{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Why Pendo Buys Startups (And It\u2019s Not for Revenue) with Todd Olson","description":"Todd Olson,  CEO and Co-founder, Pendo From buying startups to speed up roadmap execution to preserving founder autonomy post-close, Todd breaks down the real levers behind successful acquisitions. This episode dives into how Pendo thinks about M&A without a corporate development team, why it rarely buys for revenue, and how Todd\u2019s team avoids common post-close integration mistakes by keeping culture, product, and people at the center. Things you will learn: Why speed and product alignment\u2014not revenue\u2014drive most of Pendo\u2019s acquisitions The cost of delaying integration and how Todd learned to fix it How to retain founder energy post-acquisition without over-relying on cash ________________________ Sponsored by DealRoom\u2014where M&A chaos meets its match. Your M&A process can so much faster... DealRoom helps corporate development teams take control\u2014streamlining diligence, syncing integration, and eliminating the back-and-forth. \ud83d\udc49 Learn how you can run a repeatable, buyer-led process   _______________ Episode Chapters [00:04:30] \u2013 Taking a buyer-led approach from day one [00:05:30] \u2013 When is the right time to do M&A as a startup? [00:07:00] \u2013 The real reason behind Pendo\u2019s first acquisition (spoiler: mobile gap) [00:10:30] \u2013 How the team visit to Tel Aviv sealed the deal [00:15:00] \u2013 Why preserving a legacy tech stack was a painful mistake [00:19:30] \u2013 Walking away from a $1M customer (and why it was worth it) [00:23:00] \u2013 Choosing smaller, simpler teams over \u201cobvious\u201d targets [00:27:30] \u2013 Why AI startups are attractive\u2014but only with the right integration mindset [00:33:00] \u2013 Deal structures that actually retain entrepreneurs [00:50:00] \u2013 Post-close surprises, real value creation, and the \u201cpink wash\u201d trap Questions, comments, concerns?Follow Kison Patel for behind-the-scenes insights on modern M&A. ","author_name":"M&A Science","author_url":"http:\/\/www.mascience.com","html":"