Before you acquire a company, write the case for the deal on one page and test it before anyone spends money on diligence. Paste that thesis, the target's customer and revenue summary, your own build and partner alternatives, the current commitments of the executives who would run the integration, and both companies' compensation approach into one request. Then instruct Pingpong to attack the thesis the way a skeptical director would: is buying better than building or partnering, does the team have room to absorb it, which customers and people could walk away, and what diligence must prove before you commit. Ask it to help you write the conditions under which you would walk away, and review your written answers in a second round.
This page is for chief executives, corporate development leads, and directors deciding whether to pursue an acquisition at all. Executive starting points live under Pingpong for executives. Deal structure, closing conditions, and regulatory review belong with deal counsel.
Start with a one-page thesis
A thesis that fits on a page answers three questions in plain sentences: why this company, why now, and why buy instead of build or partner. If any answer depends on a figure, the figure needs a source.
Turn each claim into a diligence test
For every claim in the thesis, name the evidence that would confirm it and the person responsible for checking. "Customers want this product" becomes a set of reference calls with specific accounts. "Their technology fits our platform" becomes a code and architecture review with a stated pass mark. A claim with no test is an assumption the board is being asked to accept.
Write the walk-away conditions now
Decide before diligence what would end the deal: a customer who will not confirm renewal, a technical finding, a key person who will not stay, a price above a set ceiling. Conditions written early are harder to argue away after months of work on the deal.
A worked example
This example is illustrative and does not describe a customer. A 450-person construction software company is considering buying a 60-person field inspection app. The thesis says inspection is the feature customers request most, buying is 18 months faster than building, and the target's mid-size contractor customers are a natural market for the acquirer's main product.
The chief executive pastes the thesis, the target's revenue by customer, the survey behind the demand claim, the build estimate, existing partner integrations, the next two quarters' operating plan, and both pay structures.
A useful pass finds that the demand claim rests on a survey of 40 customers, and 12 of them asked for inspection through an integration rather than a native feature. An existing partner integration is already used by about 30% of customers, and the thesis never compares buying against expanding that partnership. The 18-month build estimate came from one engineering lead's rough sizing.
On risk, two customers account for a quarter of the target's revenue. The target's founder still writes most of the mobile code. The chief operating officer, named to lead the integration, is running a finance system migration through the second quarter. The target pays mostly in equity, and the acquirer's bands are cash-heavy, so key engineers could see a large change in their packages.
The chief executive revises the proposal. The board is asked to approve diligence spending only, with the acquisition decision to follow. The team prices an expanded partnership as the alternative. A product operations leader is named to run integration planning, freeing the chief operating officer. The board approves four walk-away conditions in advance: either top customer declining to confirm renewal intent, a code review showing the app cannot support enterprise sign-on within six months, the founder declining a two-year retention agreement, or a price above the agreed ceiling.
If diligence passes and terms arrive, prepare the board's questions before you sign the term sheet. Once the deal is set to close, war-game the integration plan.
A request you can copy
Below are our one-page acquisition thesis, the target's revenue by customer, our build and partner alternatives, the current commitments of the executives who would lead integration, and both companies' compensation approach. Attack the thesis as a skeptical director. Compare buying with building and partnering. Flag every claim without evidence and turn each into a diligence test with an owner. Identify customer concentration, key-person, bandwidth, and pay risks. Draft walk-away conditions we should agree on before diligence. Stop there so we can answer in writing, then review our answers. Mark legal and structural questions for deal counsel.
How Pingpong runs the review
The web review app sends your request through several models in order. Each later model receives the original request and every earlier answer, with instructions to assess the work so far. For the steps inside the app, see running your first review.
What a model can't review
A model does not know the target's founders, what its customers say privately, or how your own team feels about taking on a deal. Deal counsel owns structure and legal risk, and the board owns the decision.
When the proposal goes to a board vote, see war-game a decision before the board meeting. More guides live under work decisions before you commit.