Insights

3 Questions Investors Ask Themselves When Evaluating a CEO

“Based on our more than 20 years of work with executives and investors (several on the record for this article), we have distilled the three core questions investors consider as they assess a CEO and a company’s valuation.”

– Katy (Herr) Hew, Founder and CEO, Audacia Strategies and Sarah Gershman, Executive Speech Coach and CEO of Green Room Speakers

Katy (Herr) Hew and Audacia Strategies’ Executive Presence Partner Sarah Gershman co-authored an article for the Harvard Business Review in May of 2022.  They wrote about their experiences working with CEOs on communicating with investors, and how the best investor presentations happen when CEOs focus less on impressing investors with their speaking skills – and more on communicating what their audience needs to know. They outline three core questions investors consider as they assess a CEO and a company’s valuation: 1) Is the CEO confident, but not overconfident? 2) Is the CEO a straight-talker? 3) Do they know how to listen? A good leader already has these skills and uses them every day. An investor presentation is an ideal opportunity to show them in action. Check out the article for an in-depth look at each core question and nail your next investor presentation!

Webinar

Year-End M&A Trends and Outlook 2022

Katy joined a panel of finance, marketing, and growth experts and discussed M&A and strategic opportunities in the sector hosted by FH+H Law Service. We addressed what elements drove GovCon transactions in 2021 with an outlook for 2022.

Panelists included Tom Craig, Managing Partner of FH+H, Richard P. Phillips, Senior Partner at Crossroads Capital, LLC., Jim Sherwood, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer of Federal Compass, Guillaume Laffitte-Smith, Director of Houlihan Lokey, and Katy (Herr) Hew of Audacia Strategies.

To access the event recording and download the presentation slides, follow this link.

Webinar

Planology for Plan Sponsors

Katy had the opportunity to chat with Courtenay Shipley from Retirement Planology and Denise Brien from Purple Strategies about external AND internal company reputation, what reputation means for employee retention, ESG ratings, the importance of authenticity at a corporate level, and other related topics.

It’s more important than ever to think intentionally about the way your company is perceived — and how your communication to your employees is creating your reputation. Check out the conversation!

Webinar

GovCon M&A: 2020 Year in Review & Outlook for 2021

2020 posed unique challenges to businesses in all industries, as the pandemic forced business leaders to pivot and rethink their plans. While many businesses have been threatened by this disruption, some leaders will embrace the challenges that 2020 brought. How will you adjust your strategy to better prepare your company in 2021?

Katy sat down with Tom Craig from FH+H Law Service and a panel of other industry experts to discuss M&A strategy in the current climate.

Podcast

The Opposite Entrepreneur – Strategy and Communicating During Times of Change with Katy Herr

In this episode, Katy Herr met with Mike Regina, entrepreneurial extraordinaire and host of The Opposite Entrepreneur Podcast, to share her experience of advising corporations during seasons of change and uncertainty to help them better become stronger and more refined. Katy offers advice on communicating with clients and leadership, blazing your own path, and the value of knowing your worth as an entrepreneur. Listen to it here!

Podcast

The Deal – Unscripted: Interview with Katy Herr, CEO of Audacia Strategies

Katy sat down with Dan Doran, Principal at financial services firm Quantive to discuss how she came to be in the communications world and what her best practices are when it comes to helping companies that are going through transitions with investor relations and strategic communications. Check it out here!

Podcast


3 Expert Secrets for Getting the Biggest Bang for Your Buck When Selling a Business

To punctuate our fall blog series on business valuation, we interviewed a friend of Audacia Strategies, Dan Doran, Principal at financial services firm Quantive. As an experienced M&A professional focusing on small and mid-sized privately held companies, Dan has seen it all—or at least, A LOT. He and his team support both buyers and sellers uniquely positioning him to be the voice of reason when it comes to transformative business deals.

In this episode we discuss:

  1. When and how to think about your business’s valuation
  2. The difference between valuation and price
  3. How to get the biggest bang for your buck when influencing your business valuation

Webinar

Succeeding as a Smaller Financial Buyer in Mid-Market Mergers & Acquisitions

Buying an existing business is one of the best ways to break into a new market, acquire valuable copyrights or patents, or leverage your expertise to steer a stagnating business in the right direction. While acquiring a business typically requires more funds upfront, the risks tend to be less than starting your own business—as long as you buy smart, that is.

We teamed up with Richard Phillips of Crossroads Capital to create a webinar guiding the smaller financial buyer eying the middle market. Here we specifically address two key insights about buying an existing business: buy-side challenges to consider and how to develop a communications approach that turns those challenges to your advantage. So, let’s get to it!

Insights

Changing of the Guard: Are You Ready?

“The challenge for IR when major executive transitions occur, planned or unplanned, is that in the minds of investors, change equals risk.”
– Katy Herr, Founder and CEO, Audacia Strategies

Katy Herr spoke with the National Investor Relations Institute’s IR Update about the importance of managing through C-suite transitions. Check out the article for best practices and practical advice on how to manage a successful executive entrance (or exit!).

Insights

How to Value a Business: The Ultimate Guide to Business Valuation

“You wouldn’t sell your house without clearing the clutter, giving it a fresh coat of paint, and engaging a crackerjack realtor. Business valuations are similar.”
– Katy Herr, Founder and CEO, Audacia Strategies

Katy Herr spoke with Fit Small Business about how to approach valuing a business.

Don’t miss our other articles on business valuation!