The United States has long been seen as a home for innovation and leadership in the technology industry. French technology companies have the opportunity to leverage the United States market to expand and grow their business. With the right strategies and collaborations, the success of French technology companies in the United States is almost inevitable. This essay will discuss the steps necessary for French technology companies to leverage the United States for growth.

France is a key destination for many American technology companies seeking to expand their reach and gain an advantage in the global market. According to Taylor (2020), France has managed to revive its tech scene, encouraging entrepreneurship, with the support of the government, and has attracted the attention of Silicon Valley. The electric vehicle industry, in particular, has seen an upsurge in growth, with French companies such as Peugeot and Renault taking advantage of the opportunity to tap into this rapidly growing market. The US has seen an overall “renaissance” in technology (Masood & Venkatesan, 2020), which presents an excellent opportunity for French companies wishing to expand and reach a wider audience. Along with strong government incentives and a flourishing tech scene, France is well-positioned to become an international leader in the industry.

The United States and France have created a synergistic relationship in the modern technological marketplace. As the US technology sector booms and the electric vehicle industry takes off, France is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the expanding US market. According to a report by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, France is “a key destination for US companies looking for an optimal strategic position and a gateway to the European market,” due to the country’s ” favorable” business environment (French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, n.d). This is evident in the influx of new French startups, who are taking advantage of the “unique pool of expertise and capital” in the French tech industry (French Tech Hub, 2018). With France’s established connection with the US and its own multicultural tech scene thriving, it is no surprise that the country is a prime destination for technology companies seeking to expand their reach and gain an advantage in the global market.

Food is essential for human survival as it supplies our bodies with nutrients, energy, and vitamins that enable our bodies to function. Food is also a part of a preference for personal taste and cultural backgrounds. As such, food is linked to memories, celebrations, and social gatherings. According to the American Heart Association, a balanced and heart-healthy diet should include nutrient-dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy (“Choose the Right Foods”). Eating a variety of colorful healthy foods encourages better health and dietary diversity (“Variety: A Key to Healthy Eating”). A healthy diet can help reduce the risk of numerous health problems such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. It can also promote a healthy weight and improve overall physical and mental well-being (“Healthy Eating”).

French technology companies can leverage the United Kingdom for growth in numerous ways. Technology companies have benefited from the large and developed British economy, which has served as a reliable point of entry into the European market since the end of the Second World War (Villanova, “The Economic and Technology Relationship between France and the United Kingdom”). The United Kingdom also boasts an educated and skilled workforce, with a progressive digital infrastructure, which has created a favorable environment for French technology companies to develop their products and services in the British market (Gaiardoni). Moreover, the positive attitude of the British population towards French technology companies, which has been fostered by several joint initiatives between the two countries, plays an important role in attracting French companies to the United Kingdom (Gaiardoni). Overall, the United Kingdom offers numerous opportunities for French technology companies to expand, innovate, and generate profits. 

French technology companies can leverage the US for growth by taking advantage of the US’s large technology market, strong venture capital presence, and ability to attract top-tier talent. In doing so, they can gain direct access to the US market, obtain capital to fuel their growth, and benefit from talented professionals who can help build and manage their businesses. By leveraging the US market and resources, French tech companies can find success and compete in the global market.

Works Cited

French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs n.d. France and the Google Search Market. www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/france-allusional/STI-innovation/relations-france-google-et-march/#.

French Tech Hub 2018. About Us. www.techfrenchevents.com/about-us.

Gaiardoni, Fabrizio. “Impact of Brexit on France-UK Technology Partnership.” The Financial. 21 May 2019. Web. 30 Mar. 2020.

Villanova University. “The Economic and Technology Relationship between France and the United Kingdom.” Villanova University. 2019. Web. 30 Mar. 2020.

American Heart Association. Choose the Right Foods. American Heart Association. 13 Feb. 2020. Web. 30 Mar. 2020.

Variety: A Key to Healthy Eating. United States Department of Agriculture. 5 Feb. 2020. Web. 30 Mar. 2020.

Healthy Eating. National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 9 Jan. 2020. Web. 30 Mar. 2020.

The technology industry has become incredibly competitive in the last two decades, with new companies, products, and services emerging at a faster and faster pace. While this intense competition is reinforcing both innovation and success for tech startups, rising interest rates could put a serious strain on their abilities to fundraise in 2023. This essay will discuss the potential impact of rising interest rates on a technology company’s ability to fundraise and explore various strategies to minimize the impact.

