Episode 115: Inside the Deal with Vincen...

In this episode of the Tech M&A Podcast, we sit down with Vincent Harris, CEO and co-founder of RealEstateAPI, a property data infrastructure company whose APIs give software developers clean, structured data on more than 157 million US properties. Vince and his co-founder had been in business together for roughly a decade before this venture, through companies that grew and then plateaued or ran into regulatory limits. RealEstateAPI was the one they believed was sellable and they took it to market through Corum, closing a successful exit about ninety days before this conversation, after a deliberate pause and return along the way.

Vince reflects on how a cold outreach from Corum deal maker Richard Holcomb and a series of educational events first introduced him to the firm, why the decision to sell came down to de-risking his family, and the surprises that followed — chief among them the cost of legal counsel and an unexpected F reorganization that reshaped the structure of the deal. He speaks candidly about how personal and adversarial due diligence can become, why he chose a buyer offering less cash upfront but considerably more upside, and how a five-month hiatus spent tightening advertising efficiency and operating leverage brought him back to market with a stronger story. Finally, Vince discusses life after the exit and the advice he would give founders who think it's too early to start.

Takeaways

• Sell the story you have, not the one you're waiting for: Vince thought the business was too early at two and a half years in, but Richard Holcomb pointed out that a fast-growing, profitable company with a clear growth story is sellable right now.
• De-risking the family drove the decision: Nearly all of Vince and his co-founder's net worth was tied up in the business, and after a decade of ventures that grew and then plateaued, the timing felt right to take chips off the table.
• Legal costs are the surprise nobody budgets for: The fees came in well above every early estimate he received, including from banker friends, and he wishes he had researched firms and ranges more thoroughly upfront.
• Deal structure can matter more than cash at close: Vince turned down a higher upfront offer for a structure with more upside, backing his own belief in the business.
• Due diligence gets personal: The rigor was expected; the adversarial edge was not. Corum's counsel to not take it personally kept sensitive items from derailing the deal.
• A hiatus is a strategy, not a retreat: Offers in the spring came in below target, so Vince paused for five to six months, leaned into a high-return advertising engine and other operating leverage, and returned in August with more EBITDA and a better set of buyers.
• Let your people in: Vince calls selling a company the most intensely personal thing a founder will do, and advises leaning on a partner and a wider circle through a process that is slower and more frustrating than expected.
  
  

  Timestamps

  00:00 – Introduction: Vincent Harris and RealEstateAPI
  00:58 – What RealEstateAPI does: property data as Lego blocks for developers
  01:42 – Discovering Corum through cold outreach and educational events
  02:13 – Motivation for the process: de-risking the family
  03:12 – Surprises: the cost of legal counsel and an F reorganization
  04:52 – How personal and contentious due diligence became
  06:08 – A bulge-bracket-grade process in the lower middle market
  07:15 – What he wishes he'd known about legal costs
  08:05 – Choosing the eventual acquirer
  09:00 – Advice for CEOs selling their company
  10:30 – Life after the sale
  11:32 – Going on hiatus and returning to market
  12:34 – What he focused on during the hiatus
  13:11 – A stronger, more credible story on return
  13:47 – Final thoughts: let your partner into the journey