We all wanted one. So why isn’t there a founder I know that’s truly happy with their exit?
Firstly, it’s because an ‘exit’ (I’ve come to learn) is a very grey term. An exit can be anything from a fire-sale where the core team scrape through with their jobs, all the way to enormous sums of money that mean founders never have to think about work again. Importantly, they’re also everything in between.
The lines between a successful exit and an unsuccessful one are very blurred, as are the lines between success and failure in general. Even when founders do get a big cash exit, their happiness is not always guaranteed. Vinay Hiremath, CTO and cofounder of Loom, sold his business to Atlassian for $975m. The title of his latest blog post — “I’m rich and have no idea what to do with my life” — suggests that a successful exit does not guarantee personal happiness.
I’ve learned to become sceptical of any founder with ‘exit’ on their LinkedIn profile. Perhaps it’s the cynic in me but I’ve seen too many founders use the word as a vagary that implies a home run. Especially when we’re all so British we wouldn’t dare ask if they made decent money out of it.
My exit with Sanctus, the coaching company I launched in 2016, was a grey one. I didn’t really intend to sell, but after multiple private equity rounds, three new CEOs and a board role in between for me, I moved on completely last year. I sold some shares and the company lives on as part of a group of businesses.
I’m reserved when it comes to showing off about my ‘exit’. I didn’t create the returns I wanted to for the angel investors that backed me and whilst I’m proud of what I built, I feel like we could have done a lot more. An exit? Yes. A success? Somewhat. A failure? Kinda.
Most exits are grey. If it’s a trade sale and the numbers are public, then you can bet it’s a deal everyone wants to shout about and decent returns are being shared all around. If the numbers are harder to come by, I’ve learned to assume that somebody didn’t get what they wanted.
Now what?
I know founders who’ve had exits of all shapes and sizes, and truthfully very few are content with their outcome. There’s always a sense of ‘what could have been?’ There are real tinges of failure, shame and embarrassment if the outcome wasn’t what they’d hoped for. Founders who make life-changing sums of money can be confused and lost. You get everything you wanted, it’s over, you put your life and soul into something for 10 years; now what?
The overarching feeling I pick up on when I speak to my exited founder peers is a sense of loss and confusion. What next? Who am I? Can I pick myself up and do it again?
Some throw themselves into a new venture, a bit like that mate at school who can never be single for too long. I don’t have the data to back me up, but this rarely seems to go well.
Others jump on the personal brand train to varying degrees of success — sharing lessons learned, etc. Coaches, consultants, jobs at other startups; the paths for the exited founder are twisted and various. The exit isn’t the end, it’s just a new beginning.
I remember the early 2010s when it felt like anyone with a pitch deck and an MVP could raise a few hundred thousand to build a marketplace app. I was one of them. The fundraising landscape has changed and 13 years on from the introduction of S/EIS we’re now seeing the harvest of this particular entrepreneurial vintage. The ‘exits’ have come and are coming. That means lots of founders are looking for their next move.
And, why?
The real question for any founder is: why? Truly what are you doing it for? Because if you genuinely are only doing it for an exit. If you genuinely only have wealth or status goals to achieve, I’m not sure startups are a very safe bet for you.
The ‘it’s the journey’ cliche will stand the test of time, because it’s true. You can learn from anyone that’s had an exit, me included: focus on the process, love the journey, embrace the craft, enjoy the ride and detach from the outcome.
Building a startup is a lot of hard work, stress and fun. Getting a good exit is something to be very proud of, but honestly it’s not everything. It’s important we demystify how founders exit and companies end or get acquired; it helps everyone in the startup ecosystem be really honest about what they actually want.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/startup-founder-exit-emotions/
