I've spent $1B investing in and buying startups and will teach you all about M&A
  • You will learn the skills to become an M&A professional and to sell your company
Think like a Fortune 500 CEO or head of M&A when evaluating startups
  • Every company is looking for the PayPal to their eBay: the perfect strategic fit
  • The power of vision and commitment
  • Relationships matter A LOT
  • Tailor your message: Fortune 500 CEOs just want to be loved
  • Startups don't need to rule the world; they need to excel in one critical area
  • David & Goliath: How Instagram struck $1B of fear into the heart of Facebook
  • It's not all about the money
  • Acqui-hires: Hiring talent through M&A
Learn to find synergies, the reason eBay bought PayPal and Google bought YouTube
  • A brief introduction to synergies, the core of M&A
  • Why eBay bought Paypal: two peas in a pod
  • Google plus YouTube: a wide array of synergies
  • Find synergies for your own company. Step 1: Define your business segment
  • Step 3: Learn to find customer synergies with Amazon/Audible, eBay/StubHub deals
  • Step 4: How to find tech & operational synergies with eBay/Hunch & Amazon/Kiva
Practical Valuation: Get the best price for your deal with the power of options
  • The truth about valuation: it's not about Excel, cash flow analysis or multiples
  • Options trump discounted cash flow analysis
  • Example of the power of options: Yahoo's $1B bid for Facebook
  • Explosive growth creates tremendous options: why Facebook paid $19B for Whatsapp
  • Groupon's failed IPO teaches us to avoid overplaying our hand
  • Playing too hard to get: one of the biggest mistakes in Yahoo!'s history
  • Practical valuation demystified: How exactly to get the best price for YOUR deal
When the honeymoon ends and acquisitions fail
  • Breaking up is hard to do: when acquisitions fall apart
  • eBay’s unfortunate foray into internet telephony with Skype
  • Why eBay lost China to TaoBao
  • How Google lost billions of dollars on its acquisition of Motorola
  • eBay and the almost purchase of... that's a secret but I can share the pitfalls
  • Two Final Pitfalls
  • Summary: The pitfalls of M&A