Invest in Lines, Not Dots
Build acquisition credibility through repeated interactions over time
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 96%
Treat acquisition interest as a developing line of evidence rather than a decisive moment. Begin with a low-pressure introduction based on shared markets, customers, or technology, then reconnect as the startup executes. Each interaction supplies another data point: whether the founders do what they said, whether the strategy remains compelling, and whether both teams enjoy working together. This accumulated evidence lowers diligence risk and lets both sides evaluate culture and stewardship before valuation dominates the discussion. The startup remains focused on customer value instead of constantly shopping itself, while the acquirer gains enough context to recognize a strategically important company early. If a transaction eventually becomes sensible, the parties enter it with established credibility, a shared vocabulary, and fewer surprises.
Origin
Taylor Barada applies Mark Suster's investing-in-lines-not-dots concept to long-term relationships between corporate development teams and startups.
Core principles
- 01Repeated interactions reveal more than a single pitch
- 02Observed follow-through builds credibility
- 03Strategic fit becomes clearer over time
- 04Founders should evaluate the acquirer as carefully as the acquirer evaluates them
How to run it
- 1
Establish a relevant connection
Use a trusted mutual contact to connect the startup with the appropriate corporate development or business leader. Frame the introduction around shared strategic interests rather than an immediate sale.
Pro tip A warm introduction from a respected investor or operator gives both sides useful context.
Watch out Do not manufacture a vague partnership proposal merely to gain access.
- 2
Hold a low-pressure first conversation
Discuss the market, product, customers, and long-term vision without forcing a transaction agenda. Determine whether continued contact would be strategically useful.
Pro tip Explicitly saying that the company is not fundraising or selling can make the discussion more candid.
Watch out A first interaction framed as an urgent sale puts unnecessary weight on one meeting.
- 3
Create a future reference point
Explain what the company intends to build, test, or achieve next. This gives the acquirer something concrete to evaluate during the next interaction.
Pro tip Choose milestones that demonstrate strategic progress, not vanity metrics.
Watch out Avoid promises that the team cannot realistically deliver.
- 4
Reconnect with evidence
Return periodically with results, lessons, or a refined vision. Repeated delivery transforms isolated impressions into a credible trajectory.
Pro tip Unexpected but strategically sound progress can be more persuasive than rigidly following the original plan.
Watch out Do not spend so much time courting acquirers that customer execution suffers.
- 5
Evaluate mutual fit
Assess whether the acquirer can accelerate the startup's vision and whether the founders can contribute to the acquirer's broader mission. Examine culture, people, and stewardship alongside price.
Pro tip Use the relationship period to conduct informal diligence on the buyer.
Watch out The highest bidder may still be the wrong long-term home for the product and team.
- 6
Activate a transaction when aligned
Move into a formal process only when strategic timing, people fit, and financial expectations converge. Use the accumulated relationship context to make the process faster and more informed.
Pro tip Keep fiduciary value optimization separate from attempts to manipulate early relationship building.
Watch out Do not assume a long relationship guarantees a deal.
In the wild
A founder meets an acquirer's corporate development team through a mutual investor without requesting a deal. Over the next year, the founder shares planned product milestones and later demonstrates that the team delivered them. Both sides also discover compatible product visions and working styles. When strategic interest becomes concrete, the acquirer already understands the company's trajectory and the founder has evidence that the buyer could be a responsible home.
→ The parties enter acquisition discussions with greater trust, context, and confidence.
Common mistakes
Opening by asking to be acquired
Making the first conversation an explicit sale request turns a relationship-building opportunity into a high-pressure binary decision.
Treating every large company as a customer channel
Complex strategic partnerships often take too long to complete and rarely transform a startup as dramatically as expected.
Optimizing only for purchase price
Ignoring culture, stewardship, and post-acquisition roles can leave founders trapped in an organization that cannot support their vision.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for founders and strategic acquirers who may have a future fit but do not need an immediate transaction.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for distressed sales or formal auctions where time and confidentiality sharply constrain relationship building.
From the transcript
“I've always liked um after stumbling across it some point in the last couple years, uh, Mark Suster's um blog post on investing in uh…”
“it's very hard to make a decision when you only have one point in time, but when you've had um connections over time and you…”
“I actually think it's best when it's explicitly not around a specific um conversation.”
From the episode
Special: An Acquirer’s View into M&A with Taylor Barada, head of Corp Dev at Adobe
Taylor Barada