The impact of increasing interest rates on technology companies’ abilities to fundraise in the year 2023 has been a topic of much discussion. Companies are preparing for a rise in interest rates by looking at alternative ways to secure funding, such as venture capital and private equity funds. A direct correlation between raising interest rates and the profitability of certain investments has yet to be determined, however, if interest rates drastically rise then companies may experience losses due to their inability to access loans from banks or other lending sources (Cook and Mulcahy). Ensuring a healthy cash flow can also be difficult for businesses in times of fluctuating interest rates, whereby companies may find themselves having to rely more heavily on internal sources of capital in order to stay afloat. With the current economic climate, this could provide significant challenges for tech companies, and as such, it should be considered when discussing the impact of rising interest rates on fundraising.

In the year 23, technology companies may find it more difficult to fundraise due to the increasing interest rates. Companies will therefore have to become more proactive in preparing for the change in rates if they hope to continue to remain profitable. This could mean investing in different areas than before or keeping a healthy cash flow on hand to help weather any market changes. Furthermore, higher interest rates can make investing in these technology companies less attractive which could potentially lead to a decline in investors. Overall, technology companies should be savvy about planning for these increased rates to continue to be competitive in the market.–“Impact Of Interest Rates On Tech Companies Ability To Fundraise in 2023.”

With the increasing trend of higher interest rates, technology companies need to have a plan in place for long-term financial stability. It is essential for them to understand the risk associated with investing in the stock market and higher interest rates. Companies should also be mindful of the impact that raising interest rates can have on their borrowing costs, which can cause strain on their budgeting (Meyer, 2019). Being proactive in developing strategies for anticipating challenges or changes in the financial climate could be critical for companies to be successful in the long run (McCarthy 2018).

It is also essential for technology companies to have a safe and effective way to invest capital and protect their finances from the frequent market swings associated with higher interest rates (Weitz 2018).
According to a report released by the New York Times, “The Federal Reserve is projected to slowly raise interest rates over the coming years, ending in a possible rate of 3.2 to 3.3 percent by 2023” (Davidson). This means that if a tech company wants to borrow money, it will have to pay more in interest, making potential investors and lenders less likely to invest or lend money due to the added risk. Furthermore, the same report suggests that higher interest rates lead to slower economic growth, “which will likely lead to a decrease in venture capital investment” (Davidson). This means that tech companies may experience more difficulties in raising capital from venture capitalists in 2023.

Altogether, I believe that higher interest rates will present a challenge for tech companies to fundraise in 2023, as the costs of borrowing will likely increase, and venture capitalists may be less likely to invest in risky startups.

Rising interest rates are a key indicator of economic health and are an important factor to consider when evaluating a technology company’s ability to fundraise in 2023. If interest rates remain high, it will become increasingly more difficult for companies to access capital, which could adversely impact a technology company’s ability to stay competitive and successfully fundraise. On the other hand, if interest rates begin to fall, then a technology company may be able to access more capital, which could benefit its ability to fundraise in the future. Therefore, it is important for a technology company to stay aware of the direction of interest rates and be proactive in preparing for changes that could impact its ability to fundraise in the future.

Cook, Kenneth A and John E Mulcahy. “Small Business Financing And Interest Rates: Review And Analysis.” The Journal Of Risk And Insurance, vol. 45, no. 4, 1978, pp. 522–540. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2551579.Davidson, Adam. “U.S. Interest Rates Are Rising This Year. That Could Slow the Economy.” The New York Times, 17 Jan. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/business/economy/interest-rates-economy.html.
Meyer, Christopher. 5 Ways Higher Interest Rates Impact Small Business. Nav, 20 Nov. 2019, www.nav.com/blog/5-ways-higher-interest-rates-impact-small-business/.
McCarthy, Niall. This Is How Rising Interest Rates Will Affect You. Forbes, 30 Oct. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2018/10/30/this-is-how-rising-interest-rates-will-affect-you/#226804f779b6.
Weitz, Jordan. The Impact of Rising interest rates on Stocks. Investopedia, 11 Dec. 2018, www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/121114/impact-rising-interest-rates-stocks.asp.

The Technology Sector of 2023 promises to be an exciting and innovative one. With developments in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and computing at the cutting edge of research, the next ten years are sure to bring dramatic changes to the way we live our lives and interact with each other. We will soon see the rise of autonomous vehicles, smart homes, and applications that can interact with us in an ever-faster and more natural way. In this essay, we will take a brief look at some of the key technologies on the horizon and how they might transform our lives in the next five years.

