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[00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:05.680] Hey, Entrepreneurs, it's Steph here with a special invite just for you.
[00:00:05.680 --> 00:00:10.800] Do you want to experience what it's like to be part of our Entrepreneursa League community of founders?
[00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:12.400] Now is your chance.
[00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:21.360] You can join me this month at one of our upcoming Entrepreneursa League info sessions where I'm going to share with you all you're going to get access to when you join the community.
[00:00:21.360 --> 00:00:27.040] Plus, I'll be giving away some big bonuses that you will only be able to get access to when you attend live.
[00:00:27.040 --> 00:00:35.600] Head over to refer.entrepreneesa.com forward slash info session to join us at one of our virtual info sessions this month.
[00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:40.640] That's refer.entrepranista.com forward slash info session.
[00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:44.560] Or head over to the show notes right now and tap the link to join us.
[00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:49.200] I can't wait to meet you there and learn more about you and your business.
[00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:52.800] Take yourself back to the place you were in selling that first business.
[00:00:52.800 --> 00:00:54.320] Like what would you have done differently?
[00:00:54.320 --> 00:01:04.400] Well, one thing that I learned through that, and I really learned it after going through that experience even before I started They Got Acquired, was just you can run all these different metrics and numbers and valuations to figure out what your business is worth.
[00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:09.920] But in the end, the real number is whatever you're willing to take for it and whatever the buyer is willing to pay.
[00:01:13.440 --> 00:01:17.120] Have you ever dreamed about building a business to eventually sell?
[00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:22.080] Well, you are not alone and there is so much that goes into a successful exit.
[00:01:22.080 --> 00:01:29.600] As someone who has sold a business, I know firsthand the challenges that come with selling, but also the amazing opportunities that it can bring.
[00:01:29.600 --> 00:01:34.960] But the key is knowing as much as possible about the process before you even start it.
[00:01:34.960 --> 00:01:39.440] You are gonna wanna listen to every word of this episode today with Alexis Grant.
[00:01:39.440 --> 00:01:42.160] She is the founder of They Got Acquired.
[00:01:42.160 --> 00:01:51.040] She has not only built and sold multiple businesses, but she is now dedicated to helping other founders navigate the complex world of acquisitions.
[00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:59.680] She was a journalist turned entrepreneur, and you're going to hear her very unique perspective on what drives successful business exits.
[00:01:59.800 --> 00:02:08.120] So, no matter what size business you might have, you could actually be creating a sellable business asset, and her business has the resources for you.
[00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:16.120] They Got Acquired is a platform that really shines the light on some of the often overlooked stories of founders who sell their businesses.
[00:02:16.120 --> 00:02:18.120] So, you can learn from all of them too.
[00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:23.480] Get ready to hear Alexis's journey and her biggest business secrets.
[00:02:24.760 --> 00:02:28.200] This is the Entrepreneur Podcast presented by Socialfly.
[00:02:28.200 --> 00:02:38.920] It's the best business meeting you'll ever have with must-hear real-life looks at how leading women in business are getting it done and what it takes to build and grow a successful company.
[00:02:38.920 --> 00:02:44.840] It's beyond the Graham with no filters, no limits, and plenty of surprises.
[00:02:48.680 --> 00:02:52.440] Lexi, I am so excited to finally have this conversation with you.
[00:02:52.440 --> 00:02:54.280] I have to tell all of our listeners.
[00:02:54.280 --> 00:03:01.960] Well, first, I'd been subscribed to your email newsletter for a while, probably when you first started the newsletter.
[00:03:01.960 --> 00:03:04.680] I feel like I was following you on LinkedIn and subscribed to the newsletter.
[00:03:04.680 --> 00:03:06.520] It is so good, and you're going to tell everyone about it.
[00:03:06.520 --> 00:03:20.840] And then we connected through an entrepreneurial group, and we were like, We just have to find all the ways to collaborate and share all of your incredible knowledge and expertise with our Entrepreneurista community because we have lots of founders that are looking to build a business to sell.
[00:03:20.840 --> 00:03:24.040] And I knew you'd be able to shed a lot of light and insight today.
[00:03:24.040 --> 00:03:27.400] So, thank you so much for spending the afternoon with me.
[00:03:27.400 --> 00:03:31.240] Yeah, I mean, one of my favorite types of founders to support is women.
[00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:38.040] And even though I don't run a business that says we only support women, like I love helping women founders, so would love to do that today.
[00:03:38.040 --> 00:03:39.640] Yes, there's definitely nothing better.
[00:03:39.640 --> 00:03:43.560] That's why we started our Entrepreneurista community and actually started this podcast.
[00:03:43.560 --> 00:03:51.440] The podcast started before our actual Entrepreneursa League community to share incredible stories like yours to be able to help as many founders as possible.
[00:03:51.440 --> 00:04:00.080] So I want to hear your backstory, Lexi, because you didn't wake up one day and decide you wanted to start a newsletter or media company on helping businesses learn how to get acquired.
[00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:03.360] What was your background prior to starting your business?
[00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:06.400] Yeah, well, I started my career in journalism.
[00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:15.360] And I, after I worked for a couple of different traditional newspapers, I moved into running a content marketing company.
[00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:21.600] And to condense a long story short, I sold two different media and content businesses.
[00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:25.440] And both times I felt like I didn't really know what I was doing.
[00:04:25.440 --> 00:04:28.240] I didn't know who was out there to help me.
[00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:36.320] And all the stories that I saw of successful sales were these like huge mega hundreds of million dollars, millions of dollars deals.
[00:04:36.320 --> 00:04:39.440] And that didn't feel like it was applicable to me.
[00:04:39.440 --> 00:04:43.280] And so, yeah, I started this brand they got acquired about three years ago.
[00:04:43.280 --> 00:04:46.000] And I'm really solving my own pain point.
[00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:49.120] It's like, how can I help other founders who are in this position?
[00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:57.920] And it's funny because we do typically hear about those huge sales, but there's actually far more of us building quote-unquote smaller businesses.
[00:04:57.920 --> 00:05:01.520] So we focus on those six, seven, and low, eight-figure deals.
[00:05:01.520 --> 00:05:11.040] And just doing this has made me feel like, you know, less alone because there are a lot of people who are building that space and who want to sell in and playing in that ecosystem.
[00:05:11.440 --> 00:05:14.960] But when I was selling, I didn't really know how to find them.
[00:05:15.280 --> 00:05:16.560] Yeah, absolutely.
[00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:27.200] And I feel like so many of the founders that I speak to don't even realize that they're building an asset and a sellable asset that has value that they can sell.
[00:05:27.200 --> 00:05:29.600] So I want to actually hear about your original company.
[00:05:29.600 --> 00:05:32.920] So you had these media publishing companies.
[00:05:33.160 --> 00:05:36.920] What were the companies and what made you decide you wanted to sell them?
[00:05:36.920 --> 00:05:41.880] So the first one was a content marketing agency and it was small.
[00:05:41.880 --> 00:05:44.040] It was me and a group of contractors.
[00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:49.000] So it was a small business and I had never thought about selling it.
[00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:51.240] I did was not growing it with the intention of selling it.
[00:05:51.240 --> 00:05:53.400] I was really a lifestyle entrepreneur.
[00:05:53.400 --> 00:05:57.160] I was growing it so I could support my own lifestyle that I wanted.
[00:05:57.800 --> 00:06:04.920] And one of our clients offered to buy the business or he wanted to buy the business.
