Broadcasts.com - "Episode 27: SpecialA Conversation with Microsoft's Head of Strategic Investments Brian Schultz" (Acquired)

Published: Dec. 16, 2016, 2:56 p.m.

Topics covered include:\\xa0

Brian\\u2019s history working across \\u201cboth sides of the aisle\\u201d as both a startup founder and corporate development leader at a big company, how perspective from each informs the other, and the importance of learning \\u201ccustomer empathy\\u201d\\xa0
How Microsoft approaches M&A from an organizational perspective, and the importance of fit with the company\\u2019s product roadmap\\xa0
How Brian approaches strategic investments at Microsoft, and the evolution over time of the Microsoft (and large technology companies as a whole) perspective on investing in other companies
Balancing the tension between partnering and investing, and what criteria Brian thinks about when evaluating companies\\xa0
\\nMicrosoft\\u2019s investment in Facebook in 2007 (at a then-crazy-seeming $15B valuation), and more recently Foursquare, \\xa0Mesosphere, \\xa0CloudFlare and others
The current state of the tech M&A landscape, and the emergence of private equity as tech company acquirers\\xa0
Potentially changing corporate and foreign tax structures and how they impact acquirers\\u2019 thinking around deals (or not!)\\xa0
How Microsoft tracks and evaluates success of acquisitions over time, and lessons learned from successes and failures\\xa0
The increasing number of operating companies (technology and otherwise) looking to invest in startups, and how that landscape has evolved over time\\xa0

Sponsors:
Vanta: https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta
Crusoe: https://bit.ly/acquiredcrusoe
Modern Treasury: https://bit.ly/acquiredmoderntreasury

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Followups:\\xa0

\\n\\xa0Snap Inc.\\u2019s rumored IPO filing \\u2014 and bonus discussion of how VC\\u2019s and other investors think about \\u201cexiting\\u201d their investments in companies that have gone public

\\xa0 Hot Takes:\\xa0

\\xa0 The Carve Out:\\xa0