How to Improve Your Company's Valuation in Preparation for an Exit with Jim Stevenson, Founder & CEO of the Bletchley Group
In this episode of Exploring Growth, Lee chats with Jim Stevenson, founder and CEO of the Bletchley Group. Jim shares tips on boosting company valuation ahead of an exit. He highlights the importance of knowing your buyers and leveraging marketing effectively. Jim also reflects on his experiences with Bacardi and successful consulting projects. This episode offers valuable advice for entrepreneurs looking to enhance their business valuation and plan their exit.
Have a guest recommendation, question, or just want to connect?
Go here: https://www.harvardmurray.com/exploring-growth-podcast
Connect on LinkedIn:
Lee - https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehmurray
Jim - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimstevenson/
#ExploringGrowthPodcast #BusinessInsights #EntrepreneurialJourney #BusinessExpansion #EmbracingGrowth #MarketingTalk #JimStevenson #BletchleyGroup #BrandConsistency #MarketingInnovation
1
00:00:00,450 --> 00:00:05,160
A real quick before we jump into this
next episode, which is a lot of fun.
2
00:00:05,280 --> 00:00:07,980
I just want to say thanks to
everyone who's listening and
3
00:00:07,980 --> 00:00:10,470
following the podcast.
This is so much fun for me to do.
4
00:00:10,470 --> 00:00:13,110
I love meeting new people and
talking about all the things
5
00:00:13,110 --> 00:00:17,130
that are related to growth.
And if you're not following the
6
00:00:17,130 --> 00:00:20,730
podcast on the email newsletter
and Exploring Growth newsletter.
7
00:00:21,060 --> 00:00:24,750
Just go over to Harvard murray.com,
click on Exploring Growth and
8
00:00:24,750 --> 00:00:26,970
sign up right there.
And you'll want to follow there
9
00:00:26,970 --> 00:00:31,230
because you get additional
thoughts from me on each episode
10
00:00:31,230 --> 00:00:35,070
as each episode is published.
Um, we've had a lot of really cool
11
00:00:35,070 --> 00:00:39,450
guests come through, a lot of CEOs,
strategist, um, all kinds of people.
12
00:00:39,450 --> 00:00:44,340
And you get to see, as the weeks go
on, all these different people that
13
00:00:44,340 --> 00:00:48,300
come through and their stories and,
um, just super, super interesting.
14
00:00:48,300 --> 00:00:50,460
So go over there and sign up for
the for the newsletter if you
15
00:00:50,460 --> 00:00:55,600
haven't for this episode.
Um, the first probably 11 or 12
16
00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:58,090
minutes is us talking about
Jim's background.
17
00:00:58,090 --> 00:01:01,180
So if you want to skip ahead to
the actual conversation about
18
00:01:01,180 --> 00:01:05,410
valuation in preparation to exit,
then go ahead and skip ahead to
19
00:01:05,410 --> 00:01:08,290
about 11 minutes 30s.
And that's kind of where we
20
00:01:08,290 --> 00:01:11,500
start our conversation.
But the first half is really me
21
00:01:11,500 --> 00:01:14,860
talking to Jim about his background,
working for Bacardi and the
22
00:01:14,860 --> 00:01:18,910
Bacardi family as a head of
global digital marketing.
23
00:01:19,420 --> 00:01:22,870
And some of the other things he did
earlier in his career that were
24
00:01:22,870 --> 00:01:26,710
just super interesting and I think
sets the stage for the conversation
25
00:01:26,710 --> 00:01:28,900
that we're going to have.
But either way, enjoy.
26
00:01:32,770 --> 00:01:35,530
Welcome back to Exploring Growth.
In this episode,
27
00:01:35,530 --> 00:01:39,760
I have the opportunity to sit down
with a growth consultant who has 23
28
00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:43,900
years of experience in strategy,
transformation and strategic growth.
29
00:01:44,350 --> 00:01:46,990
Today,
I'm talking with Jim Stevenson,
30
00:01:46,990 --> 00:01:51,160
founder and CEO of The Bletchley
Group. Welcome to the show, Jim.
31
00:01:52,060 --> 00:01:54,310
Thanks, Lee.
Glad to be here this evening.
32
00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:58,900
So I have to say, I.
Think that you're the first growth
33
00:01:58,900 --> 00:02:03,280
consultant I've had on the show.
Um, I just haven't found anyone
34
00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:06,790
that was a great fit so far.
But when we got introduced, uh,
35
00:02:06,790 --> 00:02:10,870
this topic of how a company can
improve their valuation as they
36
00:02:10,870 --> 00:02:14,290
plan for exit came up,
and I immediately saw an opportunity
37
00:02:14,290 --> 00:02:18,790
for us to dig into this a little bit.
And, um, mainly because I think
38
00:02:18,790 --> 00:02:22,060
at least half of my audience is
going to be thinking about and
39
00:02:22,060 --> 00:02:24,940
exit at some point.
So I'm excited to talk about this,
40
00:02:24,970 --> 00:02:28,150
uh, this with you?
Yeah, it's a great topic, and it's
41
00:02:28,150 --> 00:02:32,390
something that people very often
leave too late to think about it.
42
00:02:32,390 --> 00:02:35,120
Suddenly I wanted I wanted to
sell my business in three months
43
00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:37,700
or six months.
And it's like, well, yeah, you can.
44
00:02:37,700 --> 00:02:42,080
But yeah, it's much better if you
give yourself a bit of time and the
45
00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:44,540
ability to plan what you're going to
do and how you're going to do it.
46
00:02:45,020 --> 00:02:47,270
Yeah. Okay.
Well, before we jump into that,
47
00:02:47,450 --> 00:02:50,630
um, give us a little bit of
context for who you are and what
48
00:02:50,630 --> 00:02:52,160
kind of work you do.
I know you were just telling me
49
00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:55,580
about the inception of the
Bletchley Group and the name.
50
00:02:55,580 --> 00:02:58,640
You're gonna have to go through
that again. Yeah. That's okay.
51
00:02:58,850 --> 00:03:02,060
Um, I like it is a good story,
so I don't mind telling it as
52
00:03:02,060 --> 00:03:04,640
often as I can.
It was a good story. Yeah, yeah.
53
00:03:04,640 --> 00:03:07,910
Um, I, I worked in, um,
construction to start with,
54
00:03:07,910 --> 00:03:11,840
and when I wanted to move into, into.
And construction was a fantastic
55
00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,150
start for me personally.
It's very commercial.
56
00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:17,390
When your business is making
0.4% profit.
57
00:03:17,540 --> 00:03:19,550
Um, you need to be very
commercial in everything you do.
58
00:03:19,550 --> 00:03:22,160
So it gave me a really good basis.
But, um, my,
59
00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:26,600
my heart was always in technology.
And so I created my own business 23,
60
00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:30,260
24 years ago, now called Bletchley
Group. And Bletchley Park.
61
00:03:30,260 --> 00:03:33,290
Where I got Bletchley from is where
Alan Turing created the world's
62
00:03:33,290 --> 00:03:36,620
first programmable computer.
And the technology then went
63
00:03:36,620 --> 00:03:39,470
away to Manchester,
I think it was in Ferranti and
64
00:03:39,470 --> 00:03:43,320
got picked up by US universities,
but it started in Bletchley Park,
65
00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:47,970
where the allies needed to break the
German Enigma code. And I loved that.
66
00:03:47,970 --> 00:03:51,540
I loved the fact that we created
the whole technology industry that
67
00:03:51,540 --> 00:03:55,260
we know today for the purpose.
And there was a physical purpose
68
00:03:55,260 --> 00:03:58,680
of breaking that code.
And that's been the ethos of
69
00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:00,720
Bletchley Group.
So that was where we started.
70
00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:04,890
But we've evolved now.
Um, technology is still a big
71
00:04:04,890 --> 00:04:07,620
part of what we do.
And every company that we work with
72
00:04:07,620 --> 00:04:10,320
and every company in the world,
to be honest, and but we're much
73
00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,560
more strategic advisory now.
So we help companies to find growth.
74
00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:16,350
We help them to understand where
the next level is coming from,
75
00:04:16,350 --> 00:04:19,110
how they're moving forward as
their business or expanding
76
00:04:19,110 --> 00:04:23,160
geographically or their product set.
And a lot of that is fundraising and
77
00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,430
M&A, which is where they're how do
you value your business or improve
78
00:04:26,430 --> 00:04:29,850
the value of your business before
you do an exit comes from gotcha.
79
00:04:29,850 --> 00:04:34,080
That's super interesting.
Um, and as I was looking at your bio,
80
00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:38,520
I saw an example on there of a client
you had worked with in the past.
81
00:04:38,550 --> 00:04:42,510
Uh, I think the name is Scout 24,
and it said that you had boosted
82
00:04:42,540 --> 00:04:48,420
their valuation from 300 million to
850 million inside of 18 months now.
83
00:04:48,510 --> 00:04:50,850
That raised my eyebrows a little bit.
And I was like, okay,
84
00:04:50,850 --> 00:04:54,450
I got I gotta I gotta know more
about this. Absolutely.
85
00:04:54,510 --> 00:04:56,550
Scout School 24 was an amazing
company.
86
00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:58,530
Um, is, you know,
it's no longer there.
87
00:04:58,530 --> 00:05:01,950
It's been merged a couple of times
since then. It's an amazing company.
88
00:05:01,950 --> 00:05:04,290
And of course,
I didn't do it all myself.
89
00:05:04,620 --> 00:05:09,540
Um, I, I was, I was the guy from,
from Bletchley and we got brought in
90
00:05:09,540 --> 00:05:12,420
to kind of help them understand it.
