Palo Alto Networks paid $3.35B for Chronosphere, and co-founder Martin Mao handled the negotiation himself, sitting across from chief executive Nikesh Arora. In this Greylock conversation with partner Jerry Chen, he unpacks how a first-time founder approaches a company that buys businesses for a living.
The two cover deciding whether to sell at all, preparing for talks, weighing offers against independence, structuring retention for employees, and why Mao reviewed the cap table person by person before signing.
