Due diligence for Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and investment deals is a comprehensive process that involves evaluating various aspects of a target company or investment opportunity. In this article, we will cover a detailed checklist for M&A and investment deals.
Are you aware of the critical red flags that could make or break your next M&A deal in the deep-tech market? Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) can be complex transactions with significant stakes for both sides.
The key to a seamless M&A transition is a detailed and well-organized integration playbook. But what exactly makes an integration playbook so vital? How does it help organizations navigate the complexities of merging distinct entities into a cohesive unit?
How much will it cost to bring your startup to life? The average cost of launching a startup is often cited as around $3,000. But if your startup is focused on tech or deep tech, what would be the minimum amount needed to get off the ground?
What if you could fuel your company’s growth without giving away a piece of the pie? Debt financing might be the answer—but at what cost? Debt financing is a method by which companies raise capital by borrowing money from external sources, which they agree to repay later, typically with interest.
Have you ever wondered where to begin when writing a business plan for your startup? How do you ensure you cover all the essential elements without missing anything important? Starting with a clear vision can be challenging, but a structured approach can make the process smoother and more effective.
Deep tech innovations are not just incremental improvements; they are disruptive technologies that can transform entire industries. These advancements have the potential to address complex challenges, create new markets, and significantly impact society and the economy.
Ever wondered why the post-deal integration phase is considered the riskiest in M&A? Here’s what you need to know. The “Post-Deal Integration” phase is a critical period that occurs after the merger or acquisition has been completed but before the two entities are fully integrated.
Is the price of going public too high for ambitious startups? What are the costs and challenges that accompany this transformative journey?
Taking a company public through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) is a significant milestone, but it comes with substantial costs.
How can you ensure your employees stay informed and confident during a merger or acquisition process? What key messages should you prioritize to maintain transparency and address their concerns effectively? When a merger or acquisition occurs, clear communication with employees is crucial.
Are you ready to confidently address your employees’ biggest concerns during a merger or acquisition? Discover the top 20 questions they will ask and how you can respond effectively to ensure a smooth transition. When a merger or acquisition is announced, employees often feel uncertain and anxious about the future.
Silicon Catalyst, the only incubator + accelerator focused on the global semiconductor industry, including Chips, Chiplets, Materials, IP and Silicon fabrication-based Photonics, MEMS, Sensors, Life Science and Quantum, announces that TD Shepherd has joined as the newest member of the company’s In-Kind Partner (IKP) ecosystem.
Could an IPO be the game-changer your deep tech startup needs to reach new heights? An Initial Public Offering (IPO) represents a pivotal moment for any company, especially for deep tech startups.
An article recently published online with the title “Europe needs more scientists in VC to become a deeptech powerhouse – Tech.eu” highlights the fact that the problem deep-tech startups are facing is still not widely understood.
How can you identify and evaluate the deep tech sectors with the highest potential for transformation? Performing an analysis of promising deep tech sectors involves several key steps. Begin by identifying the deep tech sectors with the most potential for transformation.
What types of grants are available to fund your deep tech startup’s journey? Launching a deep tech startup can be an exciting journey. At the same time securing funding and support is a crucial step in turning your innovative ideas into reality.
What methods can deep tech companies use to gather and act on customer feedback for product improvement? Deep tech companies face unique challenges in retaining their customer base due to the complex nature of their products and services. In this article, we’ll explore effective retention strategies tailored specifically for the deep tech industry.
As startup financial advisors with an engineering background, we have seen countless deep-tech startups believe that creating a compelling pitch deck is the golden ticket to securing funding. While a well-crafted pitch is undeniably important, it is just one piece of the puzzle.
Interesting to look back at the successful Cassini Entrepreneur Days in Prague (June 3rd and June 4th). The event was very dynamic with lots of opportunities to engage with the different startups. Overall, there was a list of 85 startups. One way of looking at them is their focus: from positioning + navigation to observation + analysis.
This year, the TD Shepherd team also had the opportunity to attend the HighTechXL Xlday24 event at the Conference Center High Tech Campus Eindhoven.
This event brings together cutting-edge startups, industry leaders, and venture capitalists to foster collaboration and explore groundbreaking advancements in deep tech to tackle global societal challenges.
Churn rate serves as a key indicator of customer satisfaction and loyalty. For deep tech companies, understanding churn can reveal weaknesses in product-market fit, customer onboarding, or ongoing support, helping to assess overall business health.
