The Dehumanization of Acquisitions

Saying goodbye is death by a thousand cuts — How to make M&A a bit more human.

Photo by Xavier von Erlach on Unsplash

This is happening. But it’s not happening to me. I choose what happens.

I said these words again and again𑁋a grounding mantra to steady my displaced soul. The startup I helped build was acquired in early 2021. As ready as I was for that chapter to end, I had no idea how soul-crushing the due diligence process would be. Everyone assured me that was just the nature of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). But, when it was all over, I still felt awful.

Over a decade ago, I was in a car accident. My last thought before blacking out was, this is it. When I woke up, I looked at my hands; I couldn’t believe they were my hands. I left a car crash without a visible scar, but I wasn’t okay.

The acquisition didn’t leave a visible scar, and yet I wasn’t okay.

The acquisition renegotiated the norms and rules that bound me. It was like a breakup.

Due diligence is not for the faint of heart. I had to both defend my work and get comfortable with destroying it. All the pieces that made my work meaningful and played into my sense of self crumbled. So, I resigned.