Revenue vs. Reality: How Intangible Assets Drive High-Value Exits
“Chance favours the prepared mind “- Louis Pasteur, pioneering French chemist and microbiologist
This quote is one of my favourites because it captures a truth at the heart of commercial success. I often use the image of someone walking along a path and tripping over a dull, yellowish stone. Unless you know what gold looks like in the wild, you might kick it aside without realising its value.
Business is the same. Luck and timing will always play a part, but preparation is what turns possibility into reality. When a company understands its intangible assets and has a strategy for using and showcasing them, the gold becomes visible to them and other potential acquirers. What can look like serendipity from the outside often results from disciplined thinking, intelligent positioning and a business ready to act when opportunity appears.
Most founders still talk about value in terms of revenue and profit. Yet in modern businesses, the largest part of enterprise value is often intangible, and it can be many times larger than what the income statement suggests. Your brand strength, data, software, know‑how, trade secrets, and partner agreements usually outweigh factories and vans by a long way. This is not just theory. It is the consistent pattern we see in high‑value exits and investments.
A company’s competitive edge is built from both registered assets such as patents, trade marks and designs, and unregistered assets such as proprietary methods, datasets, source code, brand narrative, playbooks, supplier and distribution agreements, standard operating procedures, and confidential know‑how. When these are identified, structured and showcased, investors and buyers can value the real engine that drives performance.
What real‑world deals down-under tell us
Ziwi: premium brand, process IP and export scale trump top‑line revenue
When FountainVest Partners bought New Zealand pet‑nutrition company Ziwi in 2021, multiple outlets reported a valuation of roughly NZD 1.5 billion (about USD 1.06 billion).
Ziwi’s subsequent acquisition of Freeze Dried Foods NZ added patented continuous freeze‑drying technology and around 12000 tonnes of freeze drying capacity, a capability that underpins consistent quality and scale in more than 25 markets.
Even allowing for different revenue baselines in public reporting, the transaction price implies a multiple far above simple sales metrics. The valuation reflected brand equity, proprietary processing know‑how, technology, and distribution power rather than last year’s turnover. In other words, the market paid for Ziwi’s intangible asset stack.
Rocket Lab: unicorn status earned by showcasing proprietary capability
Rocket Lab has a modest patent and trade mark portfolio, but it became a unicorn well before it listed. It raised NZD 228 million (USD 140 million) in its 2018 Series E round led by Future Fund.
The raise closed on the back of successful orbital missions and a new mass‑production facility, signaling that Rocket Lab’s 3D‑printed Rutherford engine, scalable manufacturing, and repeatable launch system were real and investable assets – tangible and intangible. Investors were not swayed by patent counts alone.
They backed demonstrated, defensible capability that could scale.
These two examples show the same thing. Buyers and investors consistently pay for intangible assets that create future earnings power, defensibility and scale, not simply for last year’s sales.
From “hidden” to “investable”: using the 3 Cogs formula
In my book The Hidden Mechanics of IP, the first cog, Competitive Edge, stresses that an edge must be mapped and articulated before it can be valued. That means separating the asset families and capturing both registered and unregistered components in a way that others can see the current and potential value.
The second cog, Competitive Intelligence, places those assets in market context, while the third cog, Collaboration, shows how licensing, co‑development and partnerships multiply outcomes. Together, the cogs turn intangible assets into commercial lift.
This is a pattern has played out many times on the international stage and one we instinctively follow when preparing clients’ intangible assets for sale or investment.
How James & Wells converts this into valuation outcomes
At James & Wells we help founders, exporters and established companies strengthen and showcase the intangible assets that drive their value.
Our IP valuation services identify the full spectrum of assets, including IP rights, internal systems, proprietary methods, agreements and brand position. We provide recommendations to close gaps and prepare clear valuation materials for pitch decks, information memoranda and sale processes. We also connect clients with trusted IP valuers to deliver credible, defensible valuation reports, and with reputable business brokers who can take a cleaner, better‑packaged business to market.
Our commercial law team works with clients to ensure any documentation covers well the sales or licensing opportunities, as well as any additional agreements required to shore up clients’ position prior to going to market.
Value is created when assets are understood, protected and shown in a way that investors and buyers can price. The Ziwi and Rocket Lab stories show how far a company can travel when its intangible edge is visible.
Final Thoughts
A company’s value can be far higher than its revenue suggests. The difference is almost always in the intangible assets. Some are registered. Many are unregistered. All can be documented, evidenced and presented in a way that commands a premium.
If you want to uncover and present the value already inside your business, we can help you map your intangible assets, remediate ownership and documentation, and tell a credible story that a professional IP valuer can price, and that a business broker can take to market in a stronger form.