[00:06:04.920 --> 00:06:05.800] And that was the first time.
[00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:07.080] I mean, it was a shocking offer to me.
[00:06:07.080 --> 00:06:10.840] I had never even thought about it or even realized that he was interested.
[00:06:11.160 --> 00:06:15.480] And it was a client we'd worked with for about a year and a half when he brought it up.
[00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:17.800] And it was a client I really enjoyed working with.
[00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:22.200] He ended up buying the business and it was what's called an Aqua Hire.
[00:06:22.200 --> 00:06:31.640] So myself and several members of my team, we went in-house with that company to continue to build out the content division there.
[00:06:32.360 --> 00:06:36.120] It was a personal finance media company called the Penny Hoarder.
[00:06:36.200 --> 00:06:37.480] And I was a second employee.
[00:06:37.480 --> 00:06:40.520] So I got to kind of help scale that business.
[00:06:40.840 --> 00:06:43.000] So it was kind of the right opportunity at the right time.
[00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:48.360] I was actually pregnant when the client brought up the idea of potentially buying us.
[00:06:48.360 --> 00:06:49.640] He didn't know that at the time.
[00:06:49.640 --> 00:06:51.000] And kudos to him when I told him.
[00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:52.680] He was really cool about it.
[00:06:53.320 --> 00:06:54.760] But yeah, there was a lot going on.
[00:06:54.760 --> 00:07:01.400] It was my, during my first couple of years, right after I sold the business, I had my first baby.
[00:07:01.400 --> 00:07:04.200] And then less than two years later, I had my second one.
[00:07:04.200 --> 00:07:07.880] So it was a lot of business and life all happening at the same time.
[00:07:07.880 --> 00:07:12.600] So, who did you go to back then when the client comes to you and says, I'm interested in buying the company?
[00:07:12.600 --> 00:07:14.440] What, you said you didn't have a lot of resources then?
[00:07:14.440 --> 00:07:15.280] You didn't know what you were doing.
[00:07:15.440 --> 00:07:18.720] Like, what actually happened, and what did you learn from that experience?
[00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:25.440] Yeah, I mean, looking back, I think I wish I knew all the things that I knew now because I didn't know any of it back then.
[00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:33.200] I went to my dad and my brother, who my brother's an investment banker, so he sells like really big banks.
[00:07:33.200 --> 00:07:39.600] And, but that was like the closest thing that I knew to someone who would have an idea of how does MA mergers and acquisitions even work.
[00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:52.160] I also found someone online who helped me kind of figure out like how much my business might be worth, but it wasn't like a true valuation.
[00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:57.600] And he certainly wasn't someone who specialized in running like an online business like I was doing.
[00:08:00.320 --> 00:08:01.200] What was your next question?
[00:08:01.200 --> 00:08:02.560] Like, how did it, how did it happen?
[00:08:02.640 --> 00:08:03.600] Yeah, what else did you learn?
[00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:11.840] Like, what would you have done differently, knowing what you know now about selling a business, take yourself back to the place you were in selling that first business?
[00:08:11.840 --> 00:08:13.840] Like, what would you have done differently?
[00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:30.880] Well, one thing that I learned through that, and I really learned it after going through that experience even before I started, they got acquired, was just that your business is worth like you can, you can run all these different metrics and numbers and valuations to figure out what your business is worth.
[00:08:30.880 --> 00:08:36.160] But in the end, the real number is whatever you're willing to take for it and whatever the buyer is willing to pay.
[00:08:36.160 --> 00:08:41.120] And this was a unique and Aqua Hire is a unique situation because you're going along with the asset.
[00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:45.040] So, they're also having to incentivize you and your team to stay with the company.
[00:08:45.040 --> 00:08:52.320] And in my case, like they didn't want any of our other clients, so the revenue we bought in from all of our clients was kind of irrelevant, right?
[00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:54.240] Because they weren't going to continue doing that anyways.
[00:08:54.240 --> 00:09:02.200] So, it was really about like what was what would make it worth it to me and what was worth it to the company that wanted to buy us.
[00:09:02.520 --> 00:09:14.760] So I think that was my biggest learning going through that is all the calculations in the world can be irrelevant if you can't find that sweet spot between the two parties.
[00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:23.000] Did you have a lot of back and forth negotiation with that deal, or was it pretty, you know, set what they offered you and you decided to take it?
[00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:25.320] No, we had back and forth negotiation.
[00:09:25.640 --> 00:09:31.160] And I mean, I think to the buyer's credit, he was really, he really wanted to make it worth my while.
[00:09:31.160 --> 00:09:34.760] And so he wanted to get a sense of like what was helpful for me.
[00:09:34.760 --> 00:09:49.720] I mean, once we established I was about to have a baby, I realized like, oh, if going into this, if I could get a couple of months paid maternity leave, which I wouldn't have had for my own, the business I was running, I would have had to kind of keep things moving.
[00:09:50.760 --> 00:09:53.080] Like that, that was a great incentive.
[00:09:53.480 --> 00:09:59.640] So yeah, we definitely talked through like what made it a good opportunity for me and my family.
[00:09:59.640 --> 00:10:04.120] And what was the next business you started and then sold that business too, correct?
[00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:04.520] Yes.
[00:10:04.520 --> 00:10:07.000] So this was the second one was different than the first.
[00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:11.240] And actually it was, it was a website, a website for writers.
[00:10:11.240 --> 00:10:15.400] And so I had started it when I was running the content marketing agency.
[00:10:15.400 --> 00:10:17.960] What we did then was we ran blogs for businesses.
[00:10:17.960 --> 00:10:24.600] So this is in like the 2010 when businesses were thinking about wanting to have blogs, but they didn't know how to do it.
[00:10:24.600 --> 00:10:26.280] So we would do it for them.
[00:10:26.280 --> 00:10:38.440] And I realized that all of the work we were doing to build blogs for other businesses, like if they up and left, we didn't have any upside in all of the effort we'd put in.
[00:10:38.440 --> 00:10:53.920] And so it occurred to me that, like, what if we put all the processes we'd come up with, the people that we had built, because we had, you know, a handful of editors that worked with us regularly, but then a much larger group of freelance writers who were contributing to all these blogs that we were running.
[00:10:53.920 --> 00:11:02.880] And I thought, what if we put that network to work for us and created a site where it would be something that I would get the upside in over time?
[00:11:02.880 --> 00:11:08.480] And so we treated it just like a client site and grew it over time.
[00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:16.240] And then when I went in-house at the penny hoarder, because I was there for a bunch of years, and like I said, I had two kids, so I didn't have a lot of free time.
[00:11:16.560 --> 00:11:20.080] I had an editor who was running that site on the side.
[00:11:20.400 --> 00:11:28.320] And really, during a couple of those years, like when it wasn't my full-time focus, I think we were just making enough money to break even.
[00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:32.880] Like, I just wanted to cover the cost of the site and to keep growing.
[00:11:32.880 --> 00:11:37.840] And then when I left the penny hoarder, I was thinking about like, hey, what do I want to do next?
[00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:41.040] And I picked up that project and kind of played with it for a while.
[00:11:41.040 --> 00:11:42.560] And I applied some of the things I learned.
[00:11:42.560 --> 00:11:44.880] I increased its SEO.
[00:11:45.680 --> 00:11:49.920] I just kind of tried a few new tactics with it to see what I could do.
