable insights and lessons learned...

In this episode, we discuss the prediction that M&A activity among fast-growing SaaS companies will rise substantially in 2024. In support of this prediction, we share both data and reasoning for this prediction, including startup acquisition activity, shutdown and funding trends, and a broader market view of M&A activity. We also offer advice to founders considering M&A in 2024, emphasizing the importance of preparation and developing decision-making criteria in advance of contemplating M&A.

Discussion Topics

Startup shutdowns are at an all-time high in 2023. According to Carta, hundreds have shut down or gone bankrupt in 2023. Amid the gloom of these shutdowns is a positive trend, startups buying other startups, giving those short on cash a second chance at an exit. In a market where cash preservation is critical and borrowing costs are high, stock-heavy deals are more and more common. But, how do they work and what are the key considerations founders should consider before starting a process?

In this episode, Christian Hassold, host of the In/organic Podcast sat down with...

The business development function in early-stage SaaS companies tends to be a ‘catch all’ for partnerships, competitive intelligence, and increasingly, identifying potential acquisition targets. In a world where 90% of startups fail and of those that succeed, 90% exit to a strategic versus going public, every successful startup should know what potential acquisitions (of any size) can do to accelerate the business. But, where to start?

In this first edition of Ask the Expert, Alyshah Walji was kind enough to come on the pod and take on some burning questions on his mind as an up-and-coming business development lead...

There are plenty of playbooks for developing an M&A strategy, but the kind of strategy that is best for one SaaS company versus another is less clear. For example, should one only buy tech they can integrate behind the scenes, or should you add new products that stand alone? How far outside your product focus should you expand, especially when pre-IPO? People are an important element of M&A success, how best to approach people integration?

In this episode, Rob Gonzalez, co-founder and CMO of Salsify, a category-defining SaaS company that helps brands win the...

When is the right time to expand internationally? What are the moving parts of growing a SaaS company in a foreign territory that operates at a different timezone when you don't have market proof or boots on the ground? 

In today's episode, Marcel Hollerbach visits us to talk about how it is to land in the U.S. market from the other side of the pond. Marcel is the Chief Innovation Officer and supervisory board member at Productsup, a founding partner of venture capital fund Cavalry Ventures, the founder of the video streaming platform hiClip, and t...

As a SaaS or startup founder, aren't you curious about how it is on the other side of an M&A? 

Today, in our first episode together, I'm joined by Juan Mejia, Managing Director at BrightTower, to explore the sell side of an M&A, unpack a banker's role in it, and analyze the relational component of these operations. Juan started his journey as an IT guy, went in and out of business school, and switched to investment banking, accumulating 20 years of experience working for companies like Morgan Stanley, AGM Partners, Solomon Partners, and Drake Star b...

Building a great M&A funnel starts with top of the funnel. Just as it is in sales, you need to cast a wide net at the top and make sure you advance both the right companies and relationships from top to bottom. Not all opportunities are are equal, some are sourced organically and some through banker led inbounds. Some have time urgency and some may require a long time to develop. What are other considerations in managing the M&A funnel?

In this episode, Erik Morton joins us to share his approach to building M...

In venture-backed SaaS companies that are (generally) under $200M in revenue, it is a luxury to have someone dedicated to corporate development. When it becomes a need the c-suite often reaches for someone with subject matter expertise on the business and good business acumen, but limited experience in running an M&A function. Even if you have some experience with M&A, running it inside a venture-backed company requires some tailoring to make it work for those businesses.

The In/Organic podcast was born out of years of experience working on M&A and business development...