When we invest in a company, we envision who will acquire it: Gil Beyda

When Gil Beyda is determining whether or not to invest in a company, he’s looking for a great team, a unique solution to a problem and revenue and market-share numbers that are realistic.

He’s also figuring out who might acquire that company.

“If we can’t think of a company who will acquire this company, either we’re not thinking hard enough or it’s not right for venture capital,” Beyda said at a venture capital-focused event organized by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and held at Venturef0rth. It was part of Philly Tech Week.

Beyda runs Genacast Ventures, a firm that’s invested in Invite Media, LeadiD and Baltimore-based ZeroFox. Beyda and Comcast are the two investors in Genacast, which makes investments of up to $1 million and focuses on B2B (business to business) companies.

Even though an exit may be the longterm goal, Beyda said that once he’s invested, he doesn’t push for one.

Why do acquisitions happen? The acquiring company usually wants a company’s technology, customers, team or a combination of all three. Revenue is sometimes a factor, but not always, Beyda said. It’s how research and development gets done today.

Read our 2010 Q&A with Beyda here.