They did all the work.
91
00:05:12,420 --> 00:05:15,210
I just brought some of the
brainpower and thinking, um,
92
00:05:15,210 --> 00:05:19,810
but originally it was, um,
bought into by KKR who paid 350
93
00:05:19,810 --> 00:05:22,960
300 million, I think, for it.
Um, and KCRW were a bit
94
00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:25,570
frustrated that it wasn't quite
growing quickly enough for them.
95
00:05:25,570 --> 00:05:27,820
They were obviously looking for
quick returns,
96
00:05:27,820 --> 00:05:30,520
and through a friend of a friend, I
was asked if I would go in and help.
97
00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:35,230
Um, and it was I mean,
I can break this down into being
98
00:05:35,230 --> 00:05:39,580
incredibly simplistic or I can tell
you a story. So I'll do. Both.
99
00:05:39,580 --> 00:05:42,580
Whichever. Whichever one you feel.
Yeah. Well, yeah.
100
00:05:42,580 --> 00:05:47,770
I mean, the reality is Scout 24
at the time was essentially
101
00:05:48,220 --> 00:05:53,320
Switzerland's equivalent to eBay,
to Rightmove and AutoTrader.
102
00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:56,560
Oh, you don't have to move here.
And so it was a simple.
103
00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,830
Trader on eBay. Yeah. Yeah.
It was essentially a marketplace
104
00:05:59,830 --> 00:06:03,520
that did everything in the EB world.
Um, okay.
105
00:06:03,700 --> 00:06:06,520
All the houses and all the cars,
they had 2 or 3 other things as well.
106
00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:08,710
But it was those three verticals
were the main thing. Okay.
107
00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:12,820
Um, and when I went in, um,
they had the three verticals.
108
00:06:12,820 --> 00:06:15,640
They had the profit and loss for
the three verticals working.
109
00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:19,390
But once you got below the level,
it became very clear that they
110
00:06:19,390 --> 00:06:22,660
were sharing resources.
So what you actually had was someone
111
00:06:22,660 --> 00:06:26,410
in charge of our personnel, um,
who didn't actually control the
112
00:06:26,410 --> 00:06:30,520
resources he needed to be successful.
So you would get further down and as
113
00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:33,500
you were building the website in
the marketplace and the platform,
114
00:06:33,500 --> 00:06:36,650
they all had their own advertising
teams, their marketing teams to
115
00:06:36,650 --> 00:06:39,950
get advertisers to come in.
But when you go into developing the
116
00:06:39,950 --> 00:06:43,310
product, which was the website,
and that would have to vie for
117
00:06:43,310 --> 00:06:46,610
resources, whether it be front end
developers or user experience or
118
00:06:46,610 --> 00:06:50,210
designers and things like that.
So essentially, what I did,
119
00:06:50,210 --> 00:06:54,950
and this is incredibly simplistic,
and I restructured the teams to
120
00:06:54,950 --> 00:06:58,670
balance them so that actually,
if you needed the user experience
121
00:06:58,670 --> 00:07:01,760
and you were one of the verticals,
you had the user experience that
122
00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:03,890
you needed,
you had the front in the back end so
123
00:07:03,890 --> 00:07:06,260
you could control your own destiny.
And part of that you could
124
00:07:06,260 --> 00:07:09,680
prioritize your own things.
And the biggest thing and this
125
00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:12,740
is this is I find this quite
embarrassing, but I'll tell you
126
00:07:12,740 --> 00:07:15,500
anyway, because it is valuable.
The biggest thing they did was
127
00:07:15,500 --> 00:07:19,340
they moved people's desks.
Um, they had their own.
128
00:07:19,340 --> 00:07:21,980
They had their own building.
It was a lovely big building that
129
00:07:21,980 --> 00:07:25,520
invested in their own building just
outside of Berne in Switzerland.
130
00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:29,990
It was fantastic building designed.
They actually had the walls.
131
00:07:29,990 --> 00:07:34,340
That was four levels that the walls
painted by an artist. Yellow.
132
00:07:34,340 --> 00:07:37,250
And each each floor had a slightly
different color of yellow.
133
00:07:37,250 --> 00:07:39,380
So we weren't allowed to put
sticky notes in the walls
134
00:07:39,380 --> 00:07:42,800
because of that reason.
But, um, if what you found was that
135
00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:45,480
all the engineers were on the ground
floor, all the user experience were
136
00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:49,830
in the first floor, all the, um, um,
marketing were in the second floor.
137
00:07:49,860 --> 00:07:52,950
They were structured in that
functional area, which is very
138
00:07:52,950 --> 00:07:55,980
common in organization structures.
Sure as well. Sure.
139
00:07:55,980 --> 00:07:59,580
Um, but what I did was I moved them
so that the teams that were working
140
00:07:59,580 --> 00:08:04,080
with were right next to each other.
So if I needed to collaborate with
141
00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:06,960
someone, I just needed to turn around
the person I was collaborating with.
142
00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:09,690
This right. There. I did.
I didn't need to organize a meeting
143
00:08:09,690 --> 00:08:13,170
next Tuesday, book a meeting room,
organize everything,
144
00:08:13,170 --> 00:08:15,540
get everyone in the one room.
I was literally just the person
145
00:08:15,540 --> 00:08:18,030
who was there.
That was one biggest thing that
146
00:08:18,030 --> 00:08:20,700
happened.
We moved people's desks. It's so.
147
00:08:20,700 --> 00:08:23,850
Interesting how. Something so.
Simple can have such a profound
148
00:08:23,850 --> 00:08:27,630
impact. Exactly.
And it isn't isn't rocket.
149
00:08:27,630 --> 00:08:29,790
I'm going to see it's rocket science
because they did it and it was.
150
00:08:29,910 --> 00:08:32,040
Yeah, sure.
In my head, but sure. Yeah.
151
00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:35,670
genuinely, it wasn't rocket science.
I mean, we went beyond that and
152
00:08:35,670 --> 00:08:39,840
we changed how they did product
management and testing and um,
153
00:08:40,350 --> 00:08:43,440
uh, a b testing is a framework.
We introduced that into them.
154
00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:47,430
We introduced doing customer flows
and then adding data onto those
155
00:08:47,430 --> 00:08:51,540
things to improve as they were going.
But the biggest, the genuinely
156
00:08:51,540 --> 00:08:55,170
the biggest thing that had the
impact was just moving people's
157
00:08:55,170 --> 00:08:58,950
desks so they could be better.
Yeah, it wasn't rocket.
158
00:08:59,070 --> 00:09:02,130
Rocket science. You're right.
But what it was was a genuine
159
00:09:02,130 --> 00:09:06,120
outside perspective.
And, you know, that's the value of
160
00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:08,850
a strategic growth consultant is
someone who can come in from the
161
00:09:08,850 --> 00:09:14,640
outside with no bias and have breadth
and depth of knowledge, you know,
162
00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:18,420
both across industries and in their
domain to bring that and say,
163
00:09:18,420 --> 00:09:22,480
well, you don't see that you could
just do this. They can't see it.
164
00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:24,130
There's no way they could ever
see it.
165
00:09:24,130 --> 00:09:26,080
It would take forever for them
to see it.
166
00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:29,770
So I think that's a massive value.
Yeah, completely.
167
00:09:29,770 --> 00:09:32,020
And it's one of those things
that when you're into the weeds
168
00:09:32,020 --> 00:09:34,660
of your business and you're
running it and maybe even you
169
00:09:34,660 --> 00:09:38,200
structured the business because
three years ago that made sense.
170
00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:41,170
And I genuinely believe that it
probably didn't make sense three
171
00:09:41,170 --> 00:09:43,960
years ago. The world has changed.
Your customers have changed.
172
00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:46,420
Your teams have changed.
Ways of working have changed.
173
00:09:46,450 --> 00:09:48,340
You need to keep on top of these
things.
174
00:09:48,340 --> 00:09:50,980
And it's very often the simple
things that you can change that
175
00:09:50,980 --> 00:09:54,370
will have the biggest impact.
And then then you're doing
176
00:09:54,370 --> 00:09:58,240
incremental additions onto that
as you go, as you flow and you
177
00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:02,650
get start to see the benefits.
So I want to move to another
178
00:10:02,650 --> 00:10:05,350
story here just to kind of as we
look through your background,
179
00:10:05,350 --> 00:10:08,770
because I think this all has
precedence for the conversation
180
00:10:08,770 --> 00:10:13,030
of valuation and exiting.
You were at one point head of
181
00:10:13,030 --> 00:10:16,060
digital marketing for Bacardi.
I'm sure that had to been an
182
00:10:16,060 --> 00:10:18,700
amazing experience,
just because I've read about the
183
00:10:18,700 --> 00:10:22,150
history of Bacardi and Miami and
all the things that, you know,
184
00:10:22,150 --> 00:10:26,320
the Bacardi family and all of that.
Uh, Ben down there seen the,
185
00:10:26,380 --> 00:10:29,320
you know, mansion that sits on
the island and everything.
186
00:10:29,560 --> 00:10:32,740
Uh, what was that experience like,
being ahead of digital marketing?
187
00:10:33,650 --> 00:10:37,160
Um, it was, uh, to be honest,
it was probably one of the best,
188
00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:40,640
um, clients I've had ever.
Um, they are just fantastic.
189
00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:45,320
The family members are all amazing.
Um, they are wonderful people.
190
00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:49,460
They brought a brilliant team
with them when I joined them.