Throughout the 21st century, technology will continue to be a driving force for change in the business world. According to the World Economic Forum’s Predicts 2020 report, “the 2020s will be defined by the pervasive use of artificial intelligence (AI), which will increasingly find its way into global organizations and operations.” This widespread integration of AI will have a significant impact on the way businesses are run and organized. Companies will need to implement strategies that can leverage AI technology to maximize efficiency and profits. Additionally, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, digitalization and online operations will be an important factors for business success. Businesses must be able to quickly adapt their practices and prioritize online resources in order to survive and thrive in the ever-evolving digital economy (“How the Pandemic accelerates digital transformation – what leaders need to know”). So, to successfully move into the future, businesses must prioritize digital transformation, AI integration, and flexible strategies in order to stay atop the business apex in the early 21st century.

The future of business in the early 21st century will be greatly impacted by emerging technologies. According to Deloitte Insights, “Digital disruptions are reshaping business and industrial models.” These digital disruptions have the potential to dramatically destabilize industries, but can also be used to increase businesses’ efficiency and align them with consumer demands (“Harnessing the Power”). To remain competitive, businesses need to adapt to this rapidly evolving landscape and be creative in how they leverage digital technologies to their advantage. To do this, businesses need to focus on developing strategies that cover the full spectrum of their industry, finding ways to reduce their costs or capitalize on the production of new products or services. Companies also need to understand how they can be innovative and stay ahead of their competition by investing in the latest technologies and techniques. Ultimately, these strategies can significantly increase their productivity, reduce operational costs, and help them stay ahead of their competition in the early 21st century.

The technology industry is facing some dire scenarios, such as a major pandemic that could wipe out an entire class of workers, artificial intelligence becoming post-human, or the development of a proto-computing brain (Hall, 2021). Even with the best planning and fleshing out of business plans, the risks of these scenarios manifesting are too great to ignore and carry with them a danger of catastrophic consequences (McNamee, 2021). As such, it is necessary for the technology sector to prepare for these future possibilities and ensure that preventative measures are in place to mitigate the risks accordingly (Murphy & Wright, 2020).

The technology sector is ever-evolving; the trends of today may be gone within a few short years. By 2023, it is uncertain just how far technology will have progressed and what it may be focusing on. According to Clay A. Johnson, “The future of technology is still so hard to predict” (“Clay A. Johnson”). Companies like Microsoft and Apple are highly influential, but predicting the future of the technology sector remains difficult. While some progress is likely to continue, it is impossible to accurately predict what it will look like in 2023. As such, one should not expect too much from the tech sector in the near future.

Works Cited

“Clay A. Johnson.” Clay A. Johnson, biography.com, https://www.biography.com/activist/clay-a-johnson.

In conclusion, it is clear that the technology sector is ever-evolving and is expected to continue so in the future. 2023 is likely to bring new technologies, ideas, and products that will shape the way we interact and do business. We can expect developments that will drive greater productivity and efficiency, as well as new realities through Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. We will also see advances in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Machine Learning to name a few. The technology sector will surely witness a revolution in the coming years.

Deloitte Insights. “Harnessing the Power of Digital Disruption.” Deloitte US, https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/focus/future-of-work/harnessing-power-of-digital-disruption.html.

Hall, Sarah E. “The 5 Scenarios Facing the Tech Industry in 2021.” G2, 12 Jan. 2021, https://www.g2.com/articles/the-5-scenarios-facing-the-tech-industry-in-2021.

McNamee, Mark. “2021tech Outlook.” 2021tech Outlook | Mark McNamee, https://www.markmcnamee.com/blog/2021tech-outlook.

Murphy, Sean, and Mason Wright. “Technology Sector 2020.” Deloitte US, Deloitte Insights, https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/technology-media-telecommunications/us-tmt-technology-sector-trends

One of the critical factors in achieving a successful outcome in a merger or acquisition (M&A) is determining the valuation of a private company.  Of course, most sellers have in mind a valuation range they would be pleased to receive.  An investment bank providing advice to the seller and managing the process of a successful sale is expected to have insight into the valuation.  This overview focuses on a situation where the seller maintains an unrealistic view of valuation and reviews several factors that could lead to the failure of the process to complete the sale. 

