Why VEEV Vodka Went for More Than 7 Times Revenue

Courtney Reum left Goldman Sachs in 2007 to start a Vodka business. He built VEEV up to more than $10 million in annual sales before he sold the company for more than seven times revenue.

To read a transcript of this episode, click here.

Reum has gone on to start and invest in a number of businesses through his M13 venture firm, and in this episode, you learn:

• Why Reum believes time is the new money
• Reum’s secrets for avoiding dilution when raising money
• The danger of “so what” sales
• The biggest mistake he sees founders make
• Why every company should be built to sell
• How to “pre-court” your strategic acquirers
• Why you should always sell with lots of “runway” left
• About getting “crammed down” and why that’s a bad thing
• How venture capital firms rig deals in their favour using preferred shares

This one is jam-packed with knowledge bombs. I think you’ll like it.

Reum focused on “sprinkling a trail of bread crumbs” that led the potential acquirer back to VEEV without saying his business was for sale. That’s only possible when you know who the strategic buyers for your business are, which is something you’ll discover in Module 11 of The Value Builder System™. Get started now by getting your Value Builder score.

Check out our article on 4 Mistakes To Avoid From The Founder Of Vimeo, CollegeHumor, And TeePublic.

Check out our full M&A Glossary

About Our Guest

Courtney Reum is the cofounder of M13, a disruptive venture capital firm that has invested in some of the most dominant startups, such as, Lyft, Snap, Warby Parker, ClassPass, Slack and 100’s of others. He’s been recognized as Goldman Sachs’ 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs 4 years in a row and his entrepreneurial venture VEEV earned him a place on Inc’s 250 fastest growing companies. You may recognize Courtney from his TV show, Hatched or from Richard Branson’s book, Screw Business as Usual.