191
00:10:49,670 --> 00:10:52,190
Um,
they were going through some changes.
192
00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:55,070
Um, they just appointed a new
chief marketing officer who is
193
00:10:55,070 --> 00:10:58,790
based in the UK, but the team was
based in Washington DC, so they
194
00:10:58,790 --> 00:11:01,880
wanted to move the team to London.
And that was my original kind of
195
00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,610
role there.
And but they liked what I did well
196
00:11:04,610 --> 00:11:07,850
enough that they asked me to stay
on and essentially became this.
197
00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:10,100
Um,
I can't remember what the title was,
198
00:11:10,100 --> 00:11:13,490
global Digital director or something.
And I was there for two and a half
199
00:11:13,490 --> 00:11:16,520
years and based out of London.
It was fantastic.
200
00:11:16,850 --> 00:11:20,510
Um, because the US is such a big
market, um, someone from the
201
00:11:20,510 --> 00:11:23,750
team had to go to Miami one week
every month, and it's horrible.
202
00:11:23,780 --> 00:11:26,690
I believe you,
you lead from the front? Yes.
203
00:11:26,930 --> 00:11:30,260
Your job to lead from the front.
And more often than not.
204
00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:33,650
I spent a week in Miami Beach
every month, um,
205
00:11:33,650 --> 00:11:37,460
heading into Biscayne Bay, Biscayne
Boulevard to meet with the team.
206
00:11:37,460 --> 00:11:41,150
It was it was an amazing experience,
but. That sounds like a horrible lie.
207
00:11:41,150 --> 00:11:44,180
That. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
It's tough.
208
00:11:44,630 --> 00:11:47,240
Um, beyond that,
the company itself is fantastic.
209
00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:51,500
The products they have are fantastic.
The thinking within the company,
210
00:11:51,500 --> 00:11:55,520
though, is really quite, um,
immense that the part of the
211
00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:58,790
business I worked with was
called Bacardi Global Brands.
212
00:11:58,790 --> 00:12:02,390
So Bacardi, as well as owning
Bacardi owns Grey Goose and Bombay
213
00:12:02,390 --> 00:12:06,110
and Jr's and and there's eight
global brands that they had.
214
00:12:06,110 --> 00:12:10,530
And that was kind of our remit.
They also have two at the time, 255
215
00:12:10,530 --> 00:12:15,000
local brands. So huge, huge company.
I think when I was there was 4.6
216
00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:18,630
billion turnover.
And since then the last time I
217
00:12:18,630 --> 00:12:22,230
checked there was like 6 billion
and it's still family owned. Yeah.
218
00:12:22,260 --> 00:12:27,240
Um, which is an amazing, amazing, um,
um, thing to have. It really is.
219
00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:31,950
The big thing that drove what we were
doing was, um, there was a belief
220
00:12:31,950 --> 00:12:36,150
that the spirits industry was going
to go through a class action lawsuit,
221
00:12:36,630 --> 00:12:40,770
um, in the same way as tobacco had
done 20 years before. Oh, okay.
222
00:12:40,770 --> 00:12:43,470
Everything,
everything that was driving us was
223
00:12:43,470 --> 00:12:47,160
making sure that we were consistent,
making sure that we were compliant,
224
00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:50,730
making sure that there was legal
drinking age pages in front of it.
225
00:12:51,210 --> 00:12:54,900
Um, and because at one point,
the thought about going to an IPO,
226
00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:59,970
they wanted to have the
consistency required for an exit,
227
00:12:59,970 --> 00:13:03,120
essentially an IPO exit,
so that if an investment banker
228
00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:07,200
recommending buying Bacardi as
part of an IPO, keep in mind
229
00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:12,000
this is like 15 to 20 years ago.
Sure, they would fly from Hong Kong.
230
00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:14,460
They would go to Berlin, go to
London, they go to New York, they'd
231
00:13:14,460 --> 00:13:18,390
go to Los Angeles and wherever else,
and Bacardi would be consistent.
232
00:13:19,050 --> 00:13:23,680
And back in the day, the brand was
consistent, the logo was consistent.
233
00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:27,250
But how local markets activated
that brand was very different.
234
00:13:27,700 --> 00:13:32,500
Yeah, and we needed that consistency.
So that actually what you got was um,
235
00:13:32,500 --> 00:13:36,040
when you viewed Bakari, it didn't
matter where you were in the world,
236
00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:38,560
you knew what Bakari would.
You could see the logo.
237
00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:41,560
It was consistent.
It was you just knew what you were
238
00:13:41,560 --> 00:13:44,440
getting. It was a premium product.
It was exactly what you wanted.
239
00:13:44,560 --> 00:13:47,200
And that's what was very much
what drove it.
240
00:13:47,650 --> 00:13:53,080
My challenge at the time was, um,
um, they had made the decision that
241
00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:57,580
some of the local markets were doing
silly advertising that we didn't want
242
00:13:57,580 --> 00:14:01,960
to do for the consistency reason.
So we took the TV advertising budget
243
00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:06,040
of most of the local markets,
but that all that meant was they
244
00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:10,090
all jumped into digital.
Um, so I suddenly I suddenly became
245
00:14:10,090 --> 00:14:13,540
the gatekeeper for everything
that was going on digitally.
246
00:14:13,540 --> 00:14:15,520
And they did some really bizarre
things.
247
00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,220
I'm not going to tell you some.
Some of them are so bizarre.
248
00:14:18,220 --> 00:14:20,920
I'm not even going to tell you on the
podcast because they are quite rude.
249
00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:24,940
Um, um,
but that that consistency was a huge
250
00:14:24,940 --> 00:14:27,670
part of what I had to bring to it.
So it was allowing the brand
251
00:14:27,670 --> 00:14:33,820
directors, the marketers to, to be,
um, uh, innovative, to be driving
252
00:14:33,820 --> 00:14:37,150
the boundaries of what you could
do with the spirit advertising.
253
00:14:37,150 --> 00:14:38,950
And the laws are very different.
Yeah.
254
00:14:38,950 --> 00:14:42,130
And driving all that through the
digital channels while making
255
00:14:42,130 --> 00:14:45,730
sure it was consistent and it
was all kind of pulled together.
256
00:14:45,730 --> 00:14:49,030
So it was a fantastic role.
I was genuinely, um,
257
00:14:49,030 --> 00:14:52,270
a fantastic role that people that
were there were just second to none.
258
00:14:52,270 --> 00:14:55,240
There are some of the best marketers
I've ever worked with in my life.
259
00:14:55,270 --> 00:14:57,910
We worked with some of the best
agencies in the world.
260
00:14:57,910 --> 00:15:02,180
We had a really smart, I think,
anywhere really smart, um,
261
00:15:02,180 --> 00:15:05,360
strategy. And it wasn't mine.
I inherited it from the previous team
262
00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:08,510
that was based out of Washington,
DC, which was rather than going
263
00:15:08,510 --> 00:15:13,160
to some of the big companies
have 8 or 10 smaller companies
264
00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:15,740
because you get a better service.
The innovation was better,
265
00:15:15,740 --> 00:15:18,500
the creativity was better,
and as long as you had a big
266
00:15:18,500 --> 00:15:22,550
enough roster, then you were fine.
What I did find there was,
267
00:15:22,550 --> 00:15:26,090
which was a challenge for us,
was. And I got worried.
268
00:15:26,330 --> 00:15:29,600
I put in place steps to to
rectify this.
269
00:15:29,630 --> 00:15:32,630
We found that we kept going back
to some of the same agencies.
270
00:15:32,630 --> 00:15:36,110
So suddenly we were 50% of an
agency's revenue.
271
00:15:36,110 --> 00:15:38,990
So if we pool their work,
that agency was just knackered.
272
00:15:38,990 --> 00:15:44,030
They were just the revenue. Yeah.
So we purposely restricted how
273
00:15:44,030 --> 00:15:46,970
much work we could put into any
one agency and if they wanted
274
00:15:46,970 --> 00:15:50,780
more work from us, that's cool.
Go and get two other clients and
275
00:15:50,780 --> 00:15:54,320
we'll give you more work as well.
So we were happy to help them grow,
276
00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:57,710
but we just could never be above.
I think it was 30% of the revenue.
277
00:15:57,890 --> 00:16:00,770
Yeah one point.
Otherwise you were just too
278
00:16:00,770 --> 00:16:03,650
controlling.
Yeah, that's that's amazing.
279
00:16:03,650 --> 00:16:07,850
Thinking too on the family's part are
the companies part to to be thinking
280
00:16:07,850 --> 00:16:10,430
about their vendors in that way?
Yeah like that.
281
00:16:10,430 --> 00:16:14,100
Well and and after I left the Kindle
then changed all of that strategy
282
00:16:14,100 --> 00:16:16,710
and I can't remember who they were
in the winter, WPP or Omnicom or
283
00:16:16,710 --> 00:16:19,890
something and just kind of go,
but that's that's just the cycle
284
00:16:19,890 --> 00:16:22,590
of advertising goes through,
isn't it? Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
285
00:16:22,590 --> 00:16:24,780
Well that's I appreciate you
sharing all that.
286
00:16:24,780 --> 00:16:27,450
I mean, it's super interesting to
hear about Bacardi and a lot of the
287
00:16:27,450 --> 00:16:31,440
similar, you know, things I've heard
through documentaries or reading
288
00:16:31,710 --> 00:16:34,050
about the family and everything.
So I think that's that's super
289
00:16:34,050 --> 00:16:35,550
interesting,
especially being in Miami not
290
00:16:35,550 --> 00:16:38,400
far from here where I'm located.
