My First Acquisition

Starting the StartupWhen Lucy Riddle and her engineering teammates John and Marcus realize their fintech startup can’t possibly build its revolutionary AI platform with just $2 million and twelve months, they conceive an audacious plan: acquire a struggling company that already has the technology they need.”My First Acquisition” follows this trio of Stanford graduates as they navigate their crash course in corporate dealmaking, transforming from naive programmers into savvy negotiators. As they court NeuralFlow’s brilliant but demoralized founders, they must outwit aggressive competitors like ByteFlow, earn the respect of sophisticated players like Dr. Wei’s Zhongcai Capital, and survive escalating threats from shadowy financial institutions desperate to maintain their monopoly.But when corporate espionage turns violent—from surveillance to sabotage to attempted murder—Lucy discovers that dealmaking requires more than spreadsheets and strategic thinking. It demands the courage to risk everything on a vision of democratizing financial technology, and the wisdom to know who to trust when powerful enemies want you dead.Part Silicon Valley insider tale, part technical thriller, part unconventional romance, “My First Acquisition” demystifies the M&A process while telling the story of three friends who must evolve from coders to corporate warriors to save not just their company, but their lives.