The objective of any M&A process is to successfully complete the sale of the company but to do so an investment bank, in consultation with the seller, needs to optimally value a business.  Valuation of a private company is part art, part science but it must include a holistic understanding of the process, the seller, buyer, industry, and economy.  The seller’s or buyer’s objectives, needs, and expectations are critical factors, but factors of personality and the treatment of the counterparty are critical as well.    A valuation can become the most challenging part of the process because it’s the leading cause of transaction failure; especially, when founders believe their company is a “lotto ticket”.  A seller may have set his expectations too high based on a recent sale in the same industry: “My competitor sold his company for ten times revenues.” Or, “the market is paying over seven times revenues.” Besides multiples of revenue the financial condition of the company, its market share, customer concentration, growth rate and so on.  But besides these metrics there are payment terms and incentives for the seller to stay after the sale, that is an earnout.  The latter could be a significant factor in differentiating the transaction valuation of one company from another. 

The typical goal of a seller in an M&A transaction is to get the highest valuation possible. There’s a temptation to believe your company is a lotto ticket because there’s always a chance, you’ll strike gold. Right? Technically, yes. But that doesn’t mean testing the market by setting your business’s price above what the business is worth is a good strategy. In fact, there are numerous reasons not to test the market this way:

1. The seller won’t get offers (but other businesses might)

Unless the seller is a monopoly setting a high valuation means that other businesses in your industry seem comparatively more attractive. Buyers may be attracted to the less expensive company in a particular industry and may even contact a competitor to make an offer.  Even if the buyer ultimately acquires the company in question the seller increased the risk of a buyer walking away and certainly delayed the closing of a transaction.

2. The Seller loses credibility

Buyers are usually in the same industry, so they understand the dynamics of the industry, why they need to acquire a company, and at what point they need to walk away from the acquisition. When a seller sets the valuation of the company too high not only might the buyer walk away, the seller may have lost credibility and the buyer is wondering whether it wants this person on his team.

3. Some buyers prefer not to play “Let’s Make a Deal”

Some sellers may ask for a high price because they expect to engage in negotiations, but you cannot assume buyers are open to negotiating high valuations down to their targets.  Estimating the breakeven cost and time for the buyer to build instead of buying is critical.  In addition, the seller may bring along key customers which may be valuable in convincing new customers to complete the acquisition.

4. Beware the overly optimistic Investment Banker (or Broker)

Having an intermediary like an investment banker or broker inflate the valuation to land your business is dangerous to the objective of getting a transaction closed.  Overly optimistic intermediaries that promise very high valuations become a nightmare for the seller.  This becomes a waste of time and resources.    Commission levels that aren’t reflective of the work to be done or the experience of the intermediary is also a negative sign.    These brokers may agree to any price you want just to get you to sign up with them, only to beat you up on price later. Alternatively, they take you as a customer only to hold you as a customer never soliciting you in the market.

5. It costs the buyer money to walk away from an acquisition.

Buyers are not only paying to acquire a company, but they also must bear the cost of lawyers and consultants as well as the cost of any employee, who is dedicated to the acquisition of a company. Hesitation, also means that you are not serious about selling your company and wasting everyone’s time.

6. Beware of Deal Fatigue

Deal fatigue is real; and it is a condition during the negotiation where parties on either side begin to feel emotional exhaustion during the transaction of the seamless never-ending deal process, counters, hesitation, and negotiation. Deal fatigue can cause the buyer or seller to stop engaging in meaningful conversations due to feelings of frustration, irritation, and continued expense, creating new barriers for the deal and exacerbating ones that might already exist.

7. Outside Capital Constraints

Chatsworth Securities has been in situations where the buyer requires capital to finalize the acquisition of the company, and usually this can come from a lender. The lender will also need to review the business valuation. When the valuation does not support the sales price, then your buyer won’t get the loan. If you’re set on a higher price, consider making improvements that add to the bottom line and of course, add worth.

8. Poor Integration Process

A major challenge for any M&A deal is the post-merger integration. A careful process can help to identify key employees, crucial projects and products, sensitive processes, matters impacting bottlenecks, etc. Using these identified critical areas, efficient processes for clear integration should be designed, aided by consulting, automation, or even outsourcing options being fully explored.

Chatsworth Securities has a long track record in selling business.  Meeting with a Chatsworth Securities advisor will be very helpful in determining the value and sale price of your business. Selling a company is the goal when engaging an M&A advisor, and the expectations should be set at the start of the exit process. Sellers should approach the sale of their business with a fair understanding of the business’s past successes and failures and reasonable expectations about the price and future growth post-acquisition. The more you prepare yourself with facts, the more success you’ll have when you sell your business. Be realistic when you are selling your business and do your homework with a capable advisor before you go to market.

