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Exit Advisory Group

Beware Hidden Pitfalls In Earn-Outs

Buy Grow Sell EP10 · Published

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Hosted by Simon Bedard, founder and managing director of Exit Advisory Group and author of Exit Like an Expert. Buy Grow Sell EP10. Published .

Andy Kyiet, guest on Buy Grow Sell EP10

With Andy Kyiet. This is Andy’s first-hand account.

The short answer

Serial entrepreneur Andy Kyiet unpacks the hidden risks in earn-out agreements and what he learned from multiple transactions about protecting deal value through negotiation.

Key takeaways

  • Andy’s reflections on navigating negotiations without help the first time (and why it was a good thing that the deal fell through)
  • The catalyst that led to getting an advisory team on board for finally selling his first listed company to a Motorola distributor
  • The initial payments, pay out, and £1 provision that was tied to the deal

Listen to the podcast

1 hr 5 min

About this episode

After an initiation test from a tough boss, a fake coffee, and a bit of a cuss, Andy Kyiet had a life changing moment. He knew how stifled he would be under the thumb of bosses like this, so when an opportunity arose, he acted on it, and this started his journey to entrepreneurship.

Believing in the power of data and intelligence to close sales, inform business decisions, and power every entrepreneur’s life, Andy’s high-level knowledge of the data, tech, and IT worlds will boggle your mind. Breaking down the basic principles of fledgling computers and mobile data, Andy has turned his innovative ideas into first-to-market inventions from Australia all the way to the UK.

If you’ve ever thought about how you can better find your target market and close every sale, Andy is the guy for you. Driven by informed decisions based on facts, not assumptions, Andy’s current and previous successes working for, partnering, and leading companies have given him firsthand insight into just how well his business tactics and strategies can work.

Instead of relying on outdated data or diving into the sellers pool hoping that the information your company stands on is good enough, I highly encourage you to tune into this episode of Buy Build Sell. Honing in on the idea that systems are temporary--but data is permanent--listen in as Andy and I discuss the importance of catching up on due diligence before you go to market.

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About Andy Kyiet

For about ten years from the early 80s, the IT industry was growing rapidly, and Andy Kyiet saw emerging markets as the industry searched for standards, servicing and support. Even a decision to invest in the intellectual property of software proved immensely rewarding.

After creating the software to manage the back office, he recalls that “the natural progression was to roll out technology into the hands of the field engineers.” That was the very early stages of the mobility in mobile data. Indirectly it also paved the way for his move to Australia.

In parallel to that, he had another business with an Australian partner doing networked fax solutions. When they sold that company, his partner moved back to Australia.

He is a veteran of 6 prior businesses, and is currently working on #7 (Demand Flow Intelligence since 2001) and #8 (Marketing Data Fitness since Jan 2021). He has seen the whole spectrum of success, from going public to going into administration.

Connect with Andy Kyiet

About the show

Buy Grow Sell is hosted by Simon Bedard, founder and managing director of Exit Advisory Group, a boutique mergers and acquisitions advisory firm that helps Australian business owners value, prepare for and navigate a sale. Every conversation draws on real deals and the patterns behind them.

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