Um, but, you know,
291
00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:41,610
all of that is great as a good
kind of precursor to this
292
00:16:41,610 --> 00:16:45,660
conversation and good background.
Um, so as we kind of jump into our
293
00:16:45,660 --> 00:16:50,070
actual conversation of valuation to
exit, let's start kind of broad,
294
00:16:50,070 --> 00:16:54,090
like, what are you seeing in the
market right now for, um, companies
295
00:16:54,090 --> 00:16:58,470
that could have successful exits?
I mean, I know that there's boomers
296
00:16:58,470 --> 00:17:02,370
that are trying to sell because they,
you know, don't have successors
297
00:17:02,370 --> 00:17:04,560
in their companies,
small and mid market.
298
00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:08,340
You've got, you know, mid sized
acquisitions that are happening.
299
00:17:08,340 --> 00:17:10,980
You've got the election coming
up and you've got,
300
00:17:10,980 --> 00:17:14,160
you know the economy with inflation
there's so much that's going on.
301
00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:18,360
I mean I'm curious to see your
perspective on exits right now.
302
00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:22,140
Wow. That is such a broad topic.
But it is very broad.
303
00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:26,230
It's very broad.
My view is, um, and I do keep a
304
00:17:26,230 --> 00:17:29,680
little bit of an eye on this.
I'm not plunged hugely into the
305
00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:32,050
data and the trends,
but from what I'm seeing,
306
00:17:32,050 --> 00:17:39,040
the boomers exiting there is a whole,
um, subset subcategory of people who
307
00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:42,640
want to be a startup, but they're
now being encouraged to not be a
308
00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:46,240
startup by something from a boomer,
by a premium business and grew it.
309
00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:48,280
And I think there's a lot of
value in that.
310
00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:51,010
There's a lot of credibility, people.
I can't remember what the name
311
00:17:51,010 --> 00:17:52,840
of the book.
There was a famous book that was
312
00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:55,840
done like 10 or 15 years ago that
started this kind of thinking,
313
00:17:55,840 --> 00:18:00,760
but literally just go into Twitter
and you'll find 8000 people all kind
314
00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:03,460
of recommending how you go about
this and why it's a good idea,
315
00:18:03,460 --> 00:18:06,820
and it is genuinely a good idea.
A startup is a really
316
00:18:06,820 --> 00:18:10,150
challenging thing to do.
It takes much longer than you think.
317
00:18:10,180 --> 00:18:13,300
You need perseverance.
You need to dig deep,
318
00:18:13,420 --> 00:18:16,990
much to keep it going.
And so actually buying a successful
319
00:18:16,990 --> 00:18:20,590
business that may just be small,
but you can buy it.
320
00:18:20,860 --> 00:18:23,110
The other thing with buying a
business from a boomer,
321
00:18:23,110 --> 00:18:26,530
you can tend to do what's called
seller finance, so you can buy it
322
00:18:26,530 --> 00:18:30,130
without actually paying for it,
because the seller will kind of
323
00:18:30,130 --> 00:18:33,610
allow you to peer over your profits
in the next year or two years,
324
00:18:33,610 --> 00:18:37,030
five years. So you can do that.
So with very little money down,
325
00:18:37,030 --> 00:18:39,670
you can actually buy a business
that's quite valuable.
326
00:18:39,670 --> 00:18:43,090
And then you put your sweat and
blood and tears into to grow it
327
00:18:43,090 --> 00:18:46,120
and make it successful.
And I personally think that is
328
00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:50,200
significantly easier than doing
a startup. Startups are great.
329
00:18:50,710 --> 00:18:53,380
Um, if you want to do something
that's truly innovative and no
330
00:18:53,380 --> 00:18:56,680
one's done it before, that's why
venture capital is venture capital,
331
00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:59,020
because it's taking that risk in
small startups.
332
00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:02,000
But the reward has to be big for
those guys.
333
00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:05,750
Um, and then the other part of
it is the bigger part of it,
334
00:19:05,750 --> 00:19:09,530
the private equity guys doing exits.
Um, so for for me,
335
00:19:09,530 --> 00:19:13,100
there's the different layers,
depending on the size of your
336
00:19:13,100 --> 00:19:15,770
business, the category you're in,
things like that.
337
00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:19,370
It's challenging out there.
It is hugely challenging out there.
338
00:19:19,370 --> 00:19:22,040
I don't care who you are,
it is challenging.
339
00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:26,780
But the one thing that is getting
funded now is if you've got a good
340
00:19:26,780 --> 00:19:31,040
business. If you're good business.
People will give an actual.
341
00:19:31,220 --> 00:19:34,280
Valuable business in the market.
Valuable business,
342
00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:36,950
the people who are struggling at
the moment, of the people who
343
00:19:36,950 --> 00:19:40,550
have got half of a good idea,
they've half executed on it.
344
00:19:40,550 --> 00:19:43,730
They've not quite clarified it,
not pivoted, possibly.
345
00:19:43,730 --> 00:19:45,470
They've not quite got the
product market fit,
346
00:19:45,470 --> 00:19:48,650
but they've got a good idea.
And they the founders themselves
347
00:19:48,650 --> 00:19:51,920
can see that it's a good idea
and I can see it's a good idea,
348
00:19:52,130 --> 00:19:54,830
but it's just not quite ready
for someone to say, I'll give
349
00:19:54,830 --> 00:19:59,030
you X amount of money to buy it,
to take it on, to move it forward.
350
00:19:59,540 --> 00:20:04,880
Um, so it's, that's what I'm seeing
is there's lots and lots and lots
351
00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:08,480
of businesses out there that are
fantastic businesses, but they're
352
00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:12,960
just not quite ready to do the exit.
But if you've got a good business,
353
00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:16,530
if you've got some revenue, if
you've got clear product market fit,
354
00:20:16,530 --> 00:20:20,040
if you've got the wherewithal,
depending on what size you're at.
355
00:20:20,370 --> 00:20:22,770
People will give you money.
There is there is more than
356
00:20:22,770 --> 00:20:25,830
enough money out there.
And it's just that it's being very,
357
00:20:25,830 --> 00:20:28,380
very cautious about where it's
going and what is investing in.
358
00:20:29,220 --> 00:20:32,100
Are you seeing this when you say
people will give you money in
359
00:20:32,100 --> 00:20:36,000
general? Are you seeing that coming?
More for, uh, roll ups,
360
00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:39,660
acquisitions, private equity.
Is there something that stands out to
361
00:20:39,660 --> 00:20:46,050
you? More so than, um, than another?
Um, I tend to work with private
362
00:20:46,050 --> 00:20:50,160
equity more than anything else.
Um, I do some work with VCs.
363
00:20:50,670 --> 00:20:56,760
Um, I'm finding that private equity
is, um, going, well, I think private.
364
00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:00,780
I know I work with a couple of funds.
One funds just raised another.
365
00:21:01,260 --> 00:21:04,530
Um, so I work with a couple of
private equity firms.
366
00:21:04,530 --> 00:21:08,160
One is just raised 1.6 billion
is their new fund and other ones
367
00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:11,130
raised 3 billion.
It's actually just under 3 billion.
368
00:21:11,130 --> 00:21:14,250
And I do like to point out is
like 2.9 5,000,000,000 billion.
369
00:21:14,250 --> 00:21:16,920
So I'd like to point out it's not
3 billion because it upsets them.
370
00:21:17,610 --> 00:21:22,320
Um, so there are LPs are out there
giving money into these funds,
371
00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:25,440
but they are being very particular
about which funds if you're a
372
00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:29,940
mediocre fund, is challenging
because you've not got the returns
373
00:21:29,940 --> 00:21:32,820
that they are looking for.
But there is more than enough
374
00:21:32,820 --> 00:21:35,460
money out there.
They are just being very selective of
375
00:21:35,460 --> 00:21:39,390
which private equity fund firms are
putting it into, and then how those
376
00:21:39,390 --> 00:21:42,450
private equity firms are actually
deploying the cash that they have.
377
00:21:42,450 --> 00:21:44,850
But that's two funds that I work
with.
378
00:21:44,850 --> 00:21:48,090
And that's the best part of 5
billion. They've got to deploy.
379
00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:50,920
They've got to deploy it in the
next 2 or 3 years.
380
00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:54,880
So you know, they're actually in
fact one of them I know I probably
381
00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:58,030
shouldn't I won't say their name,
but one of them I know there is a 3
382
00:21:58,030 --> 00:22:03,700
billion fund probably a year ago now.
They currently have six deals in
383
00:22:03,700 --> 00:22:07,180
exclusivity.
Um, and they're they're not.
384
00:22:07,330 --> 00:22:10,690
I spoke to one of the guys last
week and he's kind of pulling
385
00:22:10,690 --> 00:22:14,470
his hair out. He's so busy.
And so they're not a big fund,
386
00:22:14,470 --> 00:22:17,980
a big team, but they've got a lot
of money and the money is there.
387
00:22:17,980 --> 00:22:22,900
But you have to be a good business.
They're not just giving it the.com
388
00:22:22,900 --> 00:22:26,140
boom of I've got an idea, let's
give me money that doesn't exist.
389
00:22:26,350 --> 00:22:29,560
I throw money at ideas. Yeah.
On that point of being a good
390
00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:33,280
business, it's to me I look out
there and I see the same thing.
391
00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:38,620
I see a lot of companies that
are kind of half baked and
392
00:22:38,980 --> 00:22:41,500
they're working really hard,
but they're struggling.
