Free: How to Successfully Exit a Company and Begin Again

An episode of the Build The Damn Thing with Kathryn Finney podcast, hosted by Kathryn Finney, titled "Free: How to Successfully Exit a Company and Begin Again" was published on August 25, 2021 and runs 22 minutes.

August 25, 2021 ·22m · Build The Damn Thing with Kathryn Finney

0:00 / 0:00

Summary

Diverse entrepreneurs often feel they have to stick to what they’ve built. But what happens if you want to do something different? How does one even begin? How do you sell a company? In this episode, you’ll learn how to successfully exit a company–something many entrepreneurs can’t imagine–and how to start something new. “I think what many people don't realize–particularly in the Black community–is how venture capital works.” Selling a company can mean a couple of different things, but fundamentally, it's about seeing some return on the investment of time and money you put into building your company. When she was thinking about leaving The Budget Fashionista, Kathryn had a choice between venture capital, private equity, and just selling it. Accepting venture capital or private equity meant she would have to stay with the company for several years, something she wasn’t interested in doing. So Kathryn decided to sell the company. To sell it, she had to prove that the community and the revenue would stay even if she left. So she spent two more years building a team that could take over The Budget Fashionista when she was gone. “One of the challenges that we have in the Black community is that we overstay, and I know why: security.” In many resource-poor communities, selling, aka exiting your company, isn’t a positive thing. Some see it as a failure. However, in the world of venture capital, exiting is the goal. “This is what a CEO might do, or somebody in charge of a corporation might do: sell and move on to the next and build another one.” Kathryn never saw The Budget Fashionista as just a passion project. It was always about the business and what that could create. Her focus on the b helped her recognize when it was time to leave so she could take the money and go on to her next venture. Guests Kendra Bracken-Ferguson: http://kendrabracken-ferguson.com/ Heather Hiles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-hiles/ Cheryl Contee: https://dobigthings.today/team-members/cheryl-contee/ Brian Laung Aoaeh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/industrialtransformationandsupplychaintechnology/ John Schmidt: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/au/author/john-schmidt/ Patrice Grell Yursik: https://about.me/afrobella To hear more, visit kathrynfinney.substack.com

Episode Description

“I think what many people don't realize–particularly in the Black community–is how venture capital works.”

Selling a company can mean a couple of different things, but fundamentally, it's about seeing some return on the investment of time and money you put into building your company. When she was thinking about leaving The Budget Fashionista, Kathryn had a choice between venture capital, private equity, and just selling it. Accepting venture capital or private equity meant she would have to stay with the company for several years, something she wasn’t interested in doing. So Kathryn decided to sell the company. To sell it, she had to prove that the community and the revenue would stay even if she left. So she spent two more years building a team that could take over The Budget Fashionista when she was gone.

“One of the challenges that we have in the Black community is that we overstay, and I know why: security.”

In many resource-poor communities, selling, aka exiting your company, isn’t a positive thing. Some see it as a failure. However, in the world of venture capital, exiting is the goal.

“This is what a CEO might do, or somebody in charge of a corporation might do: sell and move on to the next and build another one.”

Kathryn never saw The Budget Fashionista as just a passion project. It was always about the business and what that could create. Her focus on the b helped her recognize when it was time to leave so she could take the money and go on to her next venture.

Guests

Kendra Bracken-Ferguson: http://kendrabracken-ferguson.com/

Heather Hiles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-hiles/

Cheryl Contee: https://dobigthings.today/team-members/cheryl-contee/

Brian Laung Aoaeh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/industrialtransformationandsupplychaintechnology/

John Schmidt: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/au/author/john-schmidt/

Patrice Grell Yursik: https://about.me/afrobella

To hear more, visit kathrynfinney.substack.com