In this episode, Hall welcomes Vernon Howard, CEO & Co-Founder at Hallo.

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Hallo is an online events platform that builds authentic relationships with diverse candidates. Hallo’s versatile platform helps teams and passionate employers connect with candidates in natural ways. 

Vernon was a math prodigy, who graduated high school at 16 years old, when he tested into Virginia Commonwealth University to study Computer Science and Math. He paid his way through school by teaching math and serving as a janitor on campus.

He went on to sell men’s suits, which taught him the art of selling. After joining Capital One – whose signing bonus he used to rebuild an Alpha Romeo – he built Capital One’s first mobile banking application. He also built out the Application Security Team at Capital One, before, naturally, becoming a securities trader.

Vernon then transitioned over to being a white hat hacker and eventually ended his career sitting on the derivatives trading floor at Capital One. 

Vernon shares what led him to start working in this sector. He also discusses some of the challenges startups face and advises both entrepreneurs and investors.

You can visit Hallo at www.hallothere.com and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/halloapp. 

Vernon can be contacted via email at vh@hallothere.com, and via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/vdhjr/. 

Music courtesy of Bensound.

Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing.

In negotiating the exit with an acquirer, you’ll need to know the following:

1. Key metrics about your business, both those that show the company in a positive light as well as a negative one.
2. The total addressable market for your company.
3. The top three opportunities your company can attack.
4. The company’s competition and competitive advantage.
5. The company’s track record in meeting forecasts and accomplishing milestones. 

Also, acquirers will ask why you are selling the company and why now?

Why is the acquiring company a good fit for your company?

How closely aligned in operations is the company to the acquiring company’s operations?

How much integration work will need to be done?

What role will the CEO play after the acquisition?

Think through the answers to these questions as most of them will come up. 


Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding.

Let’s go startup something today.
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