One of the key challenges faced by companies is striking the right balance between managing churn rates and implementing effective retention strategies. In this article, we’ll delve into the significance of churn rate and retention strategies in the deep tech industry and explore how to achieve equilibrium between the two.
What makes the situation more difficult for Deep Tech startups than startups from other domains is the fact, that by the complexity of the Deep Tech sector, a founding team usually requires expertise from various technical roles and therefore is multi-disciplinary in the technical domain already.
How many times have you visited a website, desperately searching for information, only to shut it down in frustration because you couldn’t find what you were looking for? In the rapidly evolving landscape of the deep tech industry, managing your online presence is not just a formality – it’s a strategic imperative.
The churn rate refers to the percentage of customers or clients who cease using a particular product or service within a given period. This metric is crucial and, in most cases, is one of the key KPIs tracked by a company.
It’s a puzzling phenomenon – why do customers leave? We have identified six main reasons for customer churn in the deep tech industry. In this article we will review these six causes in more detail.
Startups are not like bread in the bakery – each startup has its own unique fingerprint. As such, each startup also has its own specific needs. To run a startup through a standard process might address some of its needs but will also ignore other needs, needs that might be more pressing and crucial to its future.
Pitching to venture capitalists (VCs) is a pivotal moment for deep tech founders seeking funding. However, effectively conveying the story of a complex technological innovation can be challenging.
Starting a deep tech startup is challenging, with various hurdles to overcome. Networking is crucial for success in this space. It enables entrepreneurs to connect with like-minded individuals, investors, and potential customers.
Building a strong team for a deep tech startup involves a combination of strategic planning, effective recruitment, and creating a positive work environment.
To ensure that your startup project will grow smoothly, it is a must to attract talent and build a strong team.
Deep tech startups are at the forefront of technological advancements, creating cutting-edge solutions that shape the future. However, without effective marketing strategies, these startups may struggle to gain visibility, secure funding, and attract customers.
Due diligence can differ between the pre-seed and seed stages of startups, although many aspects of the process remain similar. The extent and focus of due diligence often change based on the stage of the startup and the specific needs and expectations of investors or stakeholders.
Having a due diligence checklist for a startup is important, especially when you are seeking investment, partnerships, or preparing for potential mergers and acquisitions. Due diligence is the process of thoroughly examining a business to assess its strengths, weaknesses, risks, and opportunities.
Technical erudition is the key that opens the door to limitless possibilities in cutting-edge fields. Deep tech entrepreneurs must possess strong technical acumen, whether it’s in machine learning, quantum, or any other cutting-edge field.
TD Shepherd is thrilled to congratulate the exceptional team at Innatera Nanosystems on the successful closing of their recent investment round, raising an impressive 15 million euros!
TD Shepherd congratulates the Intrinsic ID team on their recent acquisition by Synopsys, a leading US EDA company! Intrinsic ID, a cybersecurity specialist with its roots deeply embedded in Eindhoven…
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been making headlines for several years now, and it’s potential to transform industries and change the way we live and work is becoming increasingly clear.
The world of semiconductor manufacturing, sometimes called chipmaking, is a complex ecosystem. Companies that for instance produce the chips that run the world’s cell phones and computers outsource…
The production of solar cells has evolved over the decades. At the moment, this type of energy collection is one of the most popular because of its versatile form factor (including flexible cells)…
The entire deployment and growth of edge devices in the IoT market are primarily driven by developing suitable and capable next-generation energy harvesting-enabled power management ICs (EH-PMIC).
An essential component in Autonomous IoT devices, besides the energy harvester and PMIC, is the storage element. This component stores the generated energy from the energy harvester till the energy is needed by the application regulator by a PMIC.
The United Nations (UN) has determined 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) which helps the world to guide with what is important. The University of Cambridge has simplified the UN model and grouped particular SDG’s into a six-ambition mode.
Today’s IoT devices can be infected by a variety of malware at different stages of their operation. In most cases, malware (viruses, Trojans and worms) typically targets local operation and exploitation at the operating system level…
Over the years, the number of IoT devices is growing substantially and has caused a kind of “dependence” of mankind on batteries. It is a well-known fact that batteries are very harmful to the environment…
Radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting is an energy conversion technique used to convert electromagnetic (EM) fields into electrical energy. One of the essential elements of the RFEH technique is the design of the antenna.