[00:11:49.920 --> 00:11:56.400] And I eventually realized like this was a project that felt like who I was 10 years ago instead of who I was then.
[00:11:56.400 --> 00:11:58.720] And so I decided, that's when I decided to sell it.
[00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:00.240] And that was an asset sale.
[00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:06.480] So I basically, because I had the site had been largely running without me, anyways, for the last how many years.
[00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:09.920] So I basically was able to pass it over to the new owner.
[00:12:09.920 --> 00:12:12.240] And then I did not go along with that.
[00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:15.200] We handed them like our documentation of how we had done it.
[00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:22.320] But it was very different from the first sale where, like, myself, my team were part of the sale.
[00:12:22.320 --> 00:12:24.800] So, um, yeah, it was it was similar.
[00:12:24.800 --> 00:12:32.360] Like, I got to apply a lot of things that I had learned the first time, but there was also some differences in the type of sale.
[00:12:32.680 --> 00:12:37.080] Did you run a process to sell the asset, or did people come to you?
[00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:37.720] I did.
[00:12:37.720 --> 00:12:47.480] Um, but so I had interest from a couple of different competitors in this space, which is what first got me thinking: like, maybe I should sell this.
[00:12:47.480 --> 00:12:52.760] And because of that interest, I was then able to get other people interested.
[00:12:52.760 --> 00:12:58.760] Um, at the time, I didn't use an advisor, and like now, I would maybe think about that differently.
[00:12:58.760 --> 00:13:08.360] So, that sale was uh it was a mid-six-figure sale, so it was kind of like right at the cusp of when, even now, when I talk to people and say, Should I use an advisor?
[00:13:08.360 --> 00:13:16.360] That's usually I'd say, like, if you're gonna sell for more than half a million, I would maybe think about it because you might be able to get more by using someone who knows what they're doing.
[00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:21.000] But I didn't have that as an option to me at the time because I didn't know how to find even someone who would help me.
[00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:22.440] What year was this?
[00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:25.800] This was in 20, this was January 2011.
[00:13:25.800 --> 00:13:28.600] I mean, 2011, sorry, January, January 2021.
[00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:29.160] 21.
[00:13:29.160 --> 00:13:32.680] Okay, so only four years ago, and now it's just amazing.
[00:13:32.680 --> 00:13:38.840] Like, think about now, starting how they got acquired, like how much you've learned over the course of the past few years.
[00:13:38.840 --> 00:13:54.600] That now, I'm just so excited to dive into all of your learning lessons because you have interviewed hundreds of founders and heard all of their amazing stories, but also, I'm sure, a lot of horror stories you've heard as well from going through the acquisition process.
[00:13:54.600 --> 00:14:08.120] So, up next, you'll learn everything Alexis wishes she knew before selling her businesses, as well as her best tips if you're going to go through or plan to go through the acquisition process.
[00:14:13.880 --> 00:14:15.120] Hi, Entrepreneurs.
[00:14:14.920 --> 00:14:16.000] It's Steph here.
[00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:22.880] As a founder, I know firsthand that building a business can feel so lonely, but it doesn't have to.
[00:14:22.880 --> 00:14:27.520] And that's why we created our Entrepreneur Founders Weekend Wealth and Wellness Retreat.
[00:14:27.520 --> 00:14:29.680] And I can't wait to meet you in person there.
[00:14:29.680 --> 00:14:43.840] So you're officially invited to join us from April 30th to May 3rd, 2026 at the stunning PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, for three transformative days of connection, collaboration, and real business growth.
[00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:46.000] This isn't just another business conference.
[00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:54.400] It is a curated retreat designed to help you build authentic, lasting relationships with women who truly understand your journey.
[00:14:54.400 --> 00:15:01.200] From business panels and workshops to wellness activations and so much more, this is the room that you need to be in.
[00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:12.720] So if you are ready to invest in yourself and your business and your vision and your next level of success, head over to entrepreneurs.com forward slash foundersweekend to reserve your ticket today.
[00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:20.960] That's entrepreneursa.com forward slash foundersweekend or head over to the show notes right now and tap the invitation to reserve your ticket.
[00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:22.400] I'll see you there.
[00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:41.200] You just mentioned before that when you went through this second process, you started trying to get other people interested in the potential deal.
[00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:43.840] What were some of the tactics and things that you did to do that?
[00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:47.920] So for someone who's like, oh, I want to get buyers potentially interested, what should they be thinking about?
[00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:53.520] Well, first, I'll say that this is like one of the best things that you can do to give yourself leverage.
[00:15:53.520 --> 00:15:59.040] And one common mistake that people make is they get an interest from a buyer and they sell to that first buyer.
[00:15:59.040 --> 00:16:13.880] And that's what right now there's like a whole ecosystem of buyers who are just like randomly reaching out to everybody they know to see if anyone wants to sell their business because they're hoping that they can be the first bite and they'll catch you before you have anyone representing you and before you have other interested parties.
[00:16:13.880 --> 00:16:18.840] So the best thing you can do for yourself is don't just sell to the first person.
[00:16:19.080 --> 00:16:24.040] There's a few cases where that makes sense, when it's like a very strategic deal and it's a perfect fit.
[00:16:24.040 --> 00:16:28.680] But usually the best way to get sell for more is to get other parties interested.
[00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:32.280] So at the time, how did I do that?
[00:16:34.440 --> 00:16:38.840] I really just like mined my network and I told a couple people in my network that I was thinking about selling.
[00:16:38.840 --> 00:16:40.600] Did they know anyone who was interested?
[00:16:40.920 --> 00:16:50.360] And a friend of mine happened to be in the process of selling her site and she was like, oh, people who are buying my site might also want yours because it was in a similar area.
[00:16:51.160 --> 00:17:01.720] And so I ended up selling to someone who came through my network rather than one of the original competitors who had approached me.
[00:17:01.720 --> 00:17:07.560] But because of that interest from the competitors, I was able to drive up the sale price significantly.
[00:17:08.120 --> 00:17:12.440] So just having all that interest, I did like basically ran a bidding process.
[00:17:12.440 --> 00:17:14.120] I mean, this is my first time doing this.
[00:17:14.120 --> 00:17:18.680] I didn't really know what I was doing, but you were doing this yourself, still with no advisor this time.
[00:17:18.680 --> 00:17:20.040] I did not have an advisor.
[00:17:20.040 --> 00:17:21.560] I did have a lawyer.
[00:17:22.120 --> 00:17:25.720] And he advised me a little bit.
[00:17:25.720 --> 00:17:28.200] I'd say he kind of stepped over the line in a good way.
[00:17:28.840 --> 00:17:30.520] He wasn't just my lawyer.
[00:17:30.520 --> 00:17:32.840] He was like helping me negotiate a little bit.
[00:17:32.800 --> 00:17:46.240] Um, and I also did a call with someone from like some expert platform, you know, who had done this before and said, hey, this is what I'm thinking about doing, how I'm thinking about running this bidding process.
[00:17:46.560 --> 00:17:47.680] Is this how you would do it?
[00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:53.520] And he gave me some ideas based on his experience, but I did not have what did he say?
[00:17:53.520 --> 00:18:03.920] Yeah, so one thing he told me, which I did, and I wish I hadn't actually, was he suggested, um, so sometimes people want to get like a bidding war going.
[00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:11.440] And I guess I had kind of already done this because I already had offers in hand from the competitors who told me like what they were interested in paying.
[00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:17.120] So, I kind of knew what the threshold was already and what anyone else had to beat to make it work.
