Anatomy of a Win-Win Acquisition: Synergy, Growth, AI, and the Future of SaaS | E2047
This Week in Startups
Jason Calacanis
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 19 November 2024
⏱️ 64 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Todays show:
Spenser Skates and James Evans join Alex to discuss Amplitude's acquisition of Command AI, shedding light on recent startup M&A trends and the strategic vision behind this move. The conversation delves into Command AI's user assistance technology and its integration into Amplitude, which aims to enhance user surveys and feedback. Spenser outlines Amplitude's product-led growth strategy and its approach to scaling through acquisitions while managing risks and ensuring cultural alignment. The discussion also covers the acquisition deal structure, regulatory concerns, and the decision-making process between raising funds and selling. Also, we hear Spenser’s unfiltered take on private equity and regulatory oversight!
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Timestamps:
(0:00) Spenser Skates of Amplitude & James Evans of CommandAI join Alex.
(1:40) Startup M&A trends and Amplitude's acquisition of Command AI
(4:30) Overview of Command AI's user assistance technology
(7:05) Integration and benefits of Command AI within Amplitude
(10:17) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST
(11:45) Enhancements in user surveys and feedback with Command AI
(16:58) Amplitude's strategic vision behind acquiring Command AI
(20:22) Gusto - Get three months free when you run your first payroll at http://gusto.com/twist
(21:28) Product-led growth and enhancing user experience at Amplitude
(26:08) Amplitude's approach to scaling through strategic acquisitions
(30:01) DevSquad - Get an entire product team for the cost of one US developer plus 10% off at http://devsquad.com/twist
(31:30) Managing acquisition risks, integration, and cultural alignment
(35:19) Acquisition discussions and deal negotiation
(39:48) Acquisition deal structure and stakeholder conviction
(42:08) Addressing regulatory concerns and valuation mismatches in acquisitions
(44:20) Decision-making: Raising funds vs. selling a company
(46:00) Post-acquisition: Integrating Command AI's technology
(49:37) Amplitude's future growth strategy and leadership
(54:00) Transition from founder mode to distributed leadership
(56:15) Role of AI in Amplitude's product development
(59:44) AI model considerations and financial sustainability in B2B software
(1:01:34) Market position and growth of Command AI
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Mentioned on the show:
Check out Amplitude: https://amplitude.com
Check out CommandAI: https://www.command.ai
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Follow Spenser:
X: https://x.com/spenserskates
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spenserskates
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Follow James:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-evans-7086b3126/
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Follow Alex:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm
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Thank you to our partners:
(10:17) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/TWIST
(20:22) Gusto - Get three months free when you run your first payroll at http://gusto.com/twist
(30:01) DevSquad - Get an entire product team for the cost of one US developer plus 10% off at http://devsquad.com/twist
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Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Dude, sorry, I was going to rant on private equity for a second. |
| 0:03.0 | I love that. |
| 0:03.7 | They make tremendous amounts of money, you know, one of the great players in modern capitalism. |
| 0:10.1 | But one of my rules is never be on the other side of a transaction for private equity because they have a spreadsheet about how to take all of your surplus away during that transaction. |
| 0:19.6 | Dude, if you want to talk about where the |
| 0:22.1 | FTC should regulate, fucking regulate the hell out of private equity. Like, that would be my first |
| 0:27.3 | order thing. Because like, if you look at their playbooks, most of their playbooks are, hey, consolidate |
| 0:32.8 | market share to create monopolies or pse monopolies and raise prices on consumers. |
| 0:38.2 | And if you look at U.S. antitrust legislation, the test of are you behaving anti-competitively |
| 0:44.7 | is do prices go up for consumers or down for consumers? And like the private equity playbook |
| 0:50.3 | 101. So Lena Cotton, if you're listening to this or whoever the next person the Trump administration is, fucking take a hammer to private equity. I'm all for it. |
| 0:58.4 | This week in startups is brought to you by Squarespace. |
| 1:02.5 | Turn your idea into a new website. Go to Squarespace.com slash twist for a free trial. |
| 1:08.5 | When you're ready to launch, use offer code Twist to save 10% off your first |
| 1:12.5 | purchase of a website or domain. Gusto. Gusto is easy online payroll, benefits, and HR built for |
| 1:19.5 | modern small businesses. Get three months free when you run your first payroll at gusto.com |
| 1:24.8 | slash twist. And Dev Squad. Most dev agencies only offer developers. Why? Because |
| 1:31.6 | product management is hard. Get an entire product team for the cost of one US developer plus 10% |
| 1:37.3 | off at devsquod.com slash twist. Hey everyone, it's Alex. Welcome back to this week in startups. |
| 1:43.7 | Now on the show quite a lot in the last |
| 1:46.1 | couple of months and quarters, we have talked about startup M&A and more precisely a lack of startup |
| 1:51.8 | M&A. If you look at this chart that we have here from the NVCAQ3 report, you can see that |
... |
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