The first hundred days
Looking back on the first 100 days in office; an insightful tradition for prominent politicians. We decided to do the same with our new Commercial Executive, Sven-Olaf de Vries. Perhaps not as influential as Joe Biden (yet), but just as much a welcome addition to YieldDD. What are his first impressions and most important takeaways?
Sven-Olaf, who joined YieldDD in early 2021, has extensive commercial experience for both small and international organizations, but had never realized the extent to which software is critical to the success of any company. Not just companies that identify as software companies, no, all companies of respectable size.
“Think of your business, or a target company, and imagine it without the software. What’s left? What would it be worth? Not much I reckon” says Sven-Olaf.
And when a target company’s value proposition strongly depends on software, you need to make sure it is of high quality. Poor quality software threatens a target company’s reputation, productivity, revenue and viability.
“Since I started at YieldDD I’ve become aware of the sheer number of data breaches, security threats, software failures and lawsuits. Almost every day I come across a new incident in the media. All evidence of software’s all-encompassing hold on organizations and industries, resulting in their success or downfall.”
In other words, software due diligence is essential in any acquisition. To ensure that the target company’s software supports the investor’s plans.
“One of our biggest challenges is creating this awareness among our (future) clients. Due to the current characteristics of the private equity market, there is often no time left for extensive software due diligence. This results in ‘after-deal’ assessments, in many cases resulting in unexpected and even disappointing surprises. We are on the right track, but there is still a long way to go.”
YieldDD’s multidisciplinary team delivers high-quality software due diligence. Giving insight into risks, and the required investment and time to mitigate them. Not just figures and numbers, but concrete, tailor-made advice.
“We understand the dynamics and sensitivity of deal making in mergers and acquisitions. It feels great being part of this process; to help companies realize their investment plans, to avoid bad investments or to help determine the true value of a company.”
