He turned a failed client into his first company

They landed two smaller hedge funds, one M&A advisory shop, and a venture office specializing in SaaS due diligence. Then the first acquisition opportunity arrived. A billing-automation company ran out of cash. The product was good. The team was breaking apart. The founder was desperate to sell. Darren went in alone. The CEO, Blake Sanders, was the kind of man who smiled like he was always one round ahead of the financing table. He looked Darren up and down and said, “Your analytics tool is decent. But you think you can buy me? Who exactly do you think you are?” Darren didn’t bite. He slid a printout across the table. “Your renewals have declined for four straight months. Cash runway is six weeks.