[00:18:17.120 --> 00:18:27.680] Um, but he said, tell everybody they can bid, give them a deadline, and tell them there's going to be no um counter bids, like you're just going to take the best offer out of all of those.
[00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:41.760] And one of the reasons he suggested that was because he said, um, you know, often deals fall through, which is 100% true, and the top bidder might not end up, it might not work for some reason.
[00:18:41.760 --> 00:18:49.760] And you want to still have a really good relationship with the next bidder so that you can continue to try and sell to them if you need to.
[00:18:50.080 --> 00:18:53.440] And I'm trying to think why else he suggested that.
[00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:59.840] I think he just said, like, it eliminates like all this back and forth and gets people just put their best offer on the table right away.
[00:18:59.840 --> 00:19:10.400] Um, so I did that, and but I think like I could have said, and looking back, knowing what I know now, I think it probably would have been smarter to be able to go back and say, Oh, so-and-so offered this.
[00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:12.480] Now, you need to beat that.
[00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:22.320] But I mean, also looking back, I know that I was so lucky when I sold that site because I didn't understand at the time.
[00:19:22.320 --> 00:19:30.280] Like, so now I understand how you value businesses, and I got way more for that business than someone would say it was it was worth.
[00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:40.040] It wasn't making that much money, but because we'd done very well in search, and at the time, again, this is early 2021, our competitors all wanted that.
[00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:44.040] I was able, like, no one cared about the financials of the business.
[00:19:44.040 --> 00:19:46.600] Like, that was almost a moment.
[00:19:46.760 --> 00:19:48.840] Yeah, they wanted the asset.
[00:19:48.840 --> 00:19:53.880] And like, now that I understand more about selling businesses, I realize how rare that is.
[00:19:53.880 --> 00:19:57.080] Like, most buyers, they really care about the bottom line.
[00:19:57.240 --> 00:20:01.800] They care about what your profit is looking like and your EBITDA.
[00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:05.960] So, I realized, like, in retrospect, I got lucky.
[00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:10.520] But I think also what helped with that was certainly having multiple buyers who were interested.
[00:20:10.520 --> 00:20:13.000] And that's like the number one thing that pushed up the sale price.
[00:20:13.320 --> 00:20:18.920] What have you learned in terms of selling media companies that the typical processes for evaluation?
[00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:22.200] Like, how are media companies being valued today?
[00:20:23.400 --> 00:20:28.280] So, well, generally, most companies are valued based on their EBITDA.
[00:20:28.280 --> 00:20:33.320] Or if it's a small business, sometimes we use something called SDE, which stands for sellers' discretionary earnings.
[00:20:33.320 --> 00:20:36.920] It's basically a proxy for how much you bring home.
[00:20:36.920 --> 00:20:39.480] And you can tell talking to me, like, I'm really a founder.
[00:20:39.480 --> 00:20:40.280] I'm not an accountant.
[00:20:40.280 --> 00:20:41.880] I'm not an MA advisor.
[00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:46.440] Like, I think sometimes this actually makes it more accessible for people when I'm talking to them about it.
[00:20:46.440 --> 00:20:53.320] But that also means sometimes I'm not using like, oh, these fancy words for these fancy terms in the industry.
[00:20:54.360 --> 00:20:56.120] But yeah, they care about your profit.
[00:20:56.120 --> 00:20:57.480] That's like the number one thing.
[00:20:57.480 --> 00:21:02.920] And then for media companies specifically, they also do care about your audience.
[00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:10.280] And certainly, there are deals where a buyer is buying the media company because they want to reach the audience.
[00:21:10.280 --> 00:21:23.520] They may have something that they want to sell to that audience or another way that they're able to make that audience much more valuable to them than the owner who is running that company.
[00:21:23.520 --> 00:21:29.280] And I mean, those are the best strategic deals for media companies, but they also are rare.
[00:21:29.280 --> 00:21:31.680] Like, those are the ones we hear about all the time.
[00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:38.480] And I talk to a lot of founders who want to sell, and they always say, I want to sell to a strategic buyer, which is fantastic.
[00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:41.920] But in reality, it's like very difficult to orchestrate that.
[00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:47.040] And in most cases, those strategic deals happen when the buyer approaches the seller.
[00:21:47.040 --> 00:21:51.520] And it's because the buyer sees the opportunity and they want to make it happen.
[00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:57.440] It is much harder to orchestrate as a seller who's just saying, okay, I want to sell this business.
[00:21:57.440 --> 00:22:02.560] And how do I get someone who's going to pay above market rate for my business?
[00:22:02.560 --> 00:22:08.160] When you sold both of your companies, were you transparent with the buyer?
[00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:09.440] Like, I'm ready to be done.
[00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:11.040] I just want to sell the asset.
[00:22:11.040 --> 00:22:17.440] Like, any lessons you can share there just about your conversations with the buyer going through the sale process?
[00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:23.360] I mean, yeah, I think the second time I was clear: like, I just want to pass this over and I want to do something else.
[00:22:23.360 --> 00:22:29.440] And I mean, that's a real reason that a lot of founders want to sell is they're either burned out or they want to do something else.
[00:22:30.320 --> 00:22:32.720] I will say, though, like, it depends on the type of sale.
[00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:35.440] Like, I think it's good when you're going into it to know what you want.
[00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:40.560] And some founders are open to different options, which gives you more flexibility.
[00:22:40.560 --> 00:22:46.720] Like, you can say, I'd stay for a while if they want me to stay, or I can be out if that's their preference.
[00:22:47.120 --> 00:22:59.760] Most founders, though, know like either I want to be done with this as soon as possible, or I really love this and I want to stay on and help continue to build it with more resources, depending on the buyer's situation.
[00:22:59.880 --> 00:23:08.120] So I think kind of knowing what you want is helpful and being able to articulate that is helpful.
[00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:19.800] But I would also recommend like in those conversations, sometimes it makes sense to show a flexibility and a willingness to work with a buyer because different buyers might want different things.
[00:23:19.800 --> 00:23:25.720] And in lots of companies, the buyer actually wants the founder to stick around for a certain period of time.
[00:23:25.720 --> 00:23:35.240] And in many cases, like the compensation might actually be tied to the buyer sticking around or even tied to the performance of that company after it's sold.
[00:23:36.040 --> 00:23:42.040] So I think just going into it with a sense of what you want, but being open to different ideas is the best way to go.
[00:23:42.040 --> 00:23:48.840] So now it's 2021, you sell that business, and now you decide, let me start another business.
[00:23:49.880 --> 00:23:51.000] What was your inspiration?
[00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:55.080] And when did you go forward and start your company that you're focused on today?
[00:23:55.400 --> 00:23:57.800] Well, I knew I wanted to do something new.
[00:23:58.120 --> 00:24:01.000] I mean, I love starting businesses and I like the zero to one phase.
[00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:02.440] That's my favorite.
[00:24:03.720 --> 00:24:14.680] And I was looking for something that was like a hybrid of doing what I do well, which is really like media companies, content operations, like that's kind of my sweet spot.
[00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:18.600] But also something that would challenge me and allow me to learn something new.
[00:24:18.600 --> 00:24:24.360] And I felt like the MA space was, could be that for me because there was, I had a lot to learn there.
[00:24:24.360 --> 00:24:34.920] Again, like I'm not, I don't have experience in MA other than, I mean, I've gone through it twice myself, which is helpful for other founders, but I haven't worked professionally in this space.