Wireless communication is a method of transmitting and receiving information from one point to another without the use of any wired connections. Typically, information is transmitted from a transmitter to a receiver located at a limited distance.
Thermal energy generation is the process of converting heat flow into electrical energy. This works thanks to the Seebeck effect – a phenomenon in which an electrical field is created when two metal conductors with each having a different temperature are joined.
Scientists state that one AA battery (which is most often used in daily life) can pollute ~17 square metres of land. This impact on the environment is through heavy metals. In addition to the soil, the electrolyte can contaminate up to 400 litres of water.
Some materials have the ability to generate an electric charge when subjected to mechanical stress. This is called the piezoelectric effect where the electric charge is accumulated in certain solid materials such as crystals and certain ceramics.
The term “Internet of Things” itself was coined by British engineer Kevin Ashton in 1999. Ashton was part of a team that succeeded in inventing a way to connect objects to the Internet with the help of RFID technology.
Kinetic or electrodynamic harvesters convert movement or vibration energy into electrical energy based on Faraday’s law of induction by moving a coil through a permanent magnetic field.
An important factor which makes it difficult to capture the power consumption of a wireless node in one number is the time the node is active and sending information.
In the realm of deep-tech startups, where innovation knows no bounds, the conversation around ethics has become more vital. As we push the boundaries of what’s possible, it’s crucial to consider the impact our creations have on society, individuals, and the environment.
In the dynamic world of deep tech startups, turning ingenious ideas into sustainable success requires more than just groundbreaking technology – it demands strategic navigation through the intricate terrain of intellectual property (IP) landscapes.
As you embark on your innovation journey, start with an IP landscape analysis. Identify existing patents, research papers, and technologies relating to your idea. This task helps you refine your uniqueness and pinpoint potential competitors.
In the world of deep tech, where innovation is at the core of your business, having advisors who truly understand your technology is invaluable. Their insights can be your North Star when navigating complex tech landscapes, ensuring that you make informed and strategic decisions.
One of the most common reasons why M&A deals fail is a culture clash. When two companies with different cultures come together, it can create tension and conflict. The cultures of the two companies can be significantly different in terms of values, management style, decision-making processes, and work ethics.
A hostile takeover is the aggressive integration of one company into another, injecting its own staff, displacing its top management and board of directors, and introducing alien corporate values.
We are pleased to announce that TD Shepherd acts as the strategic advisor to onsite.ai to support the capital raise. As strategic advisors, TD Shepherd is working closely with onsite.ai to identify and implement new strategies which will help to expand their reach and succeed in fundraising.
A successful deep tech venture capital (VC) fund differs from a standard VC fund in terms of its investment focus and the potential for higher returns. Deep tech VC funds focus on investing in startups and companies developing cutting-edge, disruptive technologies with a strong emphasis on scientific and engineering innovation.
Deep-tech startups require substantial funding capacity over an extended period due to the infrastructure, skills, and resources needed. The BCG and Hello Tomorrow study highlights that 80% of deep-tech startups consider funding as the most critical resource…
It brings together the whole eco-system: from EDA to IP, from fabless to specialty silicon manufacturers. It was a great event with a set of excellent startup pitches as well as a set of industry veterans presenting.
TD Shepherd participated at Slush 2023 event in Helsinki, and we’re thrilled to share some key takeaways from this dynamic gathering of innovators, investors, and tech enthusiasts.
EE Times has recently published an insightful article titled “Venture Capital in Europe: Picking the Right Wave to Ride.” This feature includes exclusive interviews with key players in the venture capital landscape, such as Mike Beunder, Managing Partner of TD Shepherd…
VentureLab recently hosted its yearly HardTech event focused on “deep” technology, with a particular emphasis on hardware, semiconductors, Medtech, AI, and mobility. The event was a gathering of investors and innovators from around the globe.
TD Shepherd congratulates the Qualinx team and Tom Trill, CEO of Qualinx for their outstanding achievement in securing the EUSPA OSNMA grant. The grant focuses on the security (anti-spoofing) for commercial users of the Galileo GNSS satellite constellation.
Every year there are many startup and technology events around the world. This year was no exception. These events offer a great opportunity for deep tech startups to showcase their products, build valuable connections with investors, and learn from industry experts.
Every year, the IEEE International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) presents the cutting edge of IC design. It covers all the relevant application areas.
