FoA 330: 10 Former Guests That Have Been Acquired...and what we can learn from them

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Over the past couple of weeks, two former guests of this podcast, Vence and TeleSense, have announced that they have been acquired. This prompted a random idea in my head to do an episode called 10 former guests that have been acquired. But I first wondered: have there even been ten yet? A quick scan of previous episodes and a little bit of Googling revealed that there have been at least 10 that have been acquired in some form or fashion.  So I spent a day going back through and re-listening to each of their episodes, researching when they were acquired and by whom, and trying to pull out insights that might indicate what about these companies allowed them to get to the finish line so to speak. That’s what I have to share with you today. 

Vence, acquired by Merck Animal Health

• FoA 246: Unlocking Grazing Potential with Virtual Fencing https://open.spotify.com/episode/0NT9F695WJRmUAcUCEleKT?si=dJ2uquAERvujkUWWa7qa0A 
• FoA 308 (Startup Spotlight features Vence at the end of the episode) https://open.spotify.com/episode/3yHmD4onWH7DZb7wKWSi44?si=VG4HzoD1SxmYvdUrkgMYkQ 
• Merck Animal Health to Acquire Vence https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220922005501/en/Merck-Animal-Health-to-Acquire-Vence 

TeleSense, acquired by UPL (Decco Post Harvest)

• FoA 239: Sensors for Predicting Grain Quality with Naeem Zafar of TeleSense https://open.spotify.com/episode/6JxVEuUQq9NjufgLXrOlZR?si=3K3UWVLFQvqbHzf_oH99tg 
• UPL’s Post-Harvest Solutions Subsidiary, Decco Post Harvest, Acquires TeleSense to Strengthen Offering to Combat Food Waste  https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/upls-post-harvest-solutions-subsidiary-decco-post-harvest-acquires-telesense-to-strengthen-offering-to-combat-food-waste-301626128.html 

SWARM Technologies, acquired by SpaceX

• FoA 228: Solving the Rural Connectivity Problem with Dr. Sara Spangelo of SWARM Technologies https://open.spotify.com/episode/4aiIkwElCMh2wyJjs46vaA?si=U14f6XkgTQqHRwmNskdehw 
• SpaceX to acquire SWARM https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/09/spacex-to-acquire-satellite-connectivity-startup-swarm-technologies/ 
• SWARM continues to aim skyward one year after SpaceX deal https://www.fierceelectronics.com/iot-wireless/swarm-continues-aim-skyward-one-year-after-spacex-deal 

Harvest Profit, acquired by John Deere

• FoA 080: Bootstrapping a Farm Management Software Company with Nick Horob of Harvest Profit