I am owned. I am happy! But this makes me sound like a puppy, so let me explain.

I was incorporated, but when partners disappeared and it was a solo act, it was time to regroup. Merge, be acquired, or die.

So after some thought about venue, I announced my intent to the Game Publishers Association members list. And in the end, I was inquired about, courted by some, scrutinized by several, and ultimately assimilated into another company. Yum!

I was very pleased by the process, which I see as a sign of the professional-but-not-cutthroat attitude of this industry. My post resulted in several strong leads, private discussion went politely and with good enthusiasm, and it looks like it will produce a fruitful match.

Here's an overview of being acquired, for those considering this highly recommended method of growth.

I announced on GPA-L, and within a few days had over a half dozen inquiries. Most responses were within 48 hours. Most were from 2-4 person companies.

I replied to each within a day. I had written a short (2-page) and candid assessment of my (meager) company hard assets, roles I could bring to a merger/acquisition, and the types of future projects I would want to continue doing post-merger.

It was a very matter-of-factly document, not a 'pitch'. The information I provided was marked as 'private but not confidential', in case any of them wanted to do fact checking or check with GPA colleagues. After reading it, if the other company thought there might be a match, we could discuss it further.

Three companies were interested in looking deeper, and two of those progressed to the very-interested "Hmm... let's think about how this could work" stage.

Oh, and one company said they didn't want to team up yet but wanted to know how the process worked in case they decided to try it too. Hence the origin of this column.

Of those two deeper inquiries, one of them ('Company A') I had worked with (freelance) once before. They were interested in my project ideas and acquiring the meager assets but especially in bringing me onboard to help with company stuff that I have experience in.

The other strong candidate, 'Company B', thought we might be a good fit in particular in one of my 'future project' areas. That discussion was slightly slower, so I indicated my leaning towards the first enthusiastic candidate. I tend to operate openly (perhaps naively) in the interests of not wasting other people's time, and fortunately this did not bite me in the end.

Timeliness was one of my factors, as there are tax advantages to me if I folded my company by Dec 31.

Ultimately, I joined 'Company A', Technomancer Press LLC. Later, we may team up with 'Company B' for the specific future project they showed interest.

In the meantime, I also have a list of several "merger-friendly" companies, received one inquiry that I could offer to do freelance computer work for them next year, and found some leads on freelancing work just in the process of checking on the companies that responded.

So I'm pretty upbeat about how things went. I admit one reason I posted just to GPA-L and not other lists like WZL or open forums like RPGnet or ENWorld was because, well, I think most GPA companies are a bit more mature in terms of outlook than non-GPA members. The GPA is a handy filter and a good way to reach peers.

In past columns, I've stressed the necessity of not going it alone, and I've emphasized that collaboration almost always results in stronger works. A good D&D party has different roles, so should a game publishing house. It's just silly to do it solo.

And if I had to pin it down... I think I just became Technomancer's Cleric. And that, my friends, is too cool for words.

Until next month,

Sandy
sandy@rpg.net