Like most entrepreneurs, I wasn’t CEO of my first startup. While I had a fair share of the company, I owned far less than the CEO who, in addition to having had the concept, also initially bankrolled us.
For the most part, this didn’t matter. Like most good founding teams, we had complimentary skill sets and mutual respect so decisions were by consensus. This worked fine until one of us wanted to sell.
For context, the company effectively started in early 2000. We were hit hard by the dot com crash and one of the lesser casualties of September 11 was our term sheet. So we stopped taking even meager salaries and bootstrapped to profitability in 2002.
The next few years, we lived the dream. Ridiculously high growth, increasing revenue per customer as we upsold new modules, competitors folding. Fun times.
Nevertheless, by 2006 I wanted to sell. Six years was a long time but my decision was mostly about the trends. Our growth rate, while still high, had started to come down and the vibe at trade shows was that we were past the early adopters; still plenty of prospects but slower to sign. At the same time, our competition was trying to lure our best customers away by undercutting us. We were doing the same, of course, but once a steal becomes an attractive trade off relative to greenfield prospects, something fundamental has changed.
That said, our growth was still really, really good and the market was *hot*. On the numbers, we could have got 6-8x times earnings. Plus, we had a good chance to attract strategic buyers and their valuations can get crazy (in a good way).
The CEO wasn’t interested. He believed that our new products would fix growth so we could get the same multiples on a higher base in another year or two. Knowing what we knew then, he might have been right.
But he wasn’t. Next year growth was a bit lower. Still really high but now we had two years declining growth. Uh oh.
So he agreed to shop the company. Unfortunately, the banker we brought in now thought we could get 4-6x earnings from a financial buyer but there were still strategics….
After a year leaving no stone unturned, the best offer we got was… 5.5x. No strategics. Between the market cooling, taking time to digest their previous acquisitions, and our growth slipping, they didn’t bite.
The CEO didn’t want to sell. I knew it would be years before he shopped the company again and, even when he did, the odds of getting a better offer hinged on an increasingly unlikely turnaround so I still wanted out. But I didn’t have a large enough equity stake to force it.
So I told the CEO that, if the prior offer was too low, he should be thrilled to buy me out at that price. I also told him that I was ready to move on even regardless. Ultimately, he agreed to buy me out in exchange for my finding and gradually training a replacement.
I got my final check on Jan 2, 2009. He looked me in the eye and said, “Maybe I should have sold.” Fast forward seven years, still no sale.
This clearly wouldn’t have been possible without the cash. Plus, were I not a core team member, he might simply have wished me well. Ironically, it wouldn’t have worked had I had more shares – another cofounder with more shares couldn’t exit for this very reason! Not enough cash to buy out his stake.
Lessons?
- For your first startup, a solid double or triple in a few years often beats holding out for the home run that may never happen. Life is a lot easier with a win under your belt.
- Use inside information. If you’re seeing the road getting bumpy, act on it.
- Don’t fill an inside straight. The irrational optimism that got you this far has no place here.
- Respect the market. It may be hot now but it can change at any time. You wait on it; it does not wait on you.
- Respect the market. (Yeah, I know…) Barring #2 above and filtering any of that through #3, if you ran a good process, the price you get is likely fair.
- Governance matters. Understand who can stop or force a sale under various scenarios. You may not be able to change this, but you don’t want to be surprised.
- Be creative. Not all exit doors are clearly marked.
- Recognize your leverage – in some cases, weakness can be strength – and be willing to use it.
Now go be awesome.
Image Credit: CC by Chris Griffith
