About the Author. (Becasue you asked)
Who the hell is this "Salvador" guy anyway, why is he qualified to write articles like these, and what does he actually "do" for a living?
I am about to start writing about my personal venture successes (and many failures) but to set the scene I first want to share a little about my professional journey because it is great context for what is coming - and because some of you asked me to ;-)
SUMMARY
Here is a quick 30 second intro video. In essence I:
Help early stage founders raise capital with minimal dilution and deploy that capital to grow
Help later stage CEOs prepare for, and maximise, exit valuations via M&A
CEOs I HAVE WORKED WITH
As you can see from my LinkedIn profile, I am involved in many different ventures across a range of sectors, and am partnered with a number of boutique M&A Advisory groups around the world. All people who I trust deeply to do what they say they will do.
Please have a look at the services page on my linked profile to read some reviews from Founders/CEOs that I’ve worked with. (I’m far from perfect, and I absolutely have made mistakes, but thankfully the people who might write a bad review have chosen not to thus far - perhaps we’ll see some in the comments on this article)
THE COMPANY I FOUNDED
In 2009, (when I was 26 years old) I quit my job and started my first company, Global Rev Gen, a specialist international performance marketing agency that works with startups and listed companies all over the world and, notably, half of Australia’s Universities (covid was a BIG hit) running integrated multi-country marketing and advertising campaigns across digital and traditional media.
I still own this business, but transitioned management to my early employees about 7 years ago. I am so proud of them! (They keynote conferences and were in the news recently) The average staff member stays for 6+ years and the average client is retained for 6 years too. They have a truly great culture which always prioritised people over profits.
SUPPORTING CEO'S
Since handing over the reigns, I have focussed on supporting the leaders of start-ups and scale ups that are innovating their sectors, usually as an early investor, NED, Chair or Consultant, here are a few of them:
AI Data Insights - a world first in the news recently
Mobility - secured strategic investment from a major Airport
EdTech - Mozaik Play WINS best in the world 2022 (video) and WON AGAIN in 2023
CleanTech - secured strategic investment as part of a protracted acquisition (I rolled off of this Board after helping to secure this deal)
FinTech - multi-millions in revenue, transitioning from B2C to B2B
Video advertising AI - helping traditional publishers and broadcasters regain market share from Google & Meta
Knowledge Network - a world first for industrial plant & equipment, in the news
CONSULTING TO CEO'S
More recently I have been assisting CEOs of ventures across diverse industries including BioTech, HealthCare, CircularEconomy, Food Innovation, B2B SaaS, IT Managed Services, Industrial M&A, Sustainable Data Centers, Luxury Yacht Rentals, Car Rentals.. and have even been a contributor to a project for Policy Australia.
I help the CEOs of these companies navigate the tough job of being a CEO. Ie “What kept you up last night? Let’s focus on that”. Generally this has to do with their main challenges in these areas:
People problems, scaling or supplier resourcing
Technology issues, opportunities or partnerships
Commercial strategy, dealmaking or deal-saving
Marketing strategy, right-sizing GTM with marketing with sales with resourcing vs investor milestones
Capital requirements, strategy, documentation, investor sourcing, fundraising partners
M&A strategic mergers & acquisitions, tactical acquisitions of IP or distressed assets, partial sale to future acquirers
Consulting - simply doing stuff for the CEO that they could do themselves to save them time
ONE BIG FAILURE (OF MANY)
Part of my story also includes stepping into one portfolio company (an advanced manufacturing business) as the CEO for two years to try to turn it around - which I failed to do, despite $10M of capital raised - so I have seen how things work and how they can really crumble without the right strategy, support, people and investment.
Source: Thanks to CNET for this one
TWO STEPS FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK
I have also seen two companies transition from StartUp into ScaleUp, but then have some things go wrong, and slide back into StartUp.
Through these forward and backward steps I was heavily involved in growing Boards, Advisory Boards, Executive teams and technology development but then also reversing those processes through restructures and downsizing.