393
00:22:41,500 --> 00:22:45,160
And in part it's because they've
got they're sort of an amalgamation
394
00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:50,020
of a lot of things. They've tried.
Um, and they aren't really they
395
00:22:50,020 --> 00:22:55,150
don't really have a solid direction.
And so I'm, I'm curious, do you do
396
00:22:55,150 --> 00:23:01,330
you think part of the reason is that,
but also because companies leadership
397
00:23:01,330 --> 00:23:05,600
are not focused on an exit.
They're not focused on building their
398
00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:11,600
valuation or the value of their
company towards an actual sale point.
399
00:23:12,380 --> 00:23:15,350
I think there's a lot of companies
in that position, and I think a
400
00:23:15,350 --> 00:23:19,280
lot of companies and a lot of
leaders tend to fall into that.
401
00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:23,060
We're we're getting involved in
the day to day, we're running
402
00:23:23,060 --> 00:23:24,920
the business and we're running
the business and we're running
403
00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,640
the business. Yeah, I think.
Why we're running the business.
404
00:23:28,670 --> 00:23:30,590
What's the objective?
What are we going to do?
405
00:23:30,590 --> 00:23:33,320
We want to go to an exit.
Do we want to get to the next level?
406
00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:35,660
Do we want to get to 10 million
or 50 million? 100 million.
407
00:23:35,750 --> 00:23:41,660
And the fall into this, the day
to day, the day to day busyness
408
00:23:42,260 --> 00:23:45,590
takes over from the strategic,
the prioritization, the growing,
409
00:23:45,590 --> 00:23:49,550
the business.
And very often it's it comes from
410
00:23:49,550 --> 00:23:53,240
I personally think it comes from
a bit of experience and a CEO
411
00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:56,840
should not be running a business,
a CEO should be leading a business.
412
00:23:57,080 --> 00:24:00,710
And if you as a CEO are running
the business, you need to go and
413
00:24:00,710 --> 00:24:03,530
hire a chief operating officer.
They're the guys that were
414
00:24:03,530 --> 00:24:05,330
running the business.
While you're thinking much more
415
00:24:05,330 --> 00:24:09,080
strategically, do we expand into
the west coast of the East Coast
416
00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:12,620
or Europe or wherever?
And that's the CEO's job is to
417
00:24:12,620 --> 00:24:15,230
lead the business.
But if you spend all day,
418
00:24:15,230 --> 00:24:18,140
every day running the business,
you don't have the time.
419
00:24:18,140 --> 00:24:21,650
And it's it doesn't make you a bad
person. It just it's understandable.
420
00:24:21,650 --> 00:24:25,310
But you need to elevate yourself
above that and think, hang on,
421
00:24:25,310 --> 00:24:28,130
what is the objective here?
I've got three founders.
422
00:24:28,130 --> 00:24:31,940
I've got five investors.
They're all expecting to exit
423
00:24:31,940 --> 00:24:34,910
the business in five years time
and get this big number.
424
00:24:34,910 --> 00:24:39,630
And I'm I'm busy worrying about an
operational issue or a marketing
425
00:24:39,630 --> 00:24:43,950
issue, or is that you need to elevate
yourself within the business to focus
426
00:24:43,950 --> 00:24:47,670
on what the objective truly is,
and keep that in mind.
427
00:24:47,700 --> 00:24:50,370
Have a have a reminder in your
calendar every Monday morning.
428
00:24:50,370 --> 00:24:52,770
It says the objective is exit.
In five years time,
429
00:24:52,980 --> 00:24:56,970
do something to kind of keep that.
That's your role. You know, like a.
430
00:24:56,970 --> 00:24:59,850
Countdown or. Something. Yeah.
That's what I'm seeing too.
431
00:24:59,850 --> 00:25:04,800
I, I see like CEOs that when I,
when I meet CEOs that are, uh,
432
00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:07,290
in the business like that and
they're operating and putting
433
00:25:07,290 --> 00:25:10,410
out fires every day.
Generally, generally what I see
434
00:25:10,410 --> 00:25:13,710
is that they don't have a vision,
because those who do have a vision
435
00:25:13,710 --> 00:25:16,650
are generally executing against
that vision, and they're not
436
00:25:16,650 --> 00:25:19,710
going to get pulled into the fire
because they're more, you know,
437
00:25:19,710 --> 00:25:24,450
passionate about the vision.
Yeah, I know that's 99% of it.
438
00:25:24,450 --> 00:25:28,560
I do see the occasion when they
have a really great strategy deck,
439
00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:31,590
and that was probably why they got
the investors involved in the first
440
00:25:31,590 --> 00:25:34,800
place. Yeah. And it's kind of. Yeah.
When was the last time you read that?
441
00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:36,990
When was the last time you updated?
Yeah, it was the last time you
442
00:25:36,990 --> 00:25:40,410
told your entire team that this is
how we're progressing against it,
443
00:25:40,410 --> 00:25:41,850
and this is where we're going
next year. Yeah.
444
00:25:41,970 --> 00:25:45,720
And and it's not that they don't
have it all the time.
445
00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:48,540
Occasionally they don't.
Um, but it's the fact that it
446
00:25:48,540 --> 00:25:51,100
was it was done for a purpose
and then thrown away as opposed
447
00:25:51,100 --> 00:25:55,000
to done for the North Star where
we're trying to get to this is
448
00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:57,730
where we're going every month.
We should be telling our
449
00:25:57,730 --> 00:25:59,560
investors how you were
progressing against this.
450
00:25:59,590 --> 00:26:02,740
We should be telling the
employees of we had a bad month.
451
00:26:02,740 --> 00:26:05,470
We've not progressed as far as
we wanted. We had a bad month.
452
00:26:05,470 --> 00:26:07,990
We've taken a step back, but we're
going to use that strategically.
453
00:26:07,990 --> 00:26:10,960
But we're still locked on.
But this is where we're going
454
00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:13,750
because I think if you've got that
strategic vision of what you're
455
00:26:13,750 --> 00:26:17,590
trying to get to is guaranteed,
you're going to get pushed off
456
00:26:17,590 --> 00:26:20,260
the rails once in a while,
but you know where to come back to.
457
00:26:20,290 --> 00:26:23,320
You know how to come back because
you've still got that North Star,
458
00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:26,560
that vision that you're trying for.
Um, and far too many,
459
00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:29,890
far too many people that I see
are working in the business.
460
00:26:29,890 --> 00:26:33,940
The fires, the firefighting.
They're dealing with issues.
461
00:26:34,060 --> 00:26:37,870
All very important.
Just not your job. Yeah.
462
00:26:37,870 --> 00:26:40,120
That's right.
To hire someone to do that stuff
463
00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:43,090
for you so that you can keep
keep the company on track.
464
00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:48,040
So when should CEOs or owners
start thinking about getting
465
00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:52,240
their company ready for exit?
Um, given what we've said about,
466
00:26:52,360 --> 00:26:55,360
um, it's easier.
I'm not going to say it's easy.
467
00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:59,230
It's easier to get, um,
funding for, um, your business
468
00:26:59,230 --> 00:27:02,650
if it's a good business.
Um, everything you do should be
469
00:27:02,650 --> 00:27:05,530
working up to an exit,
having an exit in mind.
470
00:27:05,650 --> 00:27:09,610
You don't have to exit,
but having an exit in mind is a
471
00:27:09,610 --> 00:27:12,490
really good discipline for are
we doing the right thing?
472
00:27:12,490 --> 00:27:14,950
Are we operating as effectively
as we could be?
473
00:27:14,980 --> 00:27:17,800
Are we engaging with our consumers
in the right way and giving them
474
00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:21,730
products and services that they
need that value, and do our
475
00:27:21,730 --> 00:27:25,690
customers and want to come back?
So having the exit in mind or a
476
00:27:25,690 --> 00:27:30,740
fundraise or a nominee in mind, um,
whichever flavor of exit you wanted
477
00:27:30,740 --> 00:27:34,910
to think about, it's a good way of
giving yourself the discipline.
478
00:27:35,210 --> 00:27:39,800
Um, but if you've not been there,
today is the best day to start.
479
00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:43,760
If you are thinking about it,
to maximize your value,
480
00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:47,390
to maximize the exit you get.
I would always say give yourself
481
00:27:47,390 --> 00:27:50,570
two years, because there will be
some fundamental things that you
482
00:27:50,570 --> 00:27:52,310
want to change as you're going
through your business,
483
00:27:52,310 --> 00:27:56,570
and it will take a bit of time.
Um, you can do it. And I'm not.
484
00:27:56,660 --> 00:27:58,220
In fact, I'm not even going to say
I was going to say, you can do it
485
00:27:58,220 --> 00:28:00,230
in three months, but you can't.
If you do it in three months,
486
00:28:00,230 --> 00:28:02,300
you're going to get zero value
for your business.
487
00:28:02,510 --> 00:28:04,910
It's going to be someone just
coming in to pick up the pieces
488
00:28:04,910 --> 00:28:09,650
and to move forward with it.
And typically, an exit would take six
489
00:28:09,650 --> 00:28:14,210
months to go through the process,
figure out where you are and get
490
00:28:14,210 --> 00:28:17,210
someone to come in and actually
kind of acquire you in some way.
491
00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:20,150
It can be done much quicker and
it depends on who you are.
492
00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:23,060
Um, but if it's going to take six
months just to go through that
493
00:28:23,060 --> 00:28:26,930
process and due diligence and things,
you need to be giving yourself three
494
00:28:26,930 --> 00:28:30,050
months, six months before that to
really give yourself a chance.
