Why I analyse tech companies
We're looking to acquire our next technology business
This week I'll break from my usual analysis to share who I am, why I do this analysis, and what I'm working on.
Many of you have asked me this question. The analysis this week was a dead end that hasn’t (yet) yielded insights worth sharing. So it seems like a good opportunity to share more behind “why do you do this?”.
Quick Version
I’m looking to acquire technology-driven companies ($1-5m net profit) and grow them long term.
I built a technology services company and recently exited our second holding, an enterprise SaaS venture.
Looking for our next business to acquire, hold and build.
Who am I?
I’m the founder, CEO and major shareholder of Terem. Terem started as a tech development and strategy firm, I grew it from $5,000 in savings to $10m+ of revenue. We featured twice on the AFR’s Fast 100, a list of Australia’s fastest growing companies.
We used the capability and capital we built up to spin out an enterprise SaaS company, Attune, from IAG. That business was successfully sold to a NASDAQ listed strategic acquirer a few months ago.
I’ve worn most value driver hats from engineer, to sales, to product, to management. I love the business of technology as much as technology itself.
Why I do this analysis
I analyse technology companies on the ASX each week for a few key reasons:
Interest: I want to do the analysis for my own curiosity and insights on being a better capital allocator and company leader. Having to share it publicly forces the analysis to be better and forces regular discipline.
Serendipity: Given I’m doing the analysis, sharing it creates some serendipity. Each week sharing this leads to great new conversations, acquisition opportunities and enquiries about Terem’s services.
Acquisitions: I’m searching to acquire our next holdings. This analysis gives me comparables and benchmarks for the businesses we look at. From time to time, it is also helping identify potential spinouts or standalone acquisitions we could do.
What I’m working on
A key focus for me right now is increasing the number of acquisition opportunities we look at. I want to meet founders, investors and brokers that might be interested in selling us a company.
The companies and spinouts we’re looking for:
$1-$5m in profit (or a direct path to profit, we’re OK to do some restructuring)
Technology-driven: revenue is from selling technology or driven by technology (i.e. technology enabled services or online sales channels).
Strong, independent team: most of the team needs to be in place
B2B: Customers that are businesses or government.
Please get in touch (hit reply) if you have anything you think we might want to look at.