[00:24:34.920 --> 00:24:36.840] And so I felt like there was a lot I could learn there.
[00:24:36.840 --> 00:24:43.400] So I felt like this brand they got acquired, it kind of brings together both of those elements for me, which is what makes it fun.
[00:24:43.400 --> 00:24:48.320] It's like I have a little bit of a head start because I know how to grow a brand, but I get to learn something along the way.
[00:24:44.920 --> 00:24:49.200] No, that's so much fun.
[00:24:49.360 --> 00:24:55.680] It gives you that like oomph every morning to just like get to your computer and know that you're building something that's still learning.
[00:24:55.680 --> 00:24:58.160] And I feel that so much too.
[00:24:58.160 --> 00:25:01.040] Okay, so take me back though to day one.
[00:25:01.040 --> 00:25:05.040] You open up your laptop, you're like, I'm going to start this site, how they got acquired.
[00:25:05.040 --> 00:25:06.240] And like, what did you do first?
[00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:09.440] So for our founders who are like, I want to build a media company, I want to build a new brand.
[00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:10.480] Like, what would you recommend?
[00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:11.840] What did you do first?
[00:25:11.840 --> 00:25:22.080] Well, the first thing I did that worked really well was I set up a landing page and I used a technology called CARD, C-A-R-R-D.co, I think it is.
[00:25:22.080 --> 00:25:25.280] And it's a popular landing page builder, but it's like super easy to use.
[00:25:25.280 --> 00:25:25.920] It's cheap.
[00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:27.040] It looks great.
[00:25:27.040 --> 00:25:34.800] And I just kind of put the idea there of it was something like, hey, do you want to hear how other founders have sold their business?
[00:25:35.040 --> 00:25:37.360] I mean, this is just such an undercovered space.
[00:25:37.360 --> 00:25:46.400] And really, until we came into it, there wasn't, there wasn't really a, like there were brokers kind of sharing some of these stories, but there wasn't really a third-party media outlet sharing them.
[00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:48.960] So it felt like a big opportunity.
[00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:54.320] I think it has proven to be that, like in terms of providing information that people really can't get anywhere else.
[00:25:54.320 --> 00:25:58.880] So I put up this landing page and said, hey, sign up if you want to know when we launch.
[00:25:59.520 --> 00:26:05.440] And then I talked about it on the internet.
[00:26:05.440 --> 00:26:06.800] I'm like, what did I do?
[00:26:06.800 --> 00:26:08.720] I mean, I've had my own newsletter.
[00:26:08.720 --> 00:26:10.480] I don't send anything out to them anymore.
[00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:16.240] But like at the time, I think I had, I had, I've been writing on the web for like 15 years or something.
[00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:18.480] So I had like little people in different places.
[00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:20.480] Like I had a small newsletter of my own.
[00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:23.680] I think I used Twitter at that time and LinkedIn.
[00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:26.320] And I just kind of said, here's what I'm thinking about.
[00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:29.680] Is it interesting to you?
[00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:30.840] And if so, sign up.
[00:26:30.840 --> 00:26:39.240] And I also, I also asked in a lot of places, like, hey, does anyone know a founder who has sold who'd be willing to share some of the details with us?
[00:26:39.240 --> 00:26:40.840] And because that did two things.
[00:26:40.840 --> 00:26:50.040] It gave me, it helped me find people who would share their stories, but it also gave me like an excuse to kind of say what we were up to without just saying, this is what I'm doing.
[00:26:50.360 --> 00:26:54.760] It was almost a way to help other people at the same time as getting people to sign up for the list.
[00:26:55.160 --> 00:27:00.200] And we, so we, when we launched the brand, we had a thousand people on the email list.
[00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:07.480] And that was great because like for a content-heavy brand, you know, if you start putting content out, you don't want to create it for like five people initially.
[00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:12.360] We kind of had some people who were willing to or interested to read it at the beginning.
[00:27:12.360 --> 00:27:13.000] That's awesome.
[00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:15.960] So you were building in public essentially from day one.
[00:27:16.280 --> 00:27:23.640] Have you kept that same transparency, like sharing your stories on LinkedIn and showing people what you're doing as you've been building the platform?
[00:27:23.640 --> 00:27:24.360] I try to.
[00:27:24.360 --> 00:27:25.960] I mean, I have always enjoyed doing that.
[00:27:25.960 --> 00:27:27.560] For me, it's not like a strategy.
[00:27:27.560 --> 00:27:29.720] It's just like I'm a writer.
[00:27:29.720 --> 00:27:37.960] I like sharing behind the scenes of like how I'm thinking about things and like putting ideas into words helps me process and helps me elevate my own ideas.
[00:27:38.360 --> 00:27:40.040] So I kind of do it in that way.
[00:27:40.040 --> 00:27:44.520] I guess, yeah, you could call it build in public, but it's really just like, yeah, sharing what's going on.
[00:27:45.160 --> 00:27:45.800] Being yourself.
[00:27:45.800 --> 00:27:46.040] Yeah.
[00:27:46.360 --> 00:27:46.760] Sharing.
[00:27:47.160 --> 00:27:48.760] I'm totally with you.
[00:27:48.760 --> 00:27:56.120] I feel like so many brands today, even if they're not a media company first, are media companies because of content, right?
[00:27:56.120 --> 00:28:00.840] Even consumer brands, service-based businesses, we're all sharing stories.
[00:28:00.840 --> 00:28:08.600] We're putting out content all of the time to be able to, you know, drive business, get new clients, get new customers.
[00:28:08.600 --> 00:28:23.360] Based on all of your experience building actual media companies and building out processes for content, what recommendations do you have for business owners that are really looking to build out their business as a content destination or media hub?
[00:28:24.240 --> 00:28:26.800] I mean, it's so much harder than it used to be.
[00:28:26.800 --> 00:28:32.560] I love that this is like a trend and people are doing it now for everything, but it does make it harder than part.
[00:28:32.560 --> 00:28:40.160] It's just there's a lot more noise, and like many of the platforms are just harder to crack, I think, than they used to be.
[00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:45.200] The number one tip I would say is like identify what you can share that no one else can.
[00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:47.760] Like what is your unique value proposition?
[00:28:49.360 --> 00:28:55.600] Looking at what we do, it's, I mean, I chose it because I felt like it was unique, but now it makes it easier.
[00:28:55.600 --> 00:29:01.040] It's like, okay, no one else is really sharing stories of founders who have sold and what it looked like for them.
[00:29:01.040 --> 00:29:06.160] So that in itself makes it like, if I want to get that information, I have to go to They Got Acquired.
[00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:07.920] Like, what can that be for your brand?
[00:29:08.320 --> 00:29:12.880] What can you provide that people really can't get anywhere else?
[00:29:12.880 --> 00:29:15.920] Sometimes it's how you share the information.
[00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:19.120] Like, there's a lot of business newsletters that have done really well.
[00:29:19.120 --> 00:29:28.480] The information they share is great, but it's like how they share it, the voice they share it with, or like how easy it is to consume that helps it do well.
[00:29:28.480 --> 00:29:35.120] So I think it can be a combination of like what you're actually sharing and the way that you share that information.
[00:29:35.120 --> 00:29:36.240] Yeah, I love that.
[00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:45.200] Coming up, Alexis shares some surprising founder stories, plus her biggest tips for timing the sale of your business.
[00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:53.840] Founders are always asking us, what has been the secret to our success building multiple seven-figure businesses?
