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Education

the only asset agents have to sell. It's always better to learn a new business when you
These entities want to acquire high- have access to the resources of an experienced operator
growth organizations that own the
end-user, or merchant relationship. who can guide you through the challenges of the
From a valuation perspective, wheth- industry and help get you back on your feet
er exiting or refinancing, being an when you make mistakes.
ISO makes a huge difference. Thus, if
you're playing for the long term, the If, in conjunction with the above, you have also developed operational expertise,
ISO route makes more sense. are generating meaningful year-over-year top-line and bottom-line growth,
and have successfully penetrated specific verticals where your knowledge and
What should you do? expertise have given you a leg up on the competition, then, and only then,
should you make the move.
In every industry, entrepreneurs
should always be mindful of creating So don't go into 2017 without a plan. The most valuable properties in the
value in, and for, their companies. As payments industry are owned by operators who took the time to plot out sound
such, savvy owner/operators should strategic pathways, knew the benchmarks they needed to achieve and pulled
always play for the long term. Your the trigger at the right times. If when confronted with high stakes strategic
big exit or growth initiative will in- decisions, you always play for the long term, you should be just fine.
evitably be directly tied to the worth
of your business. Adam T. Hark is Co-Founder of Preston Todd Advisors. With over a decade of experience in payments,
and financial technologies, Adam advises clients in M&A, growth strategy, exits, and business and
For MLSs, the stakes are high in 2017. portfolio valuations. Adam T. Hark can be reached at adam.hark@prestontoddadvisors.com or
The payments industry is rapidly 617-340-8779.
changing and appears to be transi-
tioning from a payments-only model
toward a broad-based technology
model. I believe in the future, tra-
ditional acquirers will become pro-
fessional consultants who advise
business owners on all of their op-
erational and sales-related needs and
become true experts in a broad swath
of technology-based business man-
agement solutions.

So here's my advice to all agents for
2017: if you're a new player in the
space, remain an MLS and learn the
ups and downs of the payments in-
dustry with the help of a strong, ex-
perienced ISO partner. Avail yourself
of multiple ISO relationships, which
will expose you to myriad new tech-
nologies that today's merchants will
expect from their payment providers.

At a certain point, you will be com-
fortable with your ability to service,
sell and advise your clients on every-
thing from basic payment processing
to new payment schemes, data secu-
rity compliance and integrated soft-
ware based business management
solutions. You will be able to provide
our merchants with everything an
ISO can. But don't make the transi-
tion to ISO just yet. There's one more
thing.

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