The venture capital boom of 2020 and 2021 was not primarily a technology phenomenon. It was a monetary phenomenon that expressed itself through technology. The distinction matters because the lessons drawn from the subsequent correction are different depending on which explanation you accept. The technology-as-cause narrative goes like this: extraordinary technological progress — cloud computing, AI, remote work infrastructure — created genuine business opportunities of unpre

The market for music and film IP has transformed over the last decade. Low interest rates, the growth of streaming, and the entry of institutional capital into content rights created a period of historically elevated valuations for music catalogues, film libraries, and other content assets. The environment has shifted since 2022, but the fundamental question — how do you actually value a music catalogue or film library in a transaction? — remains as relevant as ever for buyer

Private equity has a cultural image problem. Depending on who you ask, PE firms are either disciplined operators who create value through professional management and strategic focus, or financial engineers who load companies with debt, fire employees, and flip assets for a quick profit. Both caricatures contain some truth. Neither is accurate as a general description. If you are a founder considering a sale to a financial sponsor, or a management team being acquired by one, h

Valuation is the question every founder asks first and almost everyone answers too simply. A multiple of revenue. A multiple of EBITDA. What a comparable company sold for. These reference points are useful but they don't tell you what your business is actually worth to the buyers you're going to approach — and the gap between those two things is where most valuation surprises come from. Why comparables are a starting point, not an answer Comparable company analysis — looking

Growth creates organizational debt. The structure that worked at 10 people doesn't work at 40. The roles that made sense when you were figuring out the product become constraints when you need to scale the business. And the people who were right for one stage of the company are sometimes wrong for the next. Nobody likes talking about this. But the founders who manage organizational transitions well — who make these decisions deliberately rather than reactively — build more du

The term 'fractional CFO' has been applied to such a wide range of services — from bookkeeping cleanup to strategic financial advisory — that it has become almost meaningless as a category. Here is a clear account of what a fractional CFO actually does, what distinguishes a good one from a bad one, and when you need one versus when you don't. What a fractional CFO is not A bookkeeper who does financial statements. A controller who manages close. An accountant who handles tax