#15: Selling Your Software Company for Under $50M - Chris Kern, Windstream Partners

Chris Kern is Managing Director of Windstream Partners where he advises startup and early-stage tech business owners in selling their companies for under $50M. Chris got his start on Wall Street working on large finance and acquisition deals, but he quickly shifted gears 25 years ago, moved to Phoenix, and worked only with small software companies in the fast-growing technology business. Chris is an expert independent advisor who has helped over 150 growing tech companies get financing, obtain investment, or sell their companies. I have known Chris for over 15 years. 

There are 10X more software acquisitions for under $50M than the few billion-dollar deals we hear about in the news, but we just don't hear about the smaller ones that create so many successful life-changing outcomes for founders. 

In this special "Ask the Expert" episode of the Dallas Sofware Podcast, I ask Chris the top questions that Dallas startup founders ask me about selling their company when they are still small:

1. What's happening right now in mergers & acquisitions of software, SaaS, and fintech companies that sell for $10M to $50M?
2. What are common valuations ranges for software startups and small companies with revenues between $500K and $5M?
3. What are the factors that affect valuation one way or the other?
4. Can you really sell a startup for 5X revenues when it's still small?
5. Who is buying these smaller software companies?
6. How does the process work to sell your company?
7. What are the pitfalls that founders make? What should they be thinking about before they try to sell?
8. Is it better to have outside funding or to have bootstrapped when selling your company?