495
00:28:31,070 --> 00:28:33,980
I mean, that's that's much
quicker than I thought.
496
00:28:33,980 --> 00:28:36,710
You know, I thought your answer
was going to be years.
497
00:28:36,740 --> 00:28:39,170
You know,
of of sitting down and retooling.
498
00:28:39,170 --> 00:28:41,940
And I mean, I guess it depends
on where you're at, but, um,
499
00:28:41,940 --> 00:28:47,220
that's that's pretty quick. Yeah.
I mean, it's it's my experience.
500
00:28:47,220 --> 00:28:50,310
I think if someone came to me
and said, I want my business.
501
00:28:50,310 --> 00:28:53,220
And I said to them, great, um,
we can we can start thinking
502
00:28:53,220 --> 00:28:56,070
about an exit in 2030.
They can go, oh, yeah,
503
00:28:56,070 --> 00:28:58,410
that's not where I am. I'm just.
Yeah. They want they just.
504
00:28:58,410 --> 00:29:00,990
Want to get out. Yeah. At some point.
Yeah I can last a year,
505
00:29:00,990 --> 00:29:03,060
maybe two years.
And then you go to give them the
506
00:29:03,060 --> 00:29:06,150
bad news that, well,
we can exit you in two years,
507
00:29:06,150 --> 00:29:09,390
but you've got a two year earnout,
so you're going to have to whoever's
508
00:29:09,390 --> 00:29:12,090
buying you is going to want you to be
there because you are the business.
509
00:29:12,090 --> 00:29:13,350
You're the knowledge and the
business.
510
00:29:13,350 --> 00:29:16,050
They want that handover process.
So you're going to have a new
511
00:29:16,050 --> 00:29:17,940
owner that's there.
So you're committing to four
512
00:29:17,940 --> 00:29:21,450
years to exit your business.
In a year or two years, it's going
513
00:29:21,450 --> 00:29:25,530
to be that type of, um, timeline.
So the more that you prepare
514
00:29:25,530 --> 00:29:28,800
yourself earlier and to be honest,
there's a the good thing about that
515
00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:33,870
is if you're the CEO that is working,
um, uh, on the business,
516
00:29:33,870 --> 00:29:37,020
not in the business, it's easy
for you to extract yourself.
517
00:29:37,020 --> 00:29:39,330
They probably want you to hang
around for six months,
518
00:29:39,330 --> 00:29:43,530
a year and then think, why are we
paying this guy? And the CEO's there?
519
00:29:43,530 --> 00:29:44,730
He's the one that's running the
business.
520
00:29:44,730 --> 00:29:47,100
We've got our new vision that we
want to implement anyway.
521
00:29:47,100 --> 00:29:50,550
So yeah, thanks a lot for six months.
But it's great. Yeah.
522
00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:53,980
That'd be ideal. Yeah yeah.
And it doesn't always work that way.
523
00:29:53,980 --> 00:29:56,710
Very often I find,
especially with institutional buyers,
524
00:29:56,710 --> 00:30:00,970
with VCs and private equity,
they're happy to pay a bit more
525
00:30:00,970 --> 00:30:04,030
of a premium to have you around,
even if you're not really adding
526
00:30:04,030 --> 00:30:07,810
too much value for too long.
This the safety belt that comes
527
00:30:07,810 --> 00:30:11,050
with the security kind of you're
still there just in case.
528
00:30:11,500 --> 00:30:14,890
That's always a good thing for them.
And that means they're paying your
529
00:30:14,890 --> 00:30:18,340
salary and maybe not getting value
from you, but you get value from it.
530
00:30:18,340 --> 00:30:20,860
You're getting your salary and you
get the comfort of you being there.
531
00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:25,090
Yeah, 100%. All right.
So now let's let's get into your
532
00:30:25,090 --> 00:30:29,050
thinking about, you know,
your framework of like take us
533
00:30:29,050 --> 00:30:32,170
through your process.
If, if when you work with a company
534
00:30:32,170 --> 00:30:35,530
to sort of prepare them for an exit,
what's the process?
535
00:30:35,530 --> 00:30:37,270
Do you take them through,
what's the thinking that you
536
00:30:37,270 --> 00:30:42,250
would want to deploy? Okay.
So I don't have a process. Um, okay.
537
00:30:42,250 --> 00:30:44,890
It's a simple truth. It is.
Everything I do is bespoke to
538
00:30:44,890 --> 00:30:47,350
the company I work with. Oh.
Well. Okay. Kind of.
539
00:30:47,350 --> 00:30:50,500
I do have a kind of mindset that
I go through when I'm doing.
540
00:30:50,500 --> 00:30:53,020
And the first part of any of
this stuff for me is discovery.
541
00:30:53,470 --> 00:30:56,770
Um, and, and that's, that's where
the most of the process is coming
542
00:30:56,770 --> 00:31:00,850
from or the mindsets coming from.
And I you start with, um,
543
00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:04,360
I'm not a finance guy.
I know enough about finance.
544
00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:07,480
I'm not a CFO.
I I'm more of a commercial guy
545
00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:09,850
than a CFO guy.
So I tend to start with the
546
00:31:09,850 --> 00:31:11,740
commercials.
And what are you selling?
547
00:31:11,740 --> 00:31:13,990
Who are you selling it to?
Which is your profit margin?
548
00:31:13,990 --> 00:31:17,410
How's it all hanging together?
And are you selling something
549
00:31:17,410 --> 00:31:20,800
that someone wants to buy?
Because I very often find that
550
00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:23,830
within that world,
just as a growth thing, it doesn't
551
00:31:23,830 --> 00:31:26,980
even have to be an exit thing.
People undervalue themselves,
552
00:31:27,070 --> 00:31:29,270
undervalue their products and
their value their services.
553
00:31:29,270 --> 00:31:32,330
So you can very often get a very
quick win there just by
554
00:31:32,330 --> 00:31:35,600
increasing your pricing by 10%.
And your customers would be
555
00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:37,820
delighted with that.
I mean, they're kind of think of
556
00:31:37,820 --> 00:31:40,460
a man of about five years of you
being incredibly cheap.
557
00:31:40,460 --> 00:31:43,550
Now I'm just paying what she's been
paying all along. Yeah, right.
558
00:31:43,550 --> 00:31:45,380
So you can look at that.
So I always look at the
559
00:31:45,380 --> 00:31:48,740
commercials first.
Um, I then go behind that and I look
560
00:31:48,740 --> 00:31:52,790
at the finances only because the
finances are where you can find
561
00:31:52,790 --> 00:31:56,120
lots of the skeletons, even if you
weren't looking for skeletons,
562
00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:59,000
even if the business doesn't believe
it has skeletons, the finances
563
00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:02,210
is where it's going to come out.
You're going to find a line in a
564
00:32:02,210 --> 00:32:04,370
budget somewhere, and it's kind
of like, what's that for?
565
00:32:04,370 --> 00:32:06,290
I don't know,
I've always meant to ask that.
566
00:32:06,620 --> 00:32:09,470
Yeah, I should, I should, I should
go and figure it all out. Yeah.
567
00:32:09,710 --> 00:32:13,070
Let's do that before we get into
due diligence then and. Right.
568
00:32:13,070 --> 00:32:16,820
And then from there I go into the
operations, the people of the HR
569
00:32:16,850 --> 00:32:21,530
who are key employees, who, who if
they choose to leave tomorrow, it
570
00:32:21,530 --> 00:32:24,500
would be sad to lose a team member,
but they're not going to disrupt
571
00:32:24,500 --> 00:32:26,720
the business and things like that.
But essentially,
572
00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:30,710
the thought process in my head,
I touch every part of the business.
573
00:32:30,710 --> 00:32:32,900
I look at every there's nothing
I don't touch.
574
00:32:32,990 --> 00:32:36,350
And the one that's very often
overlooked is customer service.
575
00:32:36,590 --> 00:32:39,440
I think I find people always
overlook customer service,
576
00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:41,910
and yet they're the ones that are
talking to your customers every day.
577
00:32:41,940 --> 00:32:44,430
It's like. Um, maybe.
Maybe, maybe you should be
578
00:32:44,430 --> 00:32:46,680
talking to them more often.
But essentially,
579
00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:51,360
I think what I do is, um,
during that discovery process is I do
580
00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:55,830
the type of due diligence I would
expect an investor to do so that
581
00:32:55,830 --> 00:32:59,520
I find that before they find it.
And if I find that we can fix it,
582
00:33:00,330 --> 00:33:04,200
and if we can't fix it because it's
2 or 5 years to kind of change
583
00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:07,860
something, Um, then at least we
can get a story or narrative
584
00:33:07,860 --> 00:33:11,070
round about it. We can start.
That's the plan we've identified.
585
00:33:11,070 --> 00:33:14,340
This is a weakness within our
business. Here's what we're doing.
586
00:33:14,370 --> 00:33:16,740
Working on it for six months.
But there's another 18 months
587
00:33:16,740 --> 00:33:18,870
before we've got it fixed.
But do you know what?
588
00:33:18,870 --> 00:33:20,700
That's a great thing.
Because you're going to invest
589
00:33:20,700 --> 00:33:22,680
in us now,
and you're going to get the benefit
590
00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:25,950
of this work in 18 months time.
And that's where the comes to grow.
591
00:33:25,980 --> 00:33:29,670
So so that that helps me a lot
actually when you saying that.
