Build Competition & Be Willing to Walk Away: 7Geese Acquired by Paycor
Generate interest from multiple buyers, know where the synergy and scarcity value is between all the buyers and sellers, and be willing to walk away if you don’t get compelling terms, including valuation.
THE COMPANY
7Geese is a Vancouver-based HR software company that provides a performance management software platform with OKR goal setting, agile performance reviews, continuous feedback, and career development plans.
THE GOAL
Founder and majority shareholder, CEO Amin Palizban, not only wanted to “take some chips off the table” and de-risk himself, but also to create a path to retirement while ensuring the company he founded would continue to grow and thrive.
OUR APPROACH
We brought the company to market and generated significant interest, but the valuation and terms were initially suboptimal. So we used the interest we did have to create competitive tension and to strive for a higher valuation and improved terms.
Paycor initially made a low offer, but we knew there were significant synergies between the Paycor platform and 7Geese’s proven software; 7Geese was in a very hot space that many of Paycor’s competitors were already offering to customers. We also knew that if Paycor were to build something from scratch it would take time and add significant execution risk. We felt confident that there was room for improvement on their offer. We were also willing to walk away if we didn’t get our desired valuation, and that helped us realize an outstanding outcome for our client.
THE OUTCOME
We closed the deal and Paycor acquired 7Geese at a very compelling valuation and outstanding terms. After overseeing some very attainable short-term integration milestones, ensuring his legacy, and taking care of his employees, Amin had the option to retire.