[00:29:53.840 --> 00:29:55.280] Do you want to know how?
[00:29:55.280 --> 00:29:56.960] It's our community.
[00:29:56.960 --> 00:30:04.280] We created the Entrepreneursa League for founders like you because the most successful entrepreneurs do not navigate business alone.
[00:30:04.600 --> 00:30:10.360] We navigate the challenges and opportunities with the support of people we know, love, and trust.
[00:30:10.360 --> 00:30:14.280] The relationships you build in business will be the key to your success.
[00:30:14.280 --> 00:30:16.360] Trust me, it's how we've done it.
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[00:30:26.440 --> 00:30:48.840] Our members have access to everything we've used to grow our businesses over the past 10 plus years, from in-person events to virtual events, business education, funding resources, office hours with myself and other top founders in your industry, press opportunities, and access to our community platform where you can instantly get all of your business questions answered.
[00:30:48.840 --> 00:30:55.560] You can join us in the community over at refer.entrepranista.com forward slash join us.
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[00:31:01.320 --> 00:31:04.680] Or head to the show notes right now and tap the link to join.
[00:31:04.680 --> 00:31:06.920] I cannot wait to meet you.
[00:31:07.560 --> 00:31:16.040] Now you've talked to and interviewed hundreds of founders on you have a podcast, the newsletter, the site and articles.
[00:31:16.040 --> 00:31:21.080] What has been the most surprising thing that you have heard or learned from a founder?
[00:31:21.640 --> 00:31:22.440] Good question.
[00:31:22.440 --> 00:31:32.680] I mean, so we have a team of reporters and they interview all the founders, but I do, I usually, I'd say I touch or at least get to kind of edit most of the stories that come through.
[00:31:34.440 --> 00:31:35.400] Surprising.
[00:31:35.400 --> 00:31:46.320] I mean, the thing that surprised me is I thought after a while this would get old and like, oh, selling a business, once you learn about it a few times, it's not that interesting.
[00:31:44.600 --> 00:31:52.320] But like every single story comes through and I'm like, oh, gosh, like I want to hear more about how this person does it.
[00:31:53.600 --> 00:32:01.520] Or like, personally, I love the stories where the founders are keep things lean and bootstrapped.
[00:32:01.520 --> 00:32:07.360] I mean, we also do write about some VC-backed businesses, but most of our founders that we feature are bootstrapped.
[00:32:08.560 --> 00:32:12.720] And I just like hearing about like the non-traditional success stories.
[00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:17.200] So like people who didn't go do all the shoulds, everything we're told we should do.
[00:32:17.520 --> 00:32:31.840] We had a woman named Anna Mast on our podcast, and she started her business and she was only working, I can't remember the exact number, but it was something like, it might have been seven hours a week or something when she had her kids.
[00:32:31.840 --> 00:32:34.400] And then she ended up turning that into a full-time job.
[00:32:34.400 --> 00:32:36.320] She ran the business with her mom.
[00:32:36.320 --> 00:32:43.680] So like there was all these things about it that were like different than the traditional Silicon Valley stories that we always hear.
[00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:52.960] And those are the ones that get me excited because I think that there's like a lot of us out there who are building with this ethos of like doing things a little bit differently.
[00:32:53.840 --> 00:33:02.320] Maybe doing things in a, I kind of hate the term lifestyle business because it sounds, I think it takes away from the business component sometimes.
[00:33:02.320 --> 00:33:07.760] So thinking about like, how can you build a business that supports your life instead of the other way around?
[00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:11.840] So yeah, those are the stories that kind of always get me excited.
[00:33:12.160 --> 00:33:19.200] What has been your biggest learning lesson from a mistake that you've heard a founder make that you're like, I have to pass this on.
[00:33:19.200 --> 00:33:23.080] So, if someone else does not do that, there's so many of them.
[00:33:23.360 --> 00:33:24.160] Let's just share them all.
[00:33:24.160 --> 00:33:25.440] Share your top three.
[00:33:25.760 --> 00:33:32.520] We're really lucky that a lot of founders are generous with sharing their mistakes because that's like takes vulnerability to say this is what I did wrong.
[00:33:32.520 --> 00:33:33.800] But I can think of a few of them.
[00:33:29.840 --> 00:33:37.960] We had one founder who she thought her books were in good shape.
[00:33:37.960 --> 00:33:39.240] She'd even had someone help her.
[00:33:39.240 --> 00:33:42.840] And so, this maybe wasn't even exactly her fault, but they didn't do a great job.
[00:33:42.840 --> 00:33:51.880] She went into the sale process and she had an offer from a company which she had like tentatively accepted.
[00:33:51.880 --> 00:33:59.000] They went under LOI, which is called a letter of intent, which means like they agreed, okay, we're gonna look at buying your company for this amount.
[00:33:59.000 --> 00:34:01.480] So, like, the basic terms are kind of agreed upon.
[00:34:01.480 --> 00:34:11.720] And then they go into due diligence, which is where the buyer looks under the hood at the seller's company and they realize that her numbers like weren't what she had said that they were.
[00:34:12.280 --> 00:34:17.560] And because of that, they revised downward the offer they had given her.
[00:34:17.560 --> 00:34:20.440] And it was no longer that exciting to her, the offer.
[00:34:20.440 --> 00:34:25.240] And probably, if she had started the process with that offer, she would not have pursued it.
[00:34:25.240 --> 00:34:28.840] But at this point, she was like so tired and she just wanted to be done.
[00:34:28.840 --> 00:34:32.280] And so she ended up selling the business for that amount.
[00:34:32.280 --> 00:34:39.880] And so that's one thing I always say: is like, really make sure that your numbers are buttoned up at the beginning of the process because it can save you so much headache.
[00:34:40.120 --> 00:34:50.920] And it just, if you don't want the buyer to find anything different from what you promised when they look hard at your business, because it just gives them an excuse to change the offer, right?
[00:34:51.160 --> 00:34:58.200] And, anyways, having great numbers, like having keeping your books in good shape also helps you make the best decisions for your business.
[00:34:58.840 --> 00:35:04.440] So I think that's one all-around tip that like is helpful, regardless of whether you're going to sell your business or not.
[00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:11.640] Another one, we featured a woman who sold her business and she wished she had sold it earlier.
[00:35:11.960 --> 00:35:23.440] And so, there's a lot of founders I talked to who, I mean, it's, I think it's normal for founders to like want to get as much as they can out of their business and like they see it climbing and they want to stay on that ride.
[00:35:23.440 --> 00:35:30.080] Um, you want to sell your business when it's still going up, and it's very difficult to time.
[00:35:30.080 --> 00:35:35.600] Um, and some advisors say you shouldn't even bother trying to time the market, for example.
[00:35:35.600 --> 00:35:37.920] But what you can time is like your own energy.
[00:35:37.920 --> 00:35:43.040] Like, are you do you still have enough energy to run this business and the business performance and like how it's doing?
[00:35:43.040 --> 00:35:51.520] A lot of founders will look to sell when the business starts to go down because it becomes frustrating, it's not working as well as it did before.
[00:35:51.520 --> 00:35:59.760] They're realizing, oh my gosh, I should have sold a year or two ago, or they're just like totally burned out, and that's why the business is performing differently than it did before.