In one situation, I managed the breakup of the two Founders, eventually achieving an amicable split with limited adverse action and the repatriation of many millions of dollars of shareholder value back to the company.
COMPANY DIRECTOR TRAINING
I have done the Australian Institute of Company Directors course, and I can help new-world technology startups retro-fit themselves into old world governance structures.
This spans capital raising, compliance and moving the Holding Company to a more favourable tax jurisdiction (ie Singapore/USA while maintaining R&D Tax Incentives, negating CGT tax for Australian shareholders and paving the way for international investment).
VENTURE BUILDING
What I really do is help Founders and CEOs from their perspective, because I’ve been in their shoes, to solve real world problems - instead of merely giving strategic advice from the sidelines without taking responsibility for implementability.
The experience I have gained across these ventures that I have founded, co-founded, invested in, advise and consulted to, has given me the ability to share learnings from success and failures and to cross pollinate strategies, methodologies, suppliers and tactics at the right time in the right way.
I do the above as a consultant and build trust over many years.. which consequently leads to more work, like eventually helping companies through an exit.
CAPITAL RAISING & M&A
2024 is a very interesting situation in the market – if you're trying to raise capital by selling a minority stake in a relatively early stage venture then it's almost impossible to get funding, and when you do it's on incredibly poor valuations and crappy terms…
Conversely if you're selling a majority stake or looking for a 100% exit of a mature business then there is excessive amounts of interest from acquires.
This market phenomenon is primarily due to the fact that corporate software aggregators, corporate acquirers and private equity groups have just so much “dry powder” (as they call it) they are hungry to do deals (whereas many venture capital investors have had to redirect funds into their existing portfolios, so are hesitant to make new investments.. which is obvious when you realise that 2024 is the lowest levels of VC investment globally since 2018!)
As you can see from my LinkedIn profile, I have recently teamed up with four boutique M&A advisory groups around the world and. I know each of them well and trust each of them to do what they say they will do - a rare quality:
EB Shaw Securities- Boston (Americas)
I bring the conceptual thinking, creativity and “dot-connecting” to their more detailed, formal and compliant approach to business ;-)
Want to do business? Send me a message.
THE WORK I DO FOR FREE
To spread some of my insights more broadly however, I launched this newsletter - Three Strikes Theory
It’s a newsletter for Founders, that is free forever. It is written for business leaders like you. We achieved 333 subscribers in 3 months from a diverse range of industries and have been invited onto numerous podcasts.
THREE STRIKES THEORY
Three Strikes Theory™: Companies, of any size, stage or type, are only ever three strikes of bad “luck” away from disaster, or three strokes of good “luck" away from success. I use “luck” loosely to refer to the events in business that can make you or break you.
To demonstrate this theory in action:
In the first case study I covered a startup and the three strikes that put them into disaster. (I had front row seats)
In the second case study I covered the three strikes that took a multi-billion dollar listed company down. (I had second row seats as my agency worked for the ASX corporate, and the two companies it acquired)
Then I relayed a real world experience that an early stage Founder shared with me of his investor dramas
I then covered a potential extinction level event - and what each of us can do about it
Then the biggest story of internet history which has been almost completely unreported
Then the Three Strokes of Good Strategy that built a $400M business, (a story shared with me by a subscriber)
Then I co-authored a piece on Google’s fall and the ascent of Microsoft
Then I wrote about the future and the coming disruptions of the foundational sectors of the economy
Then shared a podcast I was invited onto, about AI disruption to any business that has a website
Then discussed the Future of Transport, and how a scale up will win in that future
Then the Future of Food, and a startup positioned to supply a key ingredient in the future of food
Then the Future of Energy, and two mature companies positioned to win
Two strokes, then three strikes for a mobile ticketing & payments startup in 2005
My interview on L$BC: Lost Dollar Business Club
The single reason startups win, and the many reasons they don’t
And so on..
I spend my Saturday mornings writing this newsletter for business leaders like you, for free.