592
00:33:29,670 --> 00:33:33,270
because when you're talking about,
you know, 3 to 6 months of kind
593
00:33:33,270 --> 00:33:37,560
of getting ramped up to sell that
time frame surprised me thinking it
594
00:33:37,560 --> 00:33:40,410
would be much longer than that for
your typical company who doesn't
595
00:33:40,410 --> 00:33:43,380
have all their stuff together,
but you put it that way.
596
00:33:43,380 --> 00:33:46,770
There are probably some key things
that you're going to unearth that
597
00:33:46,770 --> 00:33:51,900
don't take two years to turn around.
It's about it's about the intent of
598
00:33:51,900 --> 00:33:55,080
turning them around and starting
to to work on that, that you can.
599
00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:58,740
Investors are going to see the
the truth in that. Yeah.
600
00:33:58,740 --> 00:34:01,860
And there's a couple of dynamics
in there.
601
00:34:02,130 --> 00:34:05,040
Um, one dynamic is no one's
going to buy your business if
602
00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:09,000
there's no upside for them.
So if we spend two years improving
603
00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:11,910
your business, and your business is
now perfect, which doesn't exist.
604
00:34:11,910 --> 00:34:15,210
But see, your business is perfect,
why am I buying your business
605
00:34:15,210 --> 00:34:17,850
when I get no upside?
You're taking all the money off
606
00:34:17,850 --> 00:34:20,140
the table.
I'm just ending up with your business
607
00:34:20,140 --> 00:34:22,750
and I'm running your business.
But I don't see how I can
608
00:34:22,750 --> 00:34:25,540
improve on it. And me?
And I want to have a return on
609
00:34:25,540 --> 00:34:27,940
my money, I want it.
I want to see something.
610
00:34:27,940 --> 00:34:31,090
I want to implement a better
strategy, a different strategy.
611
00:34:31,090 --> 00:34:34,270
I want to attach your company to my
other company so that between the
612
00:34:34,270 --> 00:34:37,630
two of you, we can move forward.
So any investor has to have an
613
00:34:37,630 --> 00:34:40,000
upside.
So if you do have a problem
614
00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:43,240
within the business, that would
traditionally be a negative.
615
00:34:43,270 --> 00:34:46,150
We can turn that into a positive by
saying this is where you get your
616
00:34:46,150 --> 00:34:49,060
upside. We're working on it today.
We've got a plan.
617
00:34:49,060 --> 00:34:51,580
We've identified it.
This is where the upside comes from.
618
00:34:51,580 --> 00:34:55,180
We're going to sell it to you today.
You get this upside in 18 months
619
00:34:55,180 --> 00:34:57,580
time.
That that's a really good story.
620
00:34:57,580 --> 00:35:00,910
So it means that anyone buying
the business can see the benefit
621
00:35:00,910 --> 00:35:04,660
and they get some return on it.
But the other thing then is the
622
00:35:04,660 --> 00:35:08,170
depends on the level and the
sector that you're in.
623
00:35:08,920 --> 00:35:13,390
Um, what a VC will look for is
entirely different to what
624
00:35:13,390 --> 00:35:16,540
private equity will look for,
which is entirely different to
625
00:35:16,540 --> 00:35:19,360
what your biggest competitor,
who's five times bigger than you,
626
00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:23,350
is looking for in your business.
So understanding what your exit
627
00:35:23,350 --> 00:35:28,330
strategy is and who's most likely
to buy your business will help
628
00:35:28,330 --> 00:35:32,510
us understand what parts of your
business we need to be working on,
629
00:35:32,510 --> 00:35:37,010
fixing any problems that we find
and where when we are coming across
630
00:35:37,010 --> 00:35:41,270
the story telling this narrative of
this is what you get out of buying
631
00:35:41,270 --> 00:35:44,990
my business today comes from all
of those things will be different.
632
00:35:45,140 --> 00:35:49,010
I very often talk about when you
get into valuations,
633
00:35:49,010 --> 00:35:53,720
your business is a value,
but the person the the value.
634
00:35:53,720 --> 00:35:57,500
So if I'm buying your business,
your business is of value as a
635
00:35:57,500 --> 00:35:59,480
fundamental value.
And we can calculate what that
636
00:35:59,480 --> 00:36:02,660
is based on lots of different
criteria discounted cash flow,
637
00:36:02,660 --> 00:36:06,410
which I'm not a huge fan of or a
multiple within your industry,
638
00:36:06,410 --> 00:36:08,090
that kind of stuff.
So I can value your business
639
00:36:08,390 --> 00:36:12,140
very easily.
But if my plan is to take your
640
00:36:12,140 --> 00:36:15,440
business and attach it to my two
other businesses, suddenly your
641
00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:19,490
business is worth significantly more
to me than anyone else, because
642
00:36:19,490 --> 00:36:22,100
that's going to be cross-selling my
other businesses into your business
643
00:36:22,100 --> 00:36:26,600
so I can increase your revenue by
40% a day by you. That's right.
644
00:36:26,780 --> 00:36:29,630
And so there's a value of your
business and a value to the
645
00:36:29,630 --> 00:36:32,900
buyer of your business. Correct.
And if. There's a financial.
646
00:36:32,900 --> 00:36:35,720
Value and a strategic value.
Yeah, exactly.
647
00:36:35,720 --> 00:36:40,010
And if we can understand what that
is it can take me I can change the
648
00:36:40,010 --> 00:36:43,010
valuation of your business within
a few weeks just by changing that
649
00:36:43,010 --> 00:36:47,150
narrative. By changing that story.
Yeah, that says this is what my
650
00:36:47,150 --> 00:36:50,690
business has done historically,
but it's part of your organization,
651
00:36:50,690 --> 00:36:54,500
VCP, our other competitor,
other business.
652
00:36:54,500 --> 00:36:59,450
This is the value we would bring
to you. Yeah, that's that's huge.
653
00:36:59,450 --> 00:37:02,180
I mean yeah, that's going to get
that's going to take you getting
654
00:37:02,180 --> 00:37:05,930
in there into the weeds and trying
to determine who that buyer is so
655
00:37:05,930 --> 00:37:09,600
that the narrative can can map.
Um, so there's a lot of digging
656
00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:12,780
that's got to happen for that to
happen. Yeah, completely.
657
00:37:12,780 --> 00:37:18,510
And, um, I very often, um, um,
tell people that, um,
658
00:37:18,510 --> 00:37:21,270
and this is a bad analogy,
but it's the best one I've got.
659
00:37:21,510 --> 00:37:24,690
Um, if you if you're going to sell
your house, the first thing you do is
660
00:37:24,690 --> 00:37:29,190
remove your furniture and stage it.
Yeah, because it's still your house.
661
00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:31,230
You've not fundamentally changed
your house.
662
00:37:31,260 --> 00:37:34,560
You're just presenting it in a way
that appeals to the best buyer,
663
00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:36,480
who's going to give you the most
money to sell your house.
664
00:37:36,630 --> 00:37:40,230
That's what I do with businesses.
I'm not changing your business,
665
00:37:40,230 --> 00:37:43,290
but sometimes I do because it's the
right thing to do for your business.
666
00:37:43,290 --> 00:37:47,310
But I'm staging your business
the right way for the best buyer
667
00:37:47,310 --> 00:37:49,650
to come in and give you the best
price for your business.
668
00:37:49,650 --> 00:37:53,550
And ideally, I would like a year
to do that, because sometimes I do
669
00:37:53,550 --> 00:37:56,220
want to fundamentally change some
parts of your business that aren't
670
00:37:56,220 --> 00:37:59,280
working as well as they could,
but that's just good business.
671
00:37:59,490 --> 00:38:01,740
Other times,
I sure do that in three months time.
672
00:38:01,740 --> 00:38:04,290
Just by changing the narrative,
changing your strategy,
673
00:38:04,290 --> 00:38:08,250
changing the vision that the
business has and that will appeal
674
00:38:08,250 --> 00:38:13,110
to a buyer in a different way.
Yeah, it's so interesting.
675
00:38:13,350 --> 00:38:16,260
Uh, I love it because, uh,
I have a lot of, a lot of thoughts
676
00:38:16,410 --> 00:38:18,690
swirling around in my head.
But we got to end this here pretty,
677
00:38:18,690 --> 00:38:21,190
pretty soon.
So, uh, let me let me ask.
678
00:38:21,340 --> 00:38:23,440
Let me. Wow.
Oh, I know, I know,
679
00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:26,740
I just have a part two of this.
I have you come back. Cool. Yeah.
680
00:38:26,740 --> 00:38:30,520
What what's the one thing right
now that maybe a mid-market
681
00:38:30,520 --> 00:38:34,000
company that wants to exit, what
can they do to improve valuation?
682
00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:36,010
Like, you know,
you go into companies all the time.
683
00:38:36,010 --> 00:38:40,240
What's the one thing you see
that people could just do the.
684
00:38:40,240 --> 00:38:42,940
Well, first of all,
the one thing that everyone is doing
685
00:38:42,940 --> 00:38:45,970
at the moment if they want to exit
is they're focusing on EBITDA.
686
00:38:46,300 --> 00:38:49,960
Every every company is looking
at EBITDA, and that's great.
687
00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:53,230
But you're not going to influence
your EBITDA in a significant way.
688
00:38:53,530 --> 00:38:56,440
Um, in the next three,
six months, it's going to be 12,
689
00:38:56,710 --> 00:38:59,500
24 months before you do that.
So sure, keep doing that.
690
00:38:59,500 --> 00:39:02,860
But that's a long term plea.
The one thing you can change is
691
00:39:02,860 --> 00:39:05,800
what we've just spoken about, which
is your vision and your strategy.
692
00:39:05,800 --> 00:39:08,650
Okay, where is this company going?
