Startup Acquisition Stories with Kjael Skaalerud, President of Skaling Ventures

Startup Acquisition Stories with Kjael Skaalerud, President of Skaling Ventures

Author: Acquire.com June 27, 2023 Duration: 31:18

Kjael Skaalerud is the Founder and President of Skaling Ventures, a Private Equity firm acquiring and operating micro-SaaS businesses. Kjael recently made their first acquisition via Acquire.com and is taking a very cool #buildinpublic approach by sharing in-depth details around building their portfolio starting with this first one.

Kjael jumped on the podcast with Andrew and drops a ton of knowledge around:

► How their venture utilizes a punitive scorecard system to evaluate certain aspects of the acquisition target - ideal valuation multiples, retention rates, growth rates, ideal technical debt range, etc.

► The three pillars of SaaS data sitting in system of records that matter the most - "books, customers, employees".

► What a top-notch seller looks like from how they talk about the business to how clean they've kept their data.

This episode is worth a watch for any buyer looking to acquire their first business and a seller who wants to put their best foot forward against buyers who know what they're doing.

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Follow the Guest: Kjael Skaalerud -

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

https://www.skalingventures.com/

► Read a more in-depth review of Kjael's acquisition process: https://skalingventures.substack.com/p/issue-8-we-made-an-acquisition

Follow the Host: Andrew Gazdecki -

https://twitter.com/agazdecki​

https://www.linkedin.com/in/agazdecki/​

https://acquire.com

Follow Acquire.com -

https://twitter.com/acquiredotcom

https://www.linkedin.com/company/acquiredotcom

https://www.tiktok.com/@acquiredotcom


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About Acquire.com:

Acquire.com is the largest and most active acquisition marketplace for buying and selling online businesses. Acquire.com is the highest rated platform for both ease and quickness to match buyers and sellers.

We cater to all types of online, revenue-generating businesses while producing the highest success rates for SaaS and eCommerce/DTC businesses in the M&A industry. Join over 200,000 entrepreneurs making life-changing connections and deals everyday.


Behind every successful startup acquisition, there's a story-a complex mix of strategy, emotion, and paperwork that rarely gets discussed openly. Startup Acquisition Stories, from the team at Acquire.com, pulls back the curtain on those real-world transactions. Each episode features founders and entrepreneurs who have personally navigated the process of selling or buying a business through their platform. You'll hear them recount the nuanced decisions that don't make it into press releases: the challenging conversations around valuation, the subtle art of vetting the opposite party, and the critical, often overlooked, steps after the handshake. This podcast digs into the practicalities of due diligence, structuring terms, and managing the transfer of assets, all the way through to escrow and the crucial post-deal transition. It’s a grounded, detail-oriented look at the mechanics of a business exit or expansion, straight from the people who’ve lived it. For anyone curious about the actual path to a deal, beyond the theory, this series offers a rare archive of lived experience and hard-won advice.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Startup Acquisition Stories
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