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Ask HN: Big company looking to acquire us, I'm terrified

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Re: Ask HN: Big company looking to acquire us, I'm terrified

#31
Get a lawyer. Not someone small that you've been using regularly for the little stuff who's never done this before, but someone that has experience. Be careful about this; there's a lot of dummies that put on a show of competence.

Same thing with a negotiator. Are you in a city that has a lot of startup activity? Reach out to a good COO type who can help you conduct the negotiations. How much they get involved will obviously depend on the amount of money we're talking about. It's just not a good idea to learn about negotiations by doing in circumstances like this.

Be careful who you pick. Money turns heads unfortunately, and a lot of otherwise sensible people become complete pricks.

Re: Ask HN: Big company looking to acquire us, I'm terrified

#32

Whatever you do, be willing to walk away from the deal if you don't feel comfortable with the terms. That changes you from negotiating from a weak position to negotiating from a strong position all by itself. Remind yourself of this: The really bad deals are the ones that you do and regret, those are far worse than the ones that you don't and regret. Do not negotiate in person during the final phase, get an experienc…

Very good point on the final negotiations. While my father isn't a lawyer (although he did do some law in the Navy), he has earned quite a bit of well deserved money in that negotiating role for the sorts of reasons you've outlined, as well as just taking on a lot of the burden, allowing the owner(s) more time to keep their business going.
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