Beware Hidden Pitfalls In Earn-Outs
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Instead of relying on outdated data or diving into the sellers pool hoping that the information your company stands on is good enough, I highly encourage you to tune into this episode of Buy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.
What you will learn in this episode
In this episode we’ll cover everything from:
- 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
About Our Guest
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
Website: https://www.demandflow.com.au/
Website: https://marketingdatafitness.com.au/
Show Notes
(1:50) How one coffee, one finance company, and one manager with Short Man Syndrome led Andy to a life of freelance computer programming.
(6:00) The basic challenges every freelancer faces and why that is offset by better earnings and take home pay.
(7:40) Believing that boredom is the catalyst for invention, Andy reflects on his lack of enthusiasm writing code and how it led to his first major startup.
(11:40) When his first startup partnership split--and how he and his previous colleagues went in different IT directions much to his great success.
(18:00) Andy’s reflections on navigating negotiations without help the first time--and why it was a good thing that the deal fell through.
(20:05) The catalyst that led to getting an advisory team on board for finally selling his first listed company to a Motorola distributor. (And the initial payments, pay out, and £1 provision that was tied to the deal.)
(26:00) How slow adoption rates of technology and mobile data in the UK led him to a partnership with another first-to-market Facsimile business.
(30:55) How he ended up in Australia as a Tech Director--and how his first major deal with Optus Vision went through not two months later.
(37:25) Andy’s current businesses--and how they’re both still highly involved in market data and intelligence.
(44:20) Why his team is focusing on filling the top of the sales funnel for tech teams--and where businesses' internal sales team should be working.
(49:55) Systems are temporary--data is permanent. Andy reflects on companies’ tendency to forget about completing data due diligence and how this can catch them up.
(1:00:55) Andy’s one take-away tip from the word of Winston Churchill: never give up. Be prepared to recognise that your idea might have been a lemon in the first place--and don’t go chasing fool’s gold--but after that? Never give up.
