Katherine Hague, co-founded ShopLocket in 2011 and sold her business two years later to PCH, a billion dollar Irish company.
Hague was a prodigious fundraiser in her two years from idea to exit. She sold 2% of her company to a friend before she had a product, another 10% to an incubator before selling an even bigger chunk in a million dollar funding round.
In our interview, Hague describes some of the landmines to avoid when raising outside capital and why she still has one regret about the sale of ShopLocket to PCH: listen now.
Dennis Hart sold his advertising agency, Apex Media, for 7.1 times EBITDA.
Selling for 7X sounds like a great exit but it disguises the complexity of the negotiations. Hart felt like he knew precisely how much EBITDA he generated until the buyer started questioning his math, adding back extra expenses, and driving down his EBITDA.
Hart walked away from the negotiating table twice. Eventually both parties were able to agree on a set of “add backs,” but this is a good reminder that, when it comes to selling your business, your EBITDA can be subjective.
How much would someone have to pay you to buy your business today? That’s the question Kris Jones was asked when billionaire Michael Rubin approached him about selling. Jones’ answer to Rubin’s question may surprise you.
Back in 2011, Nathan Latka started Heyo, a social media company that helped businesses advertise on Facebook. By 2016, Heyo had raised $2.5 million in seed and venture capital financing and, by all accounts, it was a growing and successful business.
Then Latka sent an unusual email that would ultimately garner him seven offers to buy his business – with the winning bid amounting to an incredible 11 times revenue. Listen to Latka describe the content of the email.