A16z's decision to add Hollywood agent Michael Ovitz to their board was controversial but genius. It directly led to modeling the firm after Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a novel approach in venture capital. This shows the power of seeking board-level expertise from outside your industry to challenge core assumptions and unlock game-changing strategies.

Despite a $3B valuation with a PE firm, Anastasia Soare believes she should have sold her company to a strategic buyer (e.g., a cosmetics conglomerate) when it was valued at $1B. Strategic buyers offer existing infrastructure and operational expertise that PE firms often lack, which she needed for international expansion.

Instead of crushing competent rivals, Rockefeller transformed them into collaborators. He offered them willing partnerships, significant autonomy to run their divisions, and a voice in overall company policy. This created a "company of founders," aligning interests and ensuring that top talent would join him rather than fight him.

Activists can be effective even in companies with dual-class shares or founder control. The mechanism for influence is not the threat of a proxy fight but the power of good ideas and relationships to achieve strategic alignment with the controlling party.

In a competitive M&A process where the target is reluctant, a marginal price increase may not work. A winning strategy can be to 'overpay' significantly. This makes the offer financially indefensible for the board to reject and immediately ends the bidding process, guaranteeing the acquisition.

The most critical contractual failure in The Laundress's sale to Unilever was the absence of a detailed transition plan. A vague clause to "keep doing what you do" created an ambiguous power vacuum, leading to operational chaos and the brand's post-acquisition implosion.

Instead of a formal M&A process, Unilever's initial contact was an executive visiting The Laundress's retail store and questioning staff. This unprofessional start was a red flag, foreshadowing the chaotic post-acquisition integration and lack of process that followed.

Rockefeller used his company's stock as a strategic weapon beyond just fundraising. He granted cheap shares to influential bankers to secure favorable loan terms for himself while simultaneously blocking competitors' access to capital, transforming his cap table into a tool for building a network of secret, financially-aligned allies.

The Laundress founder argues that celebrating multiple VC rounds is misguided. While seen as a "badge of honor," it means giving away control and equity. By bootstrapping, she retained majority ownership, contrasting the "sexy" VC narrative with the financial reality of keeping your company.