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Our sale of NewPath Networks
Today, Crown Castle announced the closing of its acquisition of our portfolio company, NewPath Networks. It is great to see how Crown has quickly embraced the addition of NewPath’s distributed antenna...
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An Entrepreneur’s Growth Equity Conundrum: Should I sell stock or sell growth?
Two times in the past year, I’ve been close to making an investment in two separate micro-cap growth equity opportunities only to have the opportunity go sideways deep into the process. The two...
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Growth – I Like Mine Non-Linear
My Partners and I at Meritage have always had an investment mandate with broad stage flexibility. We’ve often described our investment practice as “multi-stage”, ranging from early/venture through...
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Ignore the Headline
I’m not here to make a statement about the press, although I might be all too happy to get on that soapbox. I’m talking about doing diligence. We investor types juggle a lot of tasks on any given day...
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Our Sale of Masergy Communications
In late July, my Partners and I at Meritage announced that our portfolio company Masergy Communications had agreed to be acquired by ABRY Partners. I deferred posting congrats to the Masergy team...
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Relationships Matter; Repeat Relationships Matter More
From what I’m told by my more senior Partners, the venture and private equity business used to be clubby. That is to say that business between firms was done on the basis of relationships and repeat...
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One Surefire Way to Screw up Your Lifestyle Business
Some businesses are designed – maybe even destined – to be owner operated. Industry parlance often refers to these businesses as lifestyle businesses. Wikipedia has a nice definition. They are...
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Finding the Proverbial Pony
Tech people use the phrase “there is a pony in here somewhere” to describe a tough situation where there is a hidden big opportunity. I hear it most often in the context of a stagnating business that...
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Working with Friends
Last week I wrote about the value of repeat relationships in the venture capital and private equity business. I used the example of a portfolio company that recently raised capital from a firm we have...
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Introducing Digital Fortress
Today, my Partners and I at Meritage Funds announced that we’ve established a new platform in the data center colocation market. Headquartered in Seattle, WA, Digital Fortress operates nearly 50,000...
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How we say “No” matters
I have to say “No”; alot. In fact, every one of us investor-types says “No” much more than we say yes. How we say “No” matters; alot. Sometimes, you don’t know you have said “No” well until years after...
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After the honeymoon
Earlier this week, I participated in a panel discussion organized by Holland & Hart, a Denver-based law firm that has a strong practice area working with entrepreneurial growth-stage businesses....
View ArticleBasics of Unit Economics Analysis
When an investment passes our first-screen at Meritage Funds, the first deep-dive we typically do is on the unit economics of the business. Unit economics are the fundamental financial building blocks...
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The fallacy of averages
A discussion with a portfolio company CFO yesterday reminded me that statistics are a dangerous thing and averages are misleading. “There are three types of lies -- lies, damn lies, and statistics."...
View ArticleWhat Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Peyton Manning
I'm not a huge football fan. But I do marvel at the drama of professional football. In particular, I admire what Peyton Manning has done for the Broncos the past two years. His individual...
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What is an entrepreneur to do when restrictive covenants become restrictive
Restrictive covenants are standard features of venture capital, growth equity and private equity transactions although each investor type has its own standards. Restrictive covenants are the actions a...
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Finding harmony between advice and self-interest
I just wrapped one of those calls where I had the opportunity to give advice to an entrepreneur that runs counter to my short-term interests. In this case, it is a story of a first-time entrepreneur...
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An Entrepreneur’s Growth Equity Conundrum: Should I sell stock or sell growth?
Two times in the past year, I’ve been close to making an investment in two separate micro-cap growth equity opportunities only to have the opportunity go sideways deep into the process. The two...
View ArticleGrowth – I Like Mine Non-Linear
My Partners and I at Meritage have always had an investment mandate with broad stage flexibility. We’ve often described our investment practice as “multi-stage”, ranging from early/venture through...
View ArticleIgnore the Headline
I’m not here to make a statement about the press, although I might be all too happy to get on that soapbox. I’m talking about doing diligence.We investor types juggle a lot of tasks on any given day...
View Article