NEW YORK and PARIS, February 9^th, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Chatsworth Securities LLC will be establishing a representative office in Paris, France, to strengthen its global reach and to facilitate cross-border investment banking transactions between the United States and the European Union. Chatsworth, which was established in 1996, has over 20 Managing Director level investment bankers with a team specializing in technology sectors which include fintech, payments, and green energy.

“Having successfully built a cross-border M&A business between Europe and the US, the firm decided that it was more efficient to have an office in Paris. Furthermore, France and greater Europe have a lot to offer American-based companies and investors. There are great opportunities for acquisitions and US companies can benefit from many advantages offered in France, such as innovation and research tax credits, government grants through subsidized loans, a well-educated labor pool, etc. Furthermore, European companies are well structured with many of the more interesting tech start-ups showing profits on their books,” said Marcus Magarian Managing Director at Chatsworth Securities, and an alumnus of HEC Paris.

“With a presence in France, our firm will be better able to serve European companies that are seeking opportunities to access capital and acquisitions in the USA. In addition, M&A activity in France is quite robust with around 20% of deals closed being cross-border transactions.  Our goal is to become a bridge that will help European companies access U.S. liquidity and opportunities,” said Ralph DiFiore, Senior Managing Director at Chatsworth Securities.

With President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement of the “France 2030” investment plan, France is committing €30 billion ($35-billion USD) to become leaders in technology and renewable energy in Europe. Chatsworth believes European technology opportunities will garner strong interest in the US and elsewhere.

About Chatsworth Securities LLC

Chatsworth Securities LLC is an investment banking firm that has been providing financial advisory services to corporations and entrepreneurs since 1996. Chatsworth advises on both domestic and international M&A transactions, digital transformation and capital raises for large and small companies. Chatsworth has participated as an underwriter in over six hundred public offerings and has raised over $5 billion for traditional and alternative money managers and their funds.

For Further Information:

Chatsworth Securities LLC
Media Contact: Marcus Magarian
Tel. +1 (203) 340-2827 | mmagarian@chatsworthgroup.com

Chatsworth Securities LLC is pleased to announce the latest strategic partnership with OPER Pay, (OPER, LLC DBA OrderEx), a unique payment engine designed to make mobile payments easier for the customer. OrderEx, is an all-in-one digital ordering and mobile payment platform that will take a brand or merchant’s retail operations to the next level. 

“OrderEx’s is a very advanced QR payment platform offering customers a seamless experience at the retail level. It places a lot of power and freedom in the user’s hand without the need of downloading an app” said Marcus Magarian, Managing Director at Chatsworth. “Chatsworth Securities has significant experience in digital payments and the data analytics space. The analytical first-party data alone could unlock actionable insights for brands to improve the customer’s in-store experience and help brands drive more revenue”, continued Marcus. Chatsworth will provide the company with expanded access to capital, improvement in business metrics, and potential business opportunities.

The OrderEx platform enables the seamless integration of payment processing and technology solutions across a variety of markets at brick-and-mortar locations.  It gives the user a suite of tools to save time and safely serve more customers. It tackles tedious tasks so staff can spend more time with guests. With interactive menus, mobile ordering and payment, customer rewards, and on-demand server engagement and communication, restaurants can ensure high performance and high-touch service – even during the busiest rush.

OPER was founded by Dave Laiderman, CEO who began developing payments technology in college and has been addressing the challenges restaurants face for nearly 20-years. “Integrate OrderEx with your current POS system or payment provider in as little as two hours. Customers browse and order from their mobile phone; and, when they are done, they pay directly from their mobile phone,” he said.

Chatsworth is an investment banking firm that also provides consulting and advisory services.  “We not only provide M&A and raise capital for clients but help clients with business challenges and opportunities” stated Ralph DiFiore, Senior Managing Director of Chatsworth.  He added, “Given the challenges businesses face today we are all about helping our clients improve business metrics such as revenues, profits, and EBITDA.  One way to improve these metrics is to unlock the revenue potential of their “on-premise” data which is extremely valuable to major consumer goods conglomerates and QSR groups, for example”.

In 2021, the world began its journey into the metaverse, while in the real-world innovation in digital payments accelerated. Chatsworth Securities LLC, an investment bank with expert FinTech advisors in the digital payments vertical: recruited new talent, established fresh partnerships, and channeled the new skills required to effectively advise companies in digital payments.

