Builder

As a managing director at a venture capital firm, I reviewed numerous business plans and listened to many pitch deck presentations. The majority of them included an exit strategy.
Strange! Isn’t it?

You are just starting out. Why are you thinking about exiting the business? Why aren’t you focusing on building a company that will last? I would rather see the commitment to customer acquisition, retention, and resource allocation strategies instead.

Define your business vision. No, no. I am not talking about a To-Do List, a five-year plan, or a mission statement. I am referring to a real vision. What do you, as a founder, see when you plant one foot in the present and then lean out and place the other in the future in the “what could be?” The time horizon must be short, about three years, enough to be realistic and achievable, yet long enough to realize innovative and expansive ideas.

So, why do many investment seekers include “Exit Strategy” in their plan? They begin with the mindset of getting acquired. As a result, their emphasis is on the wrong things. And, what are the odds of getting acquired? Maybe 1 in 100,000?

What if your business does get acquired? What now? Spend one year or maybe two going around the world? Then what? Retire and play golf for the rest of your life?

That is why you see so many business owners and professionals retire for maybe one year and then get back into the game. Most of the time, they are back with a business that is not nearly as fulfilling as the first one.

If your business is doing well, keep going. Expand, diversify, and keep on changing. Why let your business be the one that got away?