[00:35:59.760 --> 00:36:22.800] Um, so trying to time like your own energy, and in some ways, like I actually encourage people to think about maybe selling a little bit before you feel ready or like thinking about the process before you feel ready, which is kind of a controversial idea because you like a lot of advisors will say, you want the founder to really be ready when they go to sell because you don't want them to change their mind, you don't want to go through all of this for nothing.
[00:36:22.800 --> 00:36:28.640] Um, and like certainly, some founders at the last step will say, I can't part with my baby.
[00:36:28.640 --> 00:36:33.360] You don't want to be that person, you want to be know what you're doing and have your decisions made.
[00:36:33.360 --> 00:36:37.760] Um, but if you, it's like easy to wait too long, basically.
[00:36:37.760 --> 00:36:46.720] And there we had a founder who talked about that with us and said, I didn't sell when I should have, and the business declined, and I sold for half as much.
[00:36:46.960 --> 00:36:50.480] Um, yeah, no, thank you for sharing those learning lessons.
[00:36:50.640 --> 00:36:56.000] It's so helpful, especially for founders who might not even be ready to go through the process right now.
[00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:59.440] But hearing stories like this is how we're all able to learn.
[00:36:59.440 --> 00:37:04.520] So, when it does become the time to maybe sell, you hear this information and you know.
[00:36:59.840 --> 00:37:10.680] Go to your website, go subscribe to your newsletter to learn all of these and hear about all of these stories.
[00:37:10.680 --> 00:37:12.280] So it's super helpful, Lexi.
[00:37:12.280 --> 00:37:20.520] So for our entrepreneurs, when they go to They Got Acquired on your website now, tell me what everyone can expect to see there and learn.
[00:37:20.520 --> 00:37:23.960] Yeah, I mean, so our newsletter, as you mentioned, is our kind of number one vehicle.
[00:37:24.120 --> 00:37:26.840] It's at theygotacquired.com/slash newsletter.
[00:37:26.840 --> 00:37:31.240] And the main thing we share is stories of other founders who have sold and how they did it.
[00:37:31.240 --> 00:37:38.840] But then we also interweave like some advice and ideas and education around like what does a sale process look like?
[00:37:38.840 --> 00:37:40.360] What are the different parts of the process?
[00:37:40.360 --> 00:37:41.720] How long does it take?
[00:37:42.520 --> 00:37:50.040] And then we also connect founders who want to sell with advisors who can help them sell, which is one of the things that I wanted when I sold.
[00:37:50.040 --> 00:37:56.040] Like I didn't know how to find someone who would sell my like an online business, which is primarily what we focus on.
[00:37:56.040 --> 00:37:58.440] I say online digital tech enabled.
[00:37:58.920 --> 00:38:10.520] So most of the stories we cover are either media companies, agencies, SaaS, like software, or e-commerce.
[00:38:11.160 --> 00:38:16.360] And we kind of have started to broaden beyond that because we're getting inquiries from other types of companies too.
[00:38:16.360 --> 00:38:31.480] But one of the things we like to do is if you think about if you think you want to sell in the next year, first of all, I will do a free call with any founder who thinks they want to sell in the next year just to help you figure out like what you should do next and like, what path should you take.
[00:38:31.480 --> 00:38:38.040] And also, I could happy to share like any resources that we have that is applicable to that to that founder.
[00:38:38.040 --> 00:38:50.800] And then, yeah, often if they're in a position where it makes sense for them and their type of business to have an advisor to help them sell, we can connect founders to someone who has sold that type of business before.
[00:38:50.800 --> 00:38:51.920] Oh, that's so helpful.
[00:38:51.920 --> 00:38:52.880] That is an amazing offer.
[00:38:52.880 --> 00:38:54.320] So, we'll link out to that in the show notes.
[00:38:54.400 --> 00:38:58.240] Everyone knows how to connect with you if they want to take a call with you.
[00:38:58.240 --> 00:39:00.640] And, Lexi, what is your business model?
[00:39:01.680 --> 00:39:03.120] How does your business generate revenue?
[00:39:03.120 --> 00:39:05.440] And how did you figure out what the model should be?
[00:39:05.440 --> 00:39:06.000] Oh, man.
[00:39:06.000 --> 00:39:10.880] So, I've been running this business for three years, and we've tried a bunch of different things.
[00:39:10.880 --> 00:39:26.000] I knew going into it, I did not want to do services, and that's been tricky because I think that would actually be kind of an obvious route for what we're doing, like becoming a brokerage, for example, which we may do in the future, but at the moment, it's not on the cards.
[00:39:26.400 --> 00:39:35.680] Or even like coaching founders through how to sell or putting out lots of big courses about how to do this.
[00:39:36.080 --> 00:39:40.400] We have one course that, but it's a very short course, and it's only $99.
[00:39:40.400 --> 00:39:42.240] And eventually, at some point, we might even make it free.
[00:39:42.240 --> 00:39:44.400] So, it's like just an hour long.
[00:39:44.800 --> 00:39:47.120] I don't want to go like that route either.
[00:39:48.240 --> 00:39:59.360] So, and also, like, I spent a lot of last year working on what I had hoped would be our monetization model and it didn't work out.
[00:39:59.360 --> 00:40:00.720] We can go into that if you want.
[00:40:01.680 --> 00:40:08.560] But basically, I'd actually love, I'd love to hear about that because I think a lot of founders, you know, try to start with something and have to pivot because it's not working.
[00:40:08.560 --> 00:40:10.400] Like, how did you realize something didn't work?
[00:40:10.400 --> 00:40:14.480] How long do you give something to decide like this is this is not the way?
[00:40:14.480 --> 00:40:14.880] Yeah.
[00:40:14.880 --> 00:40:19.920] And I think a lot of this too comes back to like, I really want to build a business that I enjoy running that works with my life.
[00:40:19.920 --> 00:40:21.920] I pretty much work like 25 hours a week.
[00:40:21.920 --> 00:40:23.360] I have kids.
[00:40:24.560 --> 00:40:31.080] So, I think that's, and on the positive side, it's helped me figure out like, what do I do and don't want to do?
[00:40:31.480 --> 00:40:36.360] But on the negative side, I think it makes me automatically say, okay, these pieces are not for us.
[00:40:36.680 --> 00:40:51.160] And what I was really excited about for the first few years is building an MA platform that's kind of like Pitchbook, but would cover online businesses and businesses that sold for less than $50 million, which is where we play.
[00:40:51.160 --> 00:41:01.160] Because anyone who's in the space knows that it's really hard to find comps, like comparable transactions for these types of deals.
[00:41:02.280 --> 00:41:08.680] And we spent a long time building that and even like building up the team to build that.
[00:41:08.680 --> 00:41:13.800] And I kind of had a realization about six months ago.
[00:41:14.120 --> 00:41:15.640] There was a couple of things.
[00:41:15.640 --> 00:41:20.600] One was I realized to do this properly, I really had to go bigger.
[00:41:20.600 --> 00:41:23.320] I probably needed to raise money, which I didn't really want to do.
[00:41:23.320 --> 00:41:25.160] I don't want to build that kind of business.
[00:41:26.680 --> 00:41:30.680] And I just, I think it was overambitious in thinking that I could do this with a small team.
[00:41:30.680 --> 00:41:36.920] And it's really a much bigger project that needed, to do it well, needed to be funded better.
[00:41:37.800 --> 00:41:49.480] And the second piece was when I went out to try and get advisors interested in the platform, which I still think would be for the, if someone wants to build it, is like a fantastic resource for our ecosystem.
