Category: Uncategorized

Building a culture that attracts, develops and retains strong talent is a holy grail for many organizations. But what does that kind of culture look like and how does one build it? Instilling a strong culture means having a core set of values that the organization believes in and lives by on a daily basis.…

Insights from Customer Research for Private Equity Investments The due diligence period for a prospective investment is highly intensive for an investment team as they pore over company financials, engage in multiple rounds of discussions with the management team, peel the layers behind business model assumptions, scrutinize operations, and comb through legal documentation to identify…

The importance of sharing bad news proactively Consider the following case study: You are the CEO of a privately-held company. Over the past several months you have been in a series of discussions with an investment firm regarding a capital raise for the business. Based on the end-of-quarter MIS reports that are on your desk,…

A reprioritization of strategic initiatives at a company can become a tussle between entrepreneurs and investors. In general, investors will look for a focus on a narrow, well-defined and tested set of opportunities; whereas entrepreneurs, while pursuing those initiatives, will also seek new avenues for additional growth. Part of the reason for this dichotomy is…

How do you ensure sustainable competitive advantages? It’s a discussion that happens several times. We meet several passionate and energetic management teams seeking growth capital to take their businesses to the next level. As we learn more about their business and their long-term vision for it, we ask them to define their sustainable competitive advantage.…

The importance of internal communication “I suppose we should have spent more time discussing this within the organization and building the internal conviction for the product.” We were speaking with the senior management of a company recently when they mentioned that a recent change to their product line hadn’t worked as they had envisioned. Rather…

The geopolitical turbulence and global economic volatility over the past few years have bolstered the view that uncertainty is the new normal and is here to stay (or rather, to continuously change) for the foreseeable future. To be competitive in an ever-changing dynamic – fluctuating commodity prices, exchange rate movements, changing regulatory and political climate,…

As you like IT (A contemporary approach to streamlining business processes with inspiration from the 16th century Bard) When asked about the strength of their businesses, entrepreneurs of small and mid-sized businesses describe the differentiation of their product/service, management’s capability and their ability to meet the needs of the consumers. However, when probed on their systems,…

“Cash is king.” This is a popular phrase in the financial world. The premise of the saying was founded in the rationale that in times of uncertainty, the liquidity of an entity is the best gauge of its sustainability. This saying is even truer for small and mid-size businesses in India. Unlike in certain other…

M&A – Turning the odds in your favor Research indicates that only half of mergers and acquisitions succeed – implying that the odds are similar to a coin toss. Moreover, more than 80% of companies surveyed globally, who have gone through an M&A transaction report that they have failed to achieve the stated goals of…