GRAPH Strategy

The competitive landscape and your target’s competitive differentiators should play key roles in forecasting an acquisition target ’s future. With greater knowledge of what the acquisition target is up against, investors can improve value generation plans to create their own game changer, and a great(er) ROI.?? ? Read more in this collection of GRAPH Papers? to learn what questions to examine when conducting a commercial diligence.?? ? https://lnkd.in/e5jfdj75?

It seems like tech giants are continuing to enter unexpected markets, leaving most technology investors feeling unsure about their assets’ (target and current) futures. In contrast, some investors see hyperscale players as a great exit strategy. Jeff Merkle explains why this perspective is dated and oversimplified, and highlights four necessary steps within your diligence to more accurately assess whether you are on safe ground as an investor. Read more for greater detail on each of these steps, as well as the questions you should ask during each.? #PrivateEquity #Investing #CommercialDueDiligence ? https://lnkd.in/e2BtAy-P?

GRAPH welcomes Dan Grande as Managing Director, Commercial Value Generation (CVG), a new executive leadership role at GRAPH in the U.S. Dan will be responsible for growing GRAPH’s U.S. CVG line of business, which focuses on advising private equity-backed portfolio company executives with commercial growth strategy consulting services.? ? Dan has extensive experience working with private equity clients and their portfolio companies to accelerate value-creation. While at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), he was a member of the Private Equity and Principal Investor (PIPE) practice, and at EY-Parthenon he was in the Private Equity group. Dan has an M.B.A from Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, and a B.S. in Engineering from Lehigh University.? ? We look forward to Dan joining our team and leading our CVG line of business to better service our clients. https://lnkd.in/epJExAJs

We are delighted to have been awarded Commercial Due Diligence Provider of the Year at the 20th annual Mergermarket ION Analytics British Private Equity Awards last night! A massive thanks to our clients, our team, and everyone who voted for us this year for your support! #GRAPHStrategy #DueDiligence #CDD #BPEAwards

Surveys are often an afterthought that supplements diligence interviews. By the time survey results finally come in, minds are often already set and interpretations of the findings can be reset in the course of the discussions to affirm pre-existing views. To avoid such biases, deal team members and relevant subset(s) of the investment committee should take the survey themselves before survey or any other quant analysis deployment.?Mark Stein outlines in this GRAPH Papers? piece how to start conversations around the survey to avoid confirmation bias.?? ? ?https://lnkd.in/e3Zs7Fqt??

Our own James Tetherton has been featured in this recent article from Real Deals on the evolving challenges of due diligence in private equity. In this article, James offers his insights on how the current market demands a more flexible approach to diligence and discusses the increasing trend of "outside-in" due diligence. Read the full article below or in Real Deals' September print edition to learn more about the way we’re approaching commercial due diligence at GRAPH. https://lnkd.in/g-PkJB5d #GRAPHStrategy #DueDiligence #CommercialDueDiligence #CDD #PrivateEquity #RealDeals

Large client companies can be a very positive sign for a business, given that they typically make large purchases, have high-quality standards, and are often early adopters of new technology. But almost every CIM we review has large-company logos – and we suspect many competitors’ CIMs have the exact same logos, since many large companies purchase solutions in a wide variety of use cases or within various business units! What matters goes beyond the logo: As James asks in this piece, is the target really a valued partner? And beyond that, is the target picking the winners??James Tetherton provides guidance in this GRAPH Papers? article on how to answer these key questions robustly during the diligence period to overcome the initial appeal of inflated logos.? https://lnkd.in/e48PDhWh?

Customers prefer buying from companies that “get them” – especially customers of products and services with little differentiation. Ensuring that your diligence captures the entire breadth of the company’s key differentiators, or the little things, guarantees that the new owners understand the company and its purpose in ways most relevant to and resonant with customers. In this GRAPH Papers? piece, Mark Stein explains the significance of new leadership developing a deep connection early on with customers and how this connection can drive focus in ways that bolster brand equity, loyalty, and preference.?? ? https://lnkd.in/e9-9UcUw??

Many industry reports addressing adoption use prevailing approaches that are often over-simplified, resulting in less accurate revenue forecasting for a target. Winning adoption among prospective customers requires multiple factors to align: a new product/service’s fit to market, prospective customers’ available budget, organizational readiness and more. This collection of GRAPH Papers? provides insights on how to more accurately forecast adoption in your Commercial Due Diligence (CDD). #CDD #PrivateEquity?? ? https://lnkd.in/ePhfNQbj??

Well-executed commercial due diligence provides insights to answer the most critical questions facing a business, delivering strategic clarity and confidence to move the business forward at pace.?In this GRAPH Papers? article, James Tetherton highlights five key factors to consider during diligence for SMEs in the built, and the new building construction markets; but these same five factors can, and should be, applied to all diligence processes for targets across other industries. #CDD #PrivateEquity ? https://lnkd.in/eJJ2ZCr8??