customer dependency | The Portfolio Partnership

Lessons for Owners – Customer Dependency

by Ian Smith | Jan 16, 2026 | Customer Dependency

As promised, over the coming months we will be posting various aspects on how buyers think. What motivates an acquirer? We want to share these insights to help owners understand the aspects of a business that a serial acquirer cherishes. Too many entrepreneurs are...

Building Businesses Buyers Love to Buy – #5 Customer Dependency

by Ian Smith | Jan 9, 2017 | Scaling

Buyers hate dependency. Dependency on the owner, one product or one customer. The post acquisition risk is just too high. This post discusses the problem of relying on one or even a couple of customers and what you can do. Many years ago when I was advising an IT...