[nhangen]

Negotiate a small up front bonus, 2-4 weeks of paid vacation in the immediate future, at a minimum, and then take the deal.

Use the r&r to recharge, and the acquisition to bolster your track record. Start something new once you vest.

[tiredandseeking]

Thanks for the comment. That seems like a good deal to me. Do you have any tips for the negotiation?

[amorphid]

If there the acquisition price has a scheduled payout, don't put too much weight on any dollar amount that doesn't get paid out immediately as cash. You could get fired, or decide to quit, post-acquisition on day 2. Know what that means to walk away earlier than planned.

Also, having sold a company, I can't stress enough the value of having a good lawyer handle the legal bits. The last thing you wanna be dealing with when tire & grumpy is trying to find the loophole about how you could get screwed in a thick jumble of legalese.

Also, drink an emergency beer. You've earned it.

[bald]

> If there the acquisition price has a scheduled payout, don't put too much weight on any dollar amount that doesn't get paid out immediately as cash.

You actually cannot take this too serious. Often an earn-out depends on achieving certain revenue/ebitda/milestone targets. However, after the acquisition, you will find that someone else is in control over the resources you get (e.g., employees, budget, etc.). In other words, they control the input that you can use to achieve the agreed-upon output.

Thus the acquirer is frequently in a situation where they can manipulate the outcome by simply decreasing the input and thus driving you out of your earnout.

There's people who say that you should not rely on the earnout at all and make a deal ONLY if you would make it based on the immediate payout.

[keenrodent]

Having been through this personally in the past two years, I cannot amplify this comment enough.

If you have earnout targets based on resources such as headcount, marketing spending, or anything else not under your control, you either have to negotiate that the payout is triggered if resources fall, or accept that you will likely be manipulated out of the money by future resource constraints.

[mbesto]

I'm an M&A advisor and my wife has been a PE investor for 10+ years. If your expected payout is $1M+, we might be able to help negotiate (our fee is low digit %'s). My value proposition is simple -> I'll get you more money than you would be able to do on your own and I only succeed if you do. My contact info is in my profile if you're interested.

[loceng]

I hope that means no % taken if you don't get a certain pre-determined amount? They could likely easily get 10-20% more on their own, even if it's structured in some kind of bonus over time; a company's cash is King, so if they can spread out their expenses then that's more easy to swallow.

Edit to add: someone like you may be great and exactly what they need to get through this step of course, I hope they will have a clear enough mind to not make a rash decision.

[RantyDave]

Find someone whose job it is to negotiate on your behalf. For the same reason you wouldn't ask a lawyer to build a SaaS.

[peteretep]

It's in the company's interest that you're motivated, happy and well. I don't think you can realistically continue without the above. If they didn't want you on board, it'd just be an acquisition and not an acqui-hire. The 2-4 weeks vacation is not a big ask at all.

If you go in with those facts at your fingertips, you'll be in a pretty good starting point.

[ParameterOne]

DON'T TAKE THE DEAL. The only reason some company would want to acquire you is because it must have accretion value. Why don't you see if you can turn them into your biggest customer?? Stick with it, don't quit, you are three feet from gold.