A Last Minute Miracle For The Exit

Exit events

A Last Minute Miracle For The Exit

While most investors, advisors, and board members jump ship the moment things past the point of no return, there is still hope. I know this because I sold a company after everyone left, and the bank balance went negative.

The end is near

"We have $45 in the bank account," I said, opening the monthly board meeting. After completing the slide deck of lackluster accomplishments, each board member resigned. My co-founder and I remained on the call to discuss closing things down. However, we had a follow-up meeting with a potential partner scheduled for next week.

Anti-sales presentation

My co-founder and I met with a potential business partner a few days later. "Our bank account is negative, and we are going to close the company," I said before opening the meeting. We spent the next thirty minutes answering questions about what went wrong. "Sorry to hear that," they said before leaving the call.

An eye exam gets weird.

The following week, I was at the eye doctor's. With dilated eyes on a very sunny day, I walked to the parking lot wearing the film-strip glasses the doctor gave me. Once in the car, I doubled up with my other pair of sunglasses. Unable to see, I waited in the vehicle for my vision to come back before driving home. However, the silence was interrupted by a phone call. I answered using the button on my steering wheel without knowing who it was.

The phone call

"Hello," I said, expecting a telemarketer to give a pitch on a Caribbean vacation. "Todd, this is Greg. I was talking to my partner, and we want to buy your company," the voice on the other end explained. For the next few minutes, I tried to talk him out of it. "We failed to secure customers," I announced as if he did not know. "We think your technology is an excellent feature for our product," Gregg detailed.

Lessons learned

Often, the parts of a company are worth more than the company itself. The most valuable parts begin with talent, including IP, and exponentiate with revenue once established. That is an essential detail; revenue alone does not make a company valuable. Instead, it multiplies the value of the other parts. The reason is that revenue proves the value of the different assets.

Hope this helps,

Todd Moses (CEO)

Let me know your thoughts: [email protected]