The question founders ask third and worry about first. The answer depends almost entirely on which kind of buyer you sell to, and it's knowable in advance if you ask the right questions before you sign anything.
Not because some buyers are cruel and others are kind, but because each one's capital requires something different of the company they just bought.
Your team joins a larger organization. Engineers usually do well; duplicated functions like marketing, finance and support are where the redundancy lands, because the acquirer already has them.
A value creation plan arrives within a quarter. Margin improvement is the most reliable lever inside a three to five year hold, and headcount is the largest cost line in a software company.
The company keeps operating as itself. There's no resale to prepare for and no margin target set by a fund, so the reason to cut mostly isn't there. This is us, so verify it by asking our founders.
One person now runs the company, usually hands-on and often in the role you occupied. Culturally the biggest change relative to the company's size.
The people already there become the owners. The softest possible landing for the team, and the slowest and least certain route to money for you.
Ask all five. Ask us. A buyer who gives vague answers to these is giving you an answer.
Numbers, not sentiment. Then ask what happened in months three to twelve, because the cuts rarely come in week one.
One you choose from their portfolio, not one they introduce. Any buyer worth selling to will say yes without hesitating.
The existing leadership, a new hire, or someone at the parent. This is the change people feel most and it's rarely discussed before signing.
A product that gets absorbed doesn't need the team that built it. This question is really the headcount question asked a different way.
Some buyers will commit in writing for a defined period. Not all can, and the answer tells you how firm their intentions are.
The part founders think about least and remember longest. Four rules, learned the hard way by people who got at least one of them wrong.
Deals fall through, and a team that hears about a sale that then dies loses trust twice. Tell a small number of senior people once the letter of intent is signed, and only if you need them for diligence.
Not an email, not a Slack message, not a press release. People should hear it from the person who made the decision, and should be able to react in front of you.
Somebody is thinking about their options, their salary and their job. Have real answers ready, agreed with the buyer, before you walk into the room.
Same day if possible. The people who now own the company should be able to speak for themselves, and their absence gets interpreted.
Answer with what you know and don't soften it. If some roles are at risk, say which ones and when they'll know. Ambiguity is worse than bad news and everyone fills the gap with the worst version.
Work this out with your lawyer before the meeting. Vested, unvested, accelerated, cashed out. Every person in the room will do this arithmetic that night whether or not you help them.
Tell the truth, including if the answer is yes or not yet decided. Founders who imply they're staying and leave three months later do real damage to the team they were trying to protect.
It depends on the buyer. Strategic acquirers cut roles that duplicate their own. Private equity reviews cost early. Permanent-capital buyers usually keep the team, because there's no resale to prepare for and the people are what makes the company work.
Curious is a long-term holding company that buys and grows software companies with empathy.
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