“A bit of a puzzle around finding the right piece to fit and being willing to say no to the pieces that don’t—that was what got me excited about the M&A process,” says Brenda Jacobsen, the managing director of STS Capital Partners. “The last piece is just creating a win for all because there’s nothing worse than making someone who’s given up or agreed to sell you their life’s work and feeling like they were cheated out of what they feel it was worth,” she adds, emphasizing that transparency and realistic valuations are crucial to prevent either party from feeling shortchanged, thus fostering trust and successful outcomes in M&A deals.

In this episode, Brenda joins Alex Raymond to explore the intricacies of mergers and acquisitions. Brenda shares her extensive experience in M&A, stressing the importance of transparency, realistic valuations, and building strategic partnerships. She attributes much of her professional success to mindfulness and conscious leadership principles, which she learned from the Conscious Leadership Group. These principles have helped her navigate her career with resilience and responsibility.

The episode touches on Brenda’s experiences in the healthcare sector, where she led acquisitions of physician-owned practices, highlighting the importance of trust and transparency in these deals. She advises entrepreneurs to prepare for exits by focusing on profitability, growth, and reducing dependency on the founder. She also shares insights on raising capital and the significance of a supportive community, such as the Young Presidents’ Organization.

Join Alex and Brenda for practical advice and insights on navigating the complexities of M&A, grounded in mindful and conscious leadership principles.

Quotes

• “I have a very high threshold for staying uncomfortable for as long as I need to in order to make decisions. As an entrepreneur and a leader in any company, but especially in earlier stage companies, that is incredibly valuable.” (06:10 | Brenda Jacobsen)
• “One of the things that makes M&A scary, both for companies being acquired and for companies acquiring, is that no matter what you’re buying, you are also buying this talented group of people that make that company work. You may not have plans for all of them to continue on in the new entity, but you need them for a certain amount of time, even if it’s just for the transition. By really thinking people first through that process, it doesn’t have to be hard. It just has to be intentional.” (23:02 | Brenda Jacobsen)
• “I think bringing in outside capital can feel like market validation, but I see it as giving away what you’ve invested blood, sweat, tears, and sleepless nights into, often at a valuation that’s not favorable to you in the future. I try to encourage people to think about using the proceeds from the business to reinvest and grow, even if that means the pace is slower, because then the upside is yours instead of someone else’s.” (42:57 | Brenda Jacobsen)

Links

Connect with Brenda Jacobsen:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendajacobsen/

Connect with Alex Raymond:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/

Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/

HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“Should I stay or should I go? Every founder asks themselves this question at one point or another,” says Alex Raymond, as he tackles the often taboo topic of CEO succession and transition with Evgeny Shadchnev, author of “Startup CEO Succession: A Founder’s Guide to Leadership Transition.” Evgeny shares his experience of stepping down as CEO of Makers, a software developing bootcamp he led for seven years, and discusses a nine-step roadmap for succession planning.

In this episode, Alex and Evgeny emphasize the importance of early and open conversations about succession, addressing fears, and the need for careful planning. Evgeny highlights the emotional challenges founders face, like burnout and loss of identity, and underscores the necessity of recognizing and managing these issues. He also explores post-transition pathways for founders and stresses the importance of supporting the new CEO without undermining them.

Join Alex and Evgeny in this episode to gain valuable insights for strategic and thoughtful planning to support a smooth succession and successful transition.

Quotes

• “What I find really, really meaningful on a personal level is making a difference in someone’s life on a personal level.” (12:20 | Evgeny Shadchnev)
• “One thing I learned since stepping down is that nearly every founder CEO considers it at some point. I was absolutely not an exception. Not everyone chooses to. But everyone asks themselves the question: ‘Am I the right person for the next stage of the journey as the job inevitably changes?’” (21:50 | Evgeny Shadchnev)
• “The job of a founder or CEO really changes over time. And the more the founder reflects on what’s going to come next year or in two years’ time, and the more alignment there is with the board, the higher the chances that a win-win, successful, smooth transition is going to be found.” (24:34 | Evgeny Shadchnev)
• “No one leaves their startup they’ve been running for 10 years full of energy. Nearly everyone needs time to rest and recover, slow down, and just get in touch with what it is that they need deep inside. It’s also important to reflect because founders often quite literally don’t see opportunities ahead of them… So taking time to slow down and rest and reflect on your career options can be invaluable because this moment is truly precious.” (32:02 | Evgeny Shadchnev)
• “CEO succession takes time. The more time you have, the higher the chances that you will have a good succession.” (37:48 | Evgeny Shadchnev)

Links

Connect with Evgeny Shadchnev:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shadchnev/

Website: https://www.evgeny.coach/

Connect with Alex Raymond:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/

Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/

HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

“A pivot really is a second chance,” says Jason Shen, author of “Path to Pivot.” In this episode, Alex Raymond talks with Jason about the critical decision-making process of whether to continue, pivot, or close a business. Shen emphasizes leveraging assets and insights to create a market advantage, highlighting the rarity and value of a well-executed pivot.

Jason recounts his shift from writing about resilience to focusing on pivots, inspired by his experiences with his Y Combinator-backed companies, Ridejoy and Headlight. While Ridejoy’s pivot failed, Headlight’s pivot led to a successful exit to Facebook, forming the foundation of his book.

The episode delves into the mental and emotional facets of pivoting, introducing Jason’s “Align, Explore, Commit” framework for systematic pivoting. Jason and Alex also discuss “shooting the zombie,” the tough call to pivot or close a business that can’t meet venture capital expectations.

Insightful anecdotes and practical advice make this episode a valuable guide for entrepreneurs facing pivotal decisions with resilience and strategic thinking.

Jason is offering listeners of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast a discount code for 50% off any version of The Path to Pivot ebook. Just head over to https://jasonshen.gumroad.com/l/path-to-pivot and use code CONSCIOUS to get 50% off.

Quotes

• “If you’re at your wit’s end, if you really have no idea where to go, if the walls start to close in, then maybe a dramatic shift may be more important. And that’s where a pivot comes into play. A pivot is to say ‘What if we change the fundamentals of this business?’ Keeping some parts the same, maybe the team is the same, maybe the product is the same, maybe the market is the same, but you make some other dramatic shift. You go from selling it one time to a lower monthly fee. A business model change is still a pretty meaningful change.” (14:43 | Jason Shen)
• “A good pivot is always based on some kind of new insight. It involves learning something from the world that you’ve already been operating in that certainly gives you a leg up, an advantage, and that’s what you have. You’re able to shift your product, but position it for a new problem, position it for a new market, but sort of retain a lot of the experiences that you’d built, which is super important.” (22:12 | Jason Shen)
• “You have to have insights based on what you’ve developed as a business and assets that you’ve developed that can create some kind of advantage for you so that you can actually win in this market and sort of earn the right to keep playing this game. And the reality is, it takes time to build anything. It takes time to even make an attempt at anything. And so, a pivot really is a second chance.” (32:55 | Jason Shen)

Links

Connect with Jason Shen:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonshen/

Website: https://www.jasonshen.com/

The Path to Pivot: https://jasonshen.gumroad.com/l/path-to-pivot

Connect with Alex Raymond:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/

Website: https://consciousentrepreneur.us/

HiveCast.fm is a proud sponsor of The Conscious Entrepreneur Podcast.

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm