What to Do When a BigCo Says They Want to “Build, Buy or Partner”

So one of the weirdest calls you’ll get as a founder is when a BigCo out of the blue wants to talk about acquiring you. Literally out of nowhere.

Not someone you’ve known well for years.  But literally a BigCo you have barely even talked to.  Or just know a bit in passing.  Or sometimes, have never even talked to at all.

• Sometimes that call is for real.  They want to do something, now.
• Sometimes, it’s the start of something.   That takes years to in the end happen.
• But if it’s truly out of left field, it’s often them doing diligence.

Should they enter the market themselves? Or — often, they are actually thinking of buying your competitor.  It’s a weird conversation when some BigCo randomly starts digging deep in your business, talking about “Build, Buy or Partner.”

That’s the phrase you’ll hear a lot. “Build, Buy or Partner.”  It’s a classic framework that M&A / corporate development professionals (among others) use.  And they sort of can’t help but use it as their opener for many discussions.

Now if you literally have zero relationship with this Big Tech Co, your spider sense may go up. This doesn’t make sense. But there’s always a logic.

Here’s my only advice: founders often hunker down when they get these calls. They don’t want to share. They don’t want to invest any time. Because their gut is, it’s a weird fishing expedition going nowhere. And it may be.

But my advice is always take the call. Spend the hour. And share more than you are inclined to. Why:

• First, it’s a great way to start building a relationship.
• Second, even if they want to buy your competitor, that deal may fall through. They are often looking at a second choice, too.
• Third, you can get some great intelligence. Corp Dev folks especially are often great at gossip. If you share, they’ll often share.

Your spider sense is often right. That weird call about “Build, Buy or Partner” may be off.

But I think down the road you’ll find putting in a hour and sharing a few data they could figure out anyway was worth it.

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