Chatsworth has developed a range of new engagements in the United States and Europe and has established a bridge for US companies to take market share in Europe. “We have a niche that I have not seen anywhere else in the market, to bridge: language, technical know-how, and execution skills under one umbrella,” said Marcus Magarian, Managing Director at Chatsworth. “Being able to read code, advise customers using analytical data, understanding the importance of database structures, and having worked for SaaS companies’ gives Chatsworth a great advantage” continued Mr. Magarian.

Cash payments declined by 16 percent globally in 2020, stated McKinsey in its Global payments 2021: Transformation amid turbulent undercurrents. Why all the excitement? This will accelerate the growth of digital banks led by the mobile device: P2P payments and the contactless options aka tap and pay. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 67% of the retailers in the United States now accept some form of contactless payment. In Europe, Visa reported that 75% of in-store payments are now contactless. As a result, people are adjusting to tapping their smartphones to make a payment or scanning a QR code to cover their bill at a restaurant. 

In 2022 Chatsworth sees further payment innovation. The adoption of digital-only banking will continue to accelerate Decentralized Finance, leveraging blockchain technology,  while becoming more mainstream as it can provide lightning-fast, cheap, and reliable payment processing services without sacrificing security. Analytical data help tell the story and show the trends, and that data taken from the payments space is digital gold to any company attempting to sell a product.

If you aren’t paying careful attention to your analytics, you’re letting your business down. Data plays an important role in everything we do today. Knowing how to use it is only to your advantage. It saves you time, it answers questions without your having to ask them, and it adds tremendous value to any transaction.

So, you ask, what can I do with analytics?

1) Analytics Allow You to Accurately Measure & Track Data

Analytics are what we used to call Big Data, Sentiment Indicators, or Technical Analysis, something that traders have been using for decades. Today, it’s a common MarTech (Marketing Technology) tool and can be found on every platform, such as Shopify, WordPress, Squarespace, etc. Companies provide these tools to eCommerce or digital groups because they are designed to help them sell more. However, they can only do so much, because it requires users to understand the purpose of their data.

Analytical data tells you a story of your customer’s behavior. For an investment banker, this data can come from a data room, email open rates, or link clicks. This is the beginning of what technology groups call the Customer Journey. This data is invaluable because it is first-party data: data collected on your content. It answers many questions before having to ask a client.

2) Allows You to Better Understand Your Digital Visitors, Prospects, and Customers

I have had many prospects tell me that they loved my presentation or that they thoroughly went through the entire data room. However, the data tells me they spent 10 seconds on the presentation — probably scanned through the pictures, not absorbing the content. This information is invaluable because it takes away the guessing of what I need to discuss with the individual or group.

Imagine you are negotiating a transaction where your investor or buyer is not giving you the feedback you need. Through analytics, data can be used to focus how you will pitch an investment idea and better guide your discussion. The data is very clear. Knowing how much time people spend on your content tells you a story about their journey through this information.

3) Analytics Help You Optimize for Conversions

Many people do not like to be asked direct questions in the fear of embarrassment or being cornered, so asking them only risks creating distance and making your customer not like you.

Take a deal that my team worked on in summer 2020. We had an investor who was plowing through the data room, many page views, a lot of time spent going through the documents thoroughly. However, I noticed very little time spent on one of the most important pages of a cash-flow agreement. Going into the call, I knew this was a point to focus on.
Without asking the question, we were able to go right to a key point in the discussion about the transaction.

Analytics help focus on getting deals done, not on who knows what!

4) Analytics Can Help You Generate New Customers

Analytics are important not only for your proprietary data or enclosed content but also for content that is distributed on the Internet via news articles, blogs, etc. Publishing articles that entice viewers to click tells you what traffic is interesting to the market. If you are a U.S. investment banker focused on the payments space, and you are able to see that a lot of traffic coming from your article is being reshared on a blog in France, this could be data used for your group to find new customer opportunities in Europe.

This is what happened to me in Q3–2020. One of my articles was reposted in the Netherlands, with massive traffic flowing into an article we published. This created a lot of dialogue with new potential customers that I normally would have to contact directly. It was an advantage being able to see the source of the traffic, through the publishing site’s analytics. This allowed me to see what traffic sources drove the most interest to my content.

Final Thoughts

Accurate analytics should be a must-have for all investment bankers. Without hard data that allows you to track online activity in a reliable way, you could be left in the dark and forced to spend a lot of time on the wrong things during your client or investor calls, instead of utilizing actionable data that helps push the story or the deal forward. Data is black and white, it is very clear, using it takes away the guessing. It builds the confidence you need to firmly plan your client calls, investor meetings, and deal closings.

For any comments, please reach out to Marcus Magarian.