Thomas Tcheudjio
Mistaking the Valuation for the Price
Deal Making Intel #49
The value a buyer can create is not the value a founder gets to capture.
2026-07-27·4 min read
INSIGHTS
Deal Making Intel
An insider playbook about M&A Deal Making for VC-backed companies.
Thomas Tcheudjio
Sold in ARR, Bought in EBITDA
Deal Making Intel #48
How a valuation gets built from inside the buyer.
2026-07-13·3 min read
Thomas Tcheudjio
The Growth Buyout Is the New Growth Equity
Deal Making Intel #47
An insider view from both sides of the table
2026-06-29·4 min read
Thomas Tcheudjio
Corp Dev Called. It Doesn't Mean What You Think.
Deal Making Intel #46
The organizational dynamics behind every corporate acquisition
2026-06-15·3 min read
Thomas Tcheudjio
The Series B Was Built for San Francisco, Not Europe
Deal Making Intel #45
The observation that kept coming back across fintech, HR tech, IT and cybersecurity
2026-04-20·4 min read
Thomas Tcheudjio
The Deal Starts Before the Engagement
Deal Making Intel #44
In startup M&A, the critical question is not whether an advisor can execute a transaction, but whether they are positioned to generate the insights that make a deal possible.
2026-03-30·4 min read
Thomas Tcheudjio
The Hidden Cost of Beauty Contests
Deal Making Intel #43
Large beauty contests to select M&A advisors can inadvertently destroy shareholder value by creating information leakage that eliminates competitive tension among buyers.
2026-03-09·5 min read
Thomas Tcheudjio
The Valuation Premium Lives in the Roadmap, Not in the P&L
Deal Making Intel #42
Corporate development activities — not financial metrics alone — consistently drive superior exit valuations for sub-scale SaaS companies.
2026-02-10·5 min read
Thomas Tcheudjio
Nobody Cares About the User at Some Point
Deal Making Intel #41
As companies graduate from early stage to growth stage, the pitch must evolve from user-centric storytelling to budget dynamics — because growth investors and strategic buyers operate at a different level of abstraction.
2026-01-26·7 min read
Thomas Tcheudjio
How Buyers Fall in Love With a Deal
Deal Making Intel #40
The element that consistently determines a buyer's reaction after a first meeting is how clearly the seller has institutionalized its Ideal Customer Profile.
2025-12-08·6 min read
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