Some interesting links we found across the web this week:

How to Expertly Position Your Business for an Exit
Whether you are thinking about selling or considering going public, 2021 can be an exciting time to start positioning for an exit. As founders and CEOs plan for that lucrative exit, they should keep the five items listed in this Entrepreneur article in mind to prepare for maximum impact. Some of the important tasks for founders and CEOs to work on to prepare for a possible exit include conducting a detailed analysis to show how the company’s performance outpaces that of others in the same space, understanding the timeline and impact of the exit, and keeping the investors, employees, customers and other relevant parties updated with the exit plan.

The Best Fundraising Advice We Heard in 2021
Unprecedented numbers of new small businesses were formed in the US in 2021, and fundraising, whether from friends and family or venture capitalists, is an integral part of starting up a new venture. This article by Entrepreneur’s staff picks out the best fundraising advice other founders shared. One advice highlighted multiple times in this article is that founders should be honest and open to potential investors to discover and foster the best partnerships.

Establish a Productive Private Equity Partnership
The private equity world has been active. Fundraising activity across private markets reached an all-time high of $7.3 trillion in 2020, of which private equity accounted for 61%. Studies also indicate that private equity deals and exits are on pace for a record-setting year in 2021. For companies to take advantage of this active market, they should value the importance of management due diligence, a process carried out by private equity firms with target companies’ management team to examine what a partnership would actually be like. This Harvard Business Review article highlights the values of management due diligence for establishing a productive and flourishing private equity partnership.

Some Humility Can Really Help an Entrepreneur Win Over Investors
A recent study shows that early-stage entrepreneurs who display signs of humility with investors are nearly twice as likely to reach the next step of the funding process as ones who don’t. This WSJ article reveals that while venture capitalists want founders who are aggressive and ambitious, VCs also want founders who are capable of listening, who would accept that the funders knew better in their chosen sector and who are willing to take advice.

These Countries Have the Most Startup Investment for Their Size
This Crunchbase article highlights some interesting findings from a survey on the startup investment market in different countries. While the US has the highest rate of startup investment relative to population among the world’s largest countries, it only ranks fourth among all countries. Singapore ranks first with a per capita venture funding of nearly $1,400.