For owners
If you are thinking about the future of your company
Selling a company you built is one of the biggest decisions you will make, and a personal one. Here is how it would go with me, and answers to the questions owners often ask.
01 · The steps
How it would go
A first conversation
We meet, in confidence. You tell me about the company and what matters to you. I tell you about me. No documents, no commitment.
Getting to know the company
If we both want to go on, I sign a confidentiality agreement and learn how the company works: its numbers, its people, its customers.
An offer in writing
A letter with the price, how it is paid, and what happens for you and your people. I explain every part in plain words.
A careful review
With my accountants and lawyers, I check the information you shared. I tell you at each step what comes next and how long it should take.
Closing and the handover
We sign. Then we work through the handover together, at a pace we agree on.
02 · Questions
Questions owners ask
What happens to my people?
I want them to stay. They know the work, and they are a large part of why I would want to buy the company. In the first days after the sale, I will talk with as many of them as I can. I want them to get to know me, and to see that they have a future in the company and a part in building it.
Will you change the company's name?
I have no plan to. The name carries the reputation your customers trust.
Do I have to stay after the sale?
That depends on you and on the company. Some owners help with the handover for a few months. Others want to stay longer, in a role that suits them. We agree on it together, in writing, before the sale.
Will this stay confidential?
Yes. I sign a confidentiality agreement before you share anything sensitive. Your people, customers and suppliers will not hear about it from me.
What if I am not ready yet?
Then let's talk anyway, with no obligation. I would rather get to know you and your company early than meet when you are in a hurry.
How do you pay for the company?
With a mix of my own money, a bank loan and money from investors. The details depend on your company, so let's go through price and structure in person.
Why you, and not a private equity firm?
I am not a fund. I would be a hands-on owner, closely involved in the company, with a large part of my own savings in it. I care deeply about the work the company does and the people who do it. My plan is to keep it for the long term, not to sell it again in a few years.
