24 - Mergers & Acquisitions w/ Marshall Schreeder

The Urban Engine Podcast

Cole Rickles talks with Marshall Schreeder, Jr. about his experiences and his role as EVP of Corporate

Development at Discovery Life Sciences

Highlights

(03:53) Marshall describes what Discovery Life Sciences does. They support medical research (drug

development + diagnostic development).

(11:00) Marshall talks about how finding a process that is inefficient and making it more efficient can be

enough reason to start a business around it. Like nearly every entrepreneur, their initial launch seemed

like it would be easy (and it never is).

(19:20) Marshall explains why he partnered with his friend Luke and started their own business in

Huntsville in 2005-2007 (after them both working all over the country at different companies).

(26:30) Marshall talks about their initial desire to raise “a million dollars” when they were starting their

business (a common theme in the entrepreneur community). With the hope of raising that initial 10% of

the million, they met with the late famed entrepreneur Lonnie McMillian who pulled out a checkbook in

their first hour of the pitch and he offered to cut a check for the entire amount (and said his attorney

would figure out the terms with them later).

(49:35) Marshall breaks down the importance of a great team. As long as you are pointed in the right

direction, the impact of your team members can be as much as 80% of the reason for your success.

Summary

Marshall Schreeder talks about his experiences in investment banking and how it eventually led to him

partnering with his friend Luke and moving back to Huntsville in 2005 (Marshall is a rare Huntsville

native). Coming from a medical family (his dad is a doctor in town), there was a bit of pressure to follow

in his father’s footsteps but found his own way working in private equity and then focusing on the

biomdedical science industry. Marshall talks about their start in Huntsville launching their own business

and that common story we all hear (and many of us know) about thinking a new business will be “a

layup” where in reality it’s always at least 2X as hard (and cost 2X as much) and is more like throwing a

medicine ball from half court over and over again. When they were starting their Huntsville business,

they had a desire to raise a million dollars to get things rolling. They were rather shocked when they met

with Lonnie McMillian and watched him pull out a checkbook in their first offer willing to write the full

amount on the spot. Fast forward the last dozen years or so and Discovery Life Sciences (the entity after

they were acquired last year) is on a roll with a half dozen M&A activities in just the last 15 months.

Marshall talks about how his prior experience in private equity has been so valuable as of late in doing

due diligence and strong work ethic in managing teams all over the world working toward a single

purpose.

Links

- Marshall Schreeder bio

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marshallschreeder

- Discovery Life Sciences

https://www.dls.com/

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/discovery-life-sciences-enters-fresh-leukopak-market-

300875890.html

- Hudson Alpha

https://hudsonalpha.org/the-story-of-hudsonalpha/

- What is private equity?

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/privateequity.asp

- Lonnie McMillian (founder of ADTRAN and HudsonAlpha)

https://hsvchamber.org/hudsonalpha-institute-for-biotechnology-mourns-death-of-co-founder-

lonnie-mcmillian/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADTRAN

Books

- The Private Equity Playbook

https://www.amazon.com/Private-Equity-Playbook-Managements-Working/dp/1544513275