Nadia Gil, Chief of Strategic Planning and Corporate Development at Brady (NYSE:BRC) This episode is sponsored by the M&A Science Academy, DealRoom, and FirmRoom.  To join our growing online community of M&A practitioners, visit https://www.mascience.com/academy. Don’t forget to use code “podcast” at checkout.  Ready to take your M&A to the next level with software made to manage each stage of the deal process? See how DealRoom can facilitate your next deal at https://www.dealroom.net .  FirmRoom provides 80% cost savings over VDRs that bill by page and delivers a far better user experience to boot. Sign up in under 2 minutes by going to https://www.firmroom.com  EPISODE TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Intro 04:01 Why large companies are focusing on acquiring startups 10:36 Why startups don't thrive in a larger company 13:15 Factors to consider when acquiring a startup 17:28 Factors that make startups unacquirable 21:35 Preserving startups in the larger company 24:41 Joint planning approach 26:35 Keys to a strong relationship 29:44 How can large companies protect the acquired small company 32:19 Integration 34:13 Compensation 38:49 How startups can protect themselves 40:48 When to walk away 46:29 How to mitigate the risk of destroying a small company 48:06 Craziest thing in M&A