The Importance Of Company Culture & Partnerships With John Swanciger Of Toast

11/15/20 • 24 min

Episode Summary:
In episode 7, we speak with John Swanciger, who runs strategic alliances at Toast. John shares the unique path that brought him to corporate development after many years working in tech as a C-level executive, and his advice for others who are considering corporate development. He discusses what it has been like joining Toast after its first acquisition, and how the team thinks about staying true to Toast’s culture with the partnerships they pursue.

What is Uncovered:

John’s path to Toast and why he became interested in corporate development
The 3 buckets to corporate development: corporate development strategy, deal execution, and integration
How Toast thinks about corporate development and the bucket they spend most of their time in these days
Inbound vs Outbound and how Toast thinks about building relationships
The lessons John has learned thus far at Toast and being part of the post-integration process
John’s thoughts on how COVID-19 has impacted the restaurant business and if there have been changes to the way acquisitions are looked at within their market
Advice to listeners looking to pursue a career in corporate development

Learn More About:
John Swanciger John Swanciger leads Business and Corporate Development at Toast. He is a proven results-driven executive with over 20 years of experience building and growing innovative businesses globally. Recognized as a creative thought leader skilled in structuring and managing high-value partnerships from startups to Fortune 500 companies. Previously, John was CEO of Manta (acquired in 2018) and held leadership positions at Starwood Hotels, Hotwire, and Switchfly. He holds a BS in Finance from Boston College.

Toast Launched in 2013, Toast powers successful restaurants of all sizes with a technology platform that combines restaurant POS, front of house, back of house and guest-facing technology with a diverse marketplace of third-party applications. By pairing technology with an unrivaled commitment to customer success, Toast helps restaurants streamline operations, increase revenue and deliver amazing guest experiences. Toast was named to the 2019 Forbes Fintech 50, 2019 SXSW Interactive Innovation Finals, 2018 Forbes Cloud 100, and recognized as the third fastest-growing technology company in North America on the 2017 Deloitte Fast 500. Learn more at www.toasttab.com.
Quotes from John:

In regards to the Integration process:“Most importantly we haven’t changed our culture and values with serving the customer first. If an issue arises and requires more support we have always followed through on that promise to deliver.”
In regards to COVID-19: “The Big question here is what does it look like post-vaccine and post-vaccine plus 6 months. It used to be a multi-year plan and now I view it as “in COVID” and “after COVID.” Nobody knows what that may look like. I don’t think we are any different than a lot of the businesses and that whatever the next phase of this looks like, we need to be prepared for it.”
On a career in corporate development: “In corporate development a lot of us have banking, consulting or finance backgrounds. There are also a lot of product people who are coming into corporate development because they are often involved in diligence process, which is how it started for me”

This episode was recorded on September 23, 2020.

What is Uncovered:

John’s path to Toast and why he became interested in corporate development
The 3 buckets to corporate development: corporate development strategy, deal execution, and integration
How Toast thinks about corporate development and the bucket they spend most of their time in these days
Inbound vs Outbound and how Toast thinks about building relationships
The lessons John has learned thus far at Toast and being part of the post-integration process
John’s thoughts on how COVID-19 has impacted the restaurant business and if there have been changes to the way acquisitions are looked at within their market
Advice to listeners looking to pursue a career in corporate development

In regards to the Integration process:“Most importantly we haven’t changed our culture and values with serving the customer first. If an issue arises and requires more support we have always followed through on that promise to deliver.”
In regards to COVID-19: “The Big question here is what does it look like post-vaccine and post-vaccine plus 6 months. It used to be a multi-year plan and now I view it as “in COVID” and “after COVID.” Nobody knows what that may look like. I don’t think we are any different than a lot of the businesses and that whatever the next phase of this looks like, we need to be prepared for it.”
On a career in corporate development: “In corporate development a lot of us have banking, consulting or finance backgrounds. There are also a lot of product people who are coming into corporate development because they are often involved in diligence process, which is how it started for me”

This episode was recorded on September 23, 2020.