And if you can,
693
00:39:08,650 --> 00:39:12,520
if you can show that you're in a
marketplace where the total
694
00:39:12,520 --> 00:39:16,390
addressable market is a billion.
If you can change that by
695
00:39:16,390 --> 00:39:18,250
pivoting your business.
And now suddenly the total
696
00:39:18,250 --> 00:39:21,550
addressable market is 10 billion.
Hang on. That's more interesting.
697
00:39:21,550 --> 00:39:23,800
How do we get there?
So let's change the strategy to
698
00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:28,390
slightly describe the business
in a different way that says,
699
00:39:28,390 --> 00:39:31,360
actually we're going after this
1 billion marketplace,
700
00:39:31,360 --> 00:39:34,580
but as soon as we've got halfway
down that we're then going to start
701
00:39:34,580 --> 00:39:38,540
the second 10 billion marketplace,
suddenly your business is
702
00:39:38,540 --> 00:39:42,590
becoming much more interesting.
So that vision, that strategy,
703
00:39:42,590 --> 00:39:46,040
and essentially it's the staging
your house, staging your house,
704
00:39:46,370 --> 00:39:49,700
that's how you stage your house will
fundamentally change your business.
705
00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:54,980
So if you think about it in the most
simplistic terms, most valuations
706
00:39:54,980 --> 00:39:59,570
are the value of your EBITDA.
How much money you make before, um,
707
00:40:00,110 --> 00:40:04,250
tax and, uh, amortization and uh,
um, uh, things.
708
00:40:05,090 --> 00:40:07,040
The depreciation,
that was the word I was looking for.
709
00:40:07,130 --> 00:40:09,890
Um, so that's a number.
And then traditionally,
710
00:40:09,890 --> 00:40:11,840
depending on what sector you're in,
it's a multiple.
711
00:40:12,980 --> 00:40:16,640
If you focus on the EBITDA number,
that will take you a while to get it.
712
00:40:16,940 --> 00:40:20,360
If you focus on your multiple number,
the multiple is never a number,
713
00:40:20,360 --> 00:40:24,200
by the way. It's always a range.
So if you're in marketing services,
714
00:40:24,200 --> 00:40:27,410
it can be anywhere from four.
If you're kind of small,
715
00:40:27,410 --> 00:40:30,830
or if you've not got as much
recurring revenue in your project
716
00:40:30,830 --> 00:40:35,360
base and stuff up to 6 or 8.
Um, I do know one business that I've
717
00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:38,930
been working with that is up to 12.
Um, and that's unusual,
718
00:40:38,930 --> 00:40:41,570
but they've got a really unique
business and that's cool.
719
00:40:41,960 --> 00:40:44,510
Um, so if you focus on the
EBITDA number, it will take you
720
00:40:44,510 --> 00:40:47,330
a while to get there.
If you focus on changing all the
721
00:40:47,330 --> 00:40:51,110
narrative around about your, uh,
multiple number, I can take you from
722
00:40:51,110 --> 00:40:54,680
4 to 4 and a half in a few weeks.
I can take you from a six to an
723
00:40:54,680 --> 00:40:58,610
eight in a few months.
And suddenly you're talking about.
724
00:40:58,610 --> 00:41:00,170
Hang on.
So what you're telling me is I
725
00:41:00,170 --> 00:41:04,100
need to double my EBITDA number in
three months, or I doubled the or I
726
00:41:04,100 --> 00:41:09,030
increased one point on to the, uh,
multiple. Multiple on the multiple.
727
00:41:09,450 --> 00:41:12,720
Let's do the multiple. I can do that.
I can do that quickly.
728
00:41:12,720 --> 00:41:15,330
And that's where the staging of
your house comes from.
729
00:41:15,330 --> 00:41:18,390
Um, if you know what the
investors are looking for,
730
00:41:18,390 --> 00:41:22,410
if you know what they are, um,
willing to put their money behind,
731
00:41:22,410 --> 00:41:26,490
whether it's a VC, private equity
or a, um, a strategic buyer.
732
00:41:26,700 --> 00:41:30,120
Um, if you know what those things
are, we can we can tell a story
733
00:41:30,120 --> 00:41:33,270
that will increase that multiple
quite easily and quite quickly.
734
00:41:33,270 --> 00:41:35,490
It doesn't mean you need to
change your business.
735
00:41:35,490 --> 00:41:39,690
If I see if I see in your multiple,
we're expanding into Europe and the
736
00:41:39,690 --> 00:41:42,480
investor says, oh great, have you
got a plan to expand into Europe?
737
00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:44,910
And you go, uh, well, no,
we just spoke about it last week.
738
00:41:44,910 --> 00:41:48,510
We're not we've not done anything.
But yeah, we do need to have
739
00:41:48,510 --> 00:41:50,970
some substance about it.
So it's not just a case of a new
740
00:41:50,970 --> 00:41:53,250
stories.
It's making sure there's a new story.
741
00:41:53,250 --> 00:41:54,720
It's making sure it's a credible
story.
742
00:41:54,720 --> 00:41:58,230
It's making sure that you're going to
pass due diligence with that story.
743
00:41:58,230 --> 00:42:00,960
So you can't just kind of go,
oh, man, yeah,
744
00:42:00,960 --> 00:42:04,530
we're flying to the moon tomorrow.
It's great. I'm a 20 multiple. Yeah.
745
00:42:04,770 --> 00:42:07,050
There needs to be the backing
round about it.
746
00:42:07,050 --> 00:42:09,090
And that's kind of what I do.
I come in,
747
00:42:09,090 --> 00:42:13,170
I help you do the the the new story.
I help you change the multiple.
748
00:42:13,170 --> 00:42:15,030
I help you do the staging of
your house.
749
00:42:15,030 --> 00:42:19,800
Then I make sure through the the
discovery process I'm doing and
750
00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:23,320
preparing you for due diligence.
That actually is a credible story.
751
00:42:23,320 --> 00:42:26,110
It's a story that people will
understand this, a story that people
752
00:42:26,110 --> 00:42:29,860
will recognize that your best place
to deliver on, you've already
753
00:42:29,860 --> 00:42:32,680
started that part of the journey.
So it's not pie in the sky,
754
00:42:32,680 --> 00:42:36,190
and you can move forward.
And as one of the parts of the
755
00:42:36,190 --> 00:42:39,070
business that I do that that
improving your valuation and
756
00:42:39,070 --> 00:42:44,080
getting ready for an exit, that's a
fundamental part of it, I love it.
757
00:42:44,260 --> 00:42:47,740
This has been very interesting and
uncovered some new ideas for me,
758
00:42:47,740 --> 00:42:51,400
so I appreciate that.
Uh, and thanks again for coming on.
759
00:42:51,520 --> 00:42:54,370
Um, if I want to send people
your way, where do I send them?
760
00:42:54,700 --> 00:42:57,910
Generally, the best place to
find me is, um, uh, LinkedIn.
761
00:42:57,910 --> 00:43:00,340
I have a website which is
Bletchley group.com.
762
00:43:00,340 --> 00:43:01,930
I'm currently changing it at the
moment.
763
00:43:01,930 --> 00:43:04,690
But LinkedIn, you can always find me.
You'll see a face not too
764
00:43:04,690 --> 00:43:08,710
dissimilar to this one.
Um, I'm Jim Stevenson, so LinkedIn,
765
00:43:08,710 --> 00:43:12,460
Jim Stevenson, you'll find me.
And if anyone's got any questions,
766
00:43:12,460 --> 00:43:15,490
I'm always happy to talk to people.
If I can help, advise.
767
00:43:15,490 --> 00:43:18,820
If you want to employ me to do
your staging of your home, I'm
768
00:43:18,820 --> 00:43:22,870
happy to do that as well. Yeah, I.
Think it's it's, you know, for people
769
00:43:22,870 --> 00:43:26,830
that are in the market right now for
wanting to know more about valuation,
770
00:43:26,830 --> 00:43:30,610
thinking about exiting 100%
would think it's a great, great,
771
00:43:30,760 --> 00:43:33,670
great thing to have a conversation
with you and talk more about it,
772
00:43:33,670 --> 00:43:37,630
because it's really reframing
your mind about what about your
773
00:43:37,630 --> 00:43:41,080
business and where it's headed,
so that it maps to your buyer and
774
00:43:41,080 --> 00:43:44,140
understanding who your buyer is.
It's it's just marketing your
775
00:43:44,140 --> 00:43:47,470
company to a new market versus
your product to the market that
776
00:43:47,470 --> 00:43:51,970
you're I mean. It's marketing.
It's marketing. 101 Jamie Lee.
777
00:43:51,970 --> 00:43:54,520
So so when you started off this
conversation talking about my
778
00:43:54,520 --> 00:43:58,460
work at Bacardi, yes,
this is marketing for businesses,
779
00:43:58,460 --> 00:44:01,400
and it's just understanding your
buyer and making sure that
780
00:44:01,430 --> 00:44:04,970
you've got product market fit.
And the simplest terms.
781
00:44:05,330 --> 00:44:07,070
Um,
so as long as people are willing to,
782
00:44:07,100 --> 00:44:12,260
to accommodate my Scottish accent,
I need to talk to them. I love it.
783
00:44:12,920 --> 00:44:15,950
Okay, well, we'll send them there.
And, uh, thanks again.
784
00:44:15,950 --> 00:44:19,340
We'll definitely have you back and,
uh, do another part two of this.
785
00:44:19,820 --> 00:44:22,220
Awesome. I'm looking forward to it.
It's been great chatting, Lee.