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CEO, Palo Alto Networks
4 quotes from 2 episodes on Founders Podcast and 20VC with Harry Stebbings, each with a timestamped link to the source.
Nikesh Arora treats mergers and acquisitions as a way to bypass long product development timelines. Palo Alto Networks enforces a 30-day roadmap negotiation before signing term sheets to test founder alignment while financial incentives remain active.
Egon Durban warns that seeking a discount on a rare asset means losing the deal to competitors who are willing to pay more.
“I know you're going to want it cheap cuz you like value. It's in your upbringing. This is sport. Welcome to sport. Don't stop bidding. I will stay on the phone with you to give you moral courage.”
From Egon Durban on Why You Never Lose a Rare Asset Over Price
Building a high-quality technology product takes several years from scratch regardless of the company or location.
“It takes four to seven years to build a good technology product. It doesn't matter who you are, what you are, where you are.”
Nikesh Arora enforces a 30-day negotiation period for joint product roadmaps before signing term sheets. Founders become much more willing to align the product vision while the check remains pending.
“You're surprised when there's a large check hanging on the other side of 30 days, how much more amenable founders are to aligning their product vision than after they've got the proceeds. It's night and day.”
From Nikesh Arora on M&A: Align the Roadmap Before the Check
Nikesh Arora asks whether buyers are better off building from scratch than trying to tinker with technology built 10 years ago.
“I think the biggest fear right now is something that was started 10 years ago. Is it past the point of yes rebuilding and are you better off building from scratch than trying to tinker with something that was built 10 years ago?”
From AirTable's $11B to $1.285B Sale: What SaaS Founders Missed
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