Previous Episode

M&A Outside Of The Tech Industry With Charlie Burckmyer

Episode Summary:
On episode 6, Matt and Rob speak with Charlie Burckmyer, Director of M&A and Corporate Development at Culligan International. We learn more about how an M&A deal looks at a company with over 80 years of delivering water filtration & softener products. Charlie discusses the types of companies Culligan looks to acquire and how that has changed over the years, new technologies emerging within the industry, how acquisition sizes and valuations differ from traditional software companies and the key skills to have to follow a career path to corporate development.

What is Uncovered:

How the corporate development team is structured at Culligan
Details on Charlie’s role & the type of work he focuses on
Why deals may fall apart and the importance and value of your word
How Culligan thinks about acquisitions and the type of new technologies within water filtration and softening that have impacted the way they think about M&A
The type of acquisition sizes and valuations a company like Culligan looks at compared to those that VCs and other firms are looking at with tech companies
How Culligan focuses on high quality teams with high quality products to become satellites of Culligan rather than doing heavy integration

Learn More About:

Charlie Burckmyer: Charlie Burckmyer serves Director for Culligan International’s global Corporate Development team, a role he’s held since early 2017. Charlie joined Culligan from JMC, a middle-market Private Equity fund based in Boston. He began his principal investing career in 2008 following a successful early career in sales leadership. He and his family live on the North Shore of Boston.

Culligan International:Water touches everything in your home. For over 80 years, Culligan Water has been making that water cleaner, soft, and delicious for your friends, neighbors, and probably even your grandparents. Culligan Water provides the best in water softening and filtration technology. Let’s see what Culligan Water can do for your home. You could give your people Culligan Water.
This episode was recorded on September 17th, 2020

Next Episode

The Importance Of Trust And Cultural Fit With Leigh Price Of IBM

Episode Summary:
On episode 8, Matt and Rob speak with Leigh Price, Vice President of Corporate Development & Strategy at IBM. Leigh has over 30 years in the industry and has overseen just north of 400 purchases at IBM. In this episode you will learn everything from the strategies IBM takes with acquisitions, how the corporate development team is organized and the importance of culture & integrity in this business. Leigh also shares his advice for entrepreneurs looking to build a relationship with IBM & why deals can often fall apart in this business.

Heads up: At the beginning of this episode Rob says, the undercovered podcast. Please ignore this blooper, and continue listening to hear more on this episode of the Uncovered Podcast. :)

What is Uncovered:

How the corporate development team is organized at IBM
Where the vast majority of deals are sourced from
Leigh’s advice for entrepreneurs looking to work with IBM
How IBM’s culture has changed over the years and the importance of the soft elements during an integration
An example of trust being compromised and why integrity in this business means everything.
The importance of good business hygiene for startups & why more companies should be spending their time in this area
The common reasons deals fall apart from the buyer’s perspective

Learn more about:

Leigh Price:
Leigh Price is Vice President, Corporate Development Strategy at IBM where he is responsible for leading the development of IBM’s worldwide inorganic strategy including acquisitions and divestitures. Previously, Leigh was the Vice President of Intellectual Property for IBM, leading its patent and research licensing businesses, contributing nearly $500M to IBM profit. Before that he spent nearly 15 years in IBM Corporate Development leading both acquisition and divestiture transactions. His deal sheet numbers over 50 transactions with an aggregate transaction value nearing $20B.

Before IBM, Leigh was the CFO and COO of Zucotto Wireless, Inc., a semiconductor startup focusing on Java IP, based in San Diego, California. While at Zucotto, Leigh raised $42M in 4 private equity financings involving both equity and debt.

Leigh holds a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of Business.

IBM: IBM is a leading cloud platform and cognitive solutions company. Restlessly reinventing since 1911, we are the largest technology and consulting employer in the world, with more than 350,000 employees serving clients in 170 countries. With Watson, the AI platform for business, powered by data, we are building industry-based solutions to real-world problems. For more than seven decades, IBM Research has defined the future of information technology with more than 3,000 researchers in 12 labs located across six continents. For more information, visit www.ibm.com.

Quotes from Leigh:

“We take a particular focus on culture and change, it’s actually a discreet stream in our due diligence and is taken seriously.”
“M&A is a relationship business, and trust is an important part of any M&A deal and I’ve been in deals where that trust has been compromised, and I will never forget those.”
“Integrity in my mind is everything in this business”
“If both parties want to get a deal done, they will find a way”

This episode was recorded on October 2, 2020