[00:41:49.960 --> 00:41:56.360] But when I tried to sell it to advisors, they all told me, oh, this is interesting, but we actually want something else.
[00:41:56.360 --> 00:42:00.520] And the something else they all wanted was to connect with founders who wanted to sell.
[00:42:00.840 --> 00:42:06.120] And it took me a long time of hearing this before I finally said, okay, we're doing that.
[00:42:06.120 --> 00:42:12.680] Because we were already kind of were connecting founders to advisors, but it was just like one of the portfolio of things that we did.
[00:42:12.680 --> 00:42:18.080] And the more I thought about it, I was like, doing that is basically a win-win-win.
[00:42:18.080 --> 00:42:23.280] Like the founders appreciate it because they have no idea how to find someone who has experience selling their type of business.
[00:42:23.600 --> 00:42:25.840] And I know that from personal experience.
[00:42:25.840 --> 00:42:29.360] And then the advisors appreciate it because they want to connect with people.
[00:42:29.360 --> 00:42:38.720] And often the people that we're connecting with them with, they're not like, you know, the high-profile founders that you see everywhere, right?
[00:42:38.720 --> 00:42:44.080] So it's like kind of a different type of founder sometimes that they wouldn't be able to connect with elsewhere.
[00:42:44.320 --> 00:42:47.440] And then if that connection works, it's a win for us too.
[00:42:47.440 --> 00:42:50.400] So now we're monetizing in a couple of ways.
[00:42:50.480 --> 00:42:54.000] We do sponsorships and we do referrals.
[00:42:54.000 --> 00:42:59.360] And so almost everything we create for founders is actually free, which is kind of cool.
[00:42:59.360 --> 00:43:02.960] So we can, the goal is really just like help founders as much as we can.
[00:43:02.960 --> 00:43:05.760] So it's like aligned with my values as well.
[00:43:05.760 --> 00:43:09.200] And then we make money from people who want to reach the founders.
[00:43:09.360 --> 00:43:16.240] And it means that I get to say to founders, like, I could be honest about, hey, you know, here's who I think would be best for you.
[00:43:16.240 --> 00:43:17.680] Here's who wouldn't.
[00:43:18.560 --> 00:43:25.440] And so far it's working, but we've only leaned into this hard in like the last six months.
[00:43:25.440 --> 00:43:25.760] Okay.
[00:43:25.760 --> 00:43:30.560] You'll have to come back and report back on how everything's going next year for sure.
[00:43:30.560 --> 00:43:38.240] Now, you mentioned, of course, you're a mom as well, and you have focused on building a business for the life that you want.
[00:43:38.240 --> 00:43:48.720] How have you really integrated everything with your business, with raising a family, and any advice you can share to what we call our mama pranistas out there that are building businesses and building families?
[00:43:49.040 --> 00:43:51.280] I feel like I'm still figuring this balance out.
[00:43:51.280 --> 00:43:54.000] And I have two kids, one's almost 10.
[00:43:54.000 --> 00:43:58.920] And I still feel like 10 years in, it's like a constant recalibration of figuring things out.
[00:43:58.560 --> 00:44:03.640] Like one thing that has worked really well for me is to do capacity planning.
[00:44:03.800 --> 00:44:16.920] So I'll sit down and I know the next couple of months for lots of things happening in our household, I'm pretty much going to have like maybe four, maybe three, maybe two days a week to work.
[00:44:16.920 --> 00:44:21.640] And so I kind of map that all out and then I say, what is actually reasonable to do in this time?
[00:44:21.640 --> 00:44:26.840] Like for March, I think I said I had 13 day working days or something.
[00:44:26.840 --> 00:44:32.200] And, you know, we pick my husband and I both, we're both entrepreneurs and we split the load evenly at our house.
[00:44:32.200 --> 00:44:36.680] So like one of us is picking up our kids usually around three or maybe four.
[00:44:37.160 --> 00:44:41.960] So even those days are not like, you know, full eight hour working days.
[00:44:41.960 --> 00:44:51.640] So I like to create that capacity list for myself so I can be realistic because my main challenge is like, I'm ambitious and I want to do all these things.
[00:44:51.640 --> 00:44:56.200] And then I get really frustrated when I can't actually do all those things.
[00:44:56.200 --> 00:45:03.960] So trying to come up with a plan that's realistic is usually my best way to feel happy in what I'm doing.
[00:45:03.960 --> 00:45:05.080] I'm with you on that.
[00:45:05.080 --> 00:45:11.080] Are there different business tools and solutions that you use to help you optimize everything in your business that you want to share?
[00:45:11.480 --> 00:45:13.080] Well, I love operations.
[00:45:13.400 --> 00:45:19.240] We use clickup, which I love how customizable that is for our content funnel.
[00:45:20.440 --> 00:45:24.840] We also do a lot of around email personalization.
[00:45:24.840 --> 00:45:31.160] So like when someone comes into our newsletter, we ask them questions about themselves and hopefully, they answer them.
[00:45:31.160 --> 00:45:34.840] And if they do, then we can deliver them content that's like actually for them.
[00:45:34.840 --> 00:45:41.880] So, for example, like we put together all sorts of reports, like we have a report about agencies that have sold.
[00:45:41.880 --> 00:45:48.960] And if someone comes to us and says, oh, they're selling an agency, then we can automatically deliver to them the agency report.
[00:45:48.960 --> 00:46:00.720] So, yeah, I like doing that because like we have, we have so much content, and it's it's it is hard to figure out like on our side, how do we give them what they need, but on the user side, how do they find what they need or even know what we have?
[00:46:00.720 --> 00:46:07.680] Yeah, so I love the idea of like if they can tell us about them, then we can give things that are actually helpful to them.
[00:46:08.000 --> 00:46:08.480] That's awesome.
[00:46:08.480 --> 00:46:10.160] So, I find that to be really fun.
[00:46:10.160 --> 00:46:12.400] What email service provider do you use?
[00:46:12.400 --> 00:46:15.520] We use kit, convert kit, yes, yes, yes, awesome.
[00:46:15.520 --> 00:46:18.320] Okay, which I've used for years, and I really like it.
[00:46:18.320 --> 00:46:23.760] I'd say I think we're starting to outgrow it in that, like, we need more of a CRM.
[00:46:23.760 --> 00:46:28.560] Um, but I love it for ease of sending um emails.
[00:46:28.560 --> 00:46:29.040] What are you doing?
[00:46:29.840 --> 00:46:31.280] We now use Cleavio.
[00:46:31.280 --> 00:46:41.280] I feel like we've used everything we were on MailChimp, and then we moved over to Cleavio to be able to do all of these different customizations and email flows.
[00:46:41.280 --> 00:46:51.840] Um, we've actually been looking at moving just our newsletter over to Beehive, so not like the full email marketing that we do, but our newsletter because they now have a actually do know about this.
[00:46:52.000 --> 00:46:54.880] Um, Beehive now has a whole ad monetization platform.
[00:46:54.880 --> 00:46:55.760] Oh, yes, I heard that.
[00:46:55.840 --> 00:46:56.720] Beehive, yeah.
[00:46:56.720 --> 00:47:01.600] So, so we're exploring that right now and always love hearing what other founders are using.
[00:47:01.600 --> 00:47:03.440] Any other business tools you want to share that you love?
[00:47:03.440 --> 00:47:05.840] We're also we also use clickup, which we love.
[00:47:05.840 --> 00:47:07.600] Yeah, click up is the best.
[00