An often-overlooked aspect of the startup funding landscape: the difference between Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) and Traditional Venture Capital (VC). Understanding the differences and implications of these two funding sources is important…
Deep tech startups are those that are based on advanced and complex technologies, such as AI, blockchain, nanotechnology, etc.
These startups face unique challenges in terms of funding…
In recent years, the term “unicorn” has become synonymous with startups that achieve a valuation of $1 billion or more. These companies are often lauded as the epitome of success and innovation.
Deep tech startups are those that develop and commercialize ground-breaking technologies in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, robotics, and biotechnology.
Despite it being obvious, some deep tech entrepreneurs overlook the importance of the [founding] team. Frequently it is the pressure to get busy and make sure you are going to be first in the market with a new product.
Venture capital (VC) has become synonymous with Silicon Valley, the heart of high-tech innovation and home to many prominent venture capital firms.
Fundraising is a complex set of activities and a time-consuming process aiming to find the funds to implement an idea. A fundraiser is a link between those who have resources and those who need them.
A pitch deck is a start-up presentation that helps potential investors learn more about your business. It may sound strange, but the purpose of the pitch deck is not to get funding, but to reach the next meeting.
TD Shepherd is pleased to announce our role as a strategic advisor to Phonemic, one of the Top 40 Startups of HTVD22! Founded in 2020, Phonemic is a Polish startup specializing in design services for FPGA and ASIC. With a focus on efficient hardware implementation of compute-intensive algorithms…
Venture capital investment is needed to raise third-party capital for a promising startup, financing rapid growth. The investment allows either the development of a new product/idea (early stage) or the rapid growth of an existing business…
Over the last 5 to 7 years, we have seen more and more startups that have defined their ambition based on an earlier exit point as compared to most Deep-Tech startups.
The core of the preparations for a financing round is your story. All teams, all startups, and all companies have a story. Part of that is history, and part of it is in the future.
When discussing the mistakes made during the initial stages of a startup, one can see that most of them are not related to the specific (technology) focus of the startup. Most of the mistakes are related to areas such as the market, the potential customers, the financing, the timeline etc.
Once you have decided to seek venture capital to fund your Next Step, you have to determine what it takes to get a full proposal in front of a VC or, rather, a consortium of VCs.
Some tend to think that a flashy deck with lots of animation and colorful graphs is going to impress the VC audience. This is wrong
Most important is practice – the majority of us are not in the habit of giving speeches and presentations for audiences so there is a good chance you will be nervous.
Learn why the acquisition process in the deep tech industry is more complicated than in traditional tech sectors. Factors include specialized expertise, IP, regulatory concerns, and longer ROI.
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are complex transactions involving a lot of confidential information and sensitive data
EBITDA can be a useful metric for comparing the profitability of different companies, especially in industries where capital structures and tax treatments can vary widely.
Financial analysis is a critical step during a merger or acquisition process. It helps to assess the financial performance of the target company…
Mergers & acquisitions (M&As) involve the purchase and sale of companies, making the valuation of the targets an essential part of the process. Valuing a deal is a complex process that requires to use of multiple techniques and strategies.
When forming an integration team and making appointments to various positions in the new structure, there are two important parameters to consider that affect the success of organizational change
The agreement of key terms in the Letter of Intent (LOI) or the Non-Binding Offer (NBO) is a necessity. Until the NBO is signed, the seller can haggle and put forward their terms.
Getting the most out of M&A deals is the result of serious strategic planning. All work must be executed within the strict framework of a company’s business strategy…
The impact of the transaction and the resulting integration means a reorganization of some employees’ tasks and functions.
Often, after companies have agreed to a merger, the integration process is delayed. We look at how both companies can maintain independence…
The development of the M&A market confirms the interest of company management to expand their business through integration. The study of factors influencing the effectiveness of integration deals is a topical issue today.
Mergers and acquisitions of companies (M&A) are distinctive features of modern economics. And are considered by many businesses as a way to optimize production assets under the changing market situation and as a way to achieve competitive advantages.
Mergers and acquisitions are a class of economic processes of business and capital consolidation occurring on macro- and microeconomic levels, as a result of which larger companies appear on the market.
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are complex transactions that carry various risks, potentially affecting the financial stability and overall success of the merging entities.
There are many examples in the business world where the culture of one company absorbs or suppresses another as a result of a merger. The reasons for this are most often the unpreparedness of the company for risks, corporate bureaucracy and lengthy and cumbersome decision-making cycles.