Now that the paperwork is finally signed, I figured now would be the best time to make this public. I consider myself very fortunate that in the 34 years of life on this earth, 12 of them professionally, I have experienced a lot in a very short period of time. Now one of the things that I can add to my list of accomplishments is a company exit which took place today. No it was not a glamorous unicorn exit like you read about in forbes, but probably like most exits, over the span of seven years I generated value into a small business and reached a point where it was time to pursue another venture. Why now? My goal in football since I was in high school was to make it to the NFL. Even the decision to go to Iowa and play was largely driven by how many tight ends and linebackers they put in the NFL. I knew if I was talented enough to make it by the time I graduated, Iowa would put me in the best position to make it. Sure, I was out of the league before my cup of coffee hit room temp, and I never caught an in game TD pass from Tom Brady but I still achieved my goal of getting to the highest level in my profession. Similarly, in business, my goal is to make it to the top. Right now, not only is the timing right to take that next step but the fit and opportunity with Novo is there.
At the time when I took the position in my current company I knew two things: The position I was taking on was not an ideal fit for my talents and skill set. The second was even though it wasn’t a great fit, it would accelerate my knowledge in business. When you are running your own business, you learn a lot and quickly. It’s drinking water through a fire hose with ultimate financial consequences. Nobody is there to hold your hand and do things for you. Both things remained true through the end. First interesting take away from the experience, even though I was in a business that wasn’t a great fit for my skills, I internally gravitated towards new opportunities that fit my skill set. However, the doors of opportunity had opened up to me because I was a business owner in a few different industries. I learned that even though being specialized in a specific area is a good thing, so are pursuing ventures that may not be in your skillset but offer immense learning upside. Being well versed and learning different perspectives on how to look at a business, is valuable and can often only be learned through experience. Not saying I wasn’t happy, but when your skills cater to a different kind of business, you will naturally gravitate towards that. It’s human nature to pursue things we are good at because they can offer a path of less resistance and its naturally more enjoyable.
Second, when exiting a company it’s incredibly important to remove your feelings from the situation. Exits can be messy but the cooler heads always prevail. When you dedicate half of your professional life to investing in not only the company, but other co-workers, it’s hard to remove emotions from that. When I was in surgical sales I heard a seasoned doctor tell a rep, “friends are friends and business is business.” It sounds easy in theory to execute but is much harder to practice, especially when it was your own company. Feelings can cloud the mind, numbers bring clarity. Third takeaway - when exiting, always try to negotiate an asset over cash, or a mixture of the two. It’s always riskier taking on an asset over cash because you are now missing a key piece of income that is no longer coming in. However, when you have an asset you can now utilize that as an asset to get money against, and can put to work into other assets that can generate cash flow for you. More risky in a high interest rate environment but given how credit is like a drug for our regulators, I bet it will come down at some point.Lastly, the unknown is really f*ckin scary. It’s easy to become comfortable when things are steady and safe. Exiting a company now creates a lot of uncertainty. Uncertainty can create self doubt, its can create instability in your life and add stress because there is a new learning curve. HOWEVER, when there is a good opportunity in front of you to pursue, it’s absolutely worth it. Being uncomfortable creates a sense of urgency and when that sense of urgency is there, it opens the doors of opportunity to grow.
Before I run on Katy trail or take a nightly walk, I will talk outloud to myself. I believe in the synchronization of the mind, body and the soul. Within the synchronization of the three, I incorporate another element which is speaking things into existence. I say many things outloud to myself and to the heavens, but I always end it with, “I want to give my family the life I never had, I want to reach the top of my profession, I want to be remembered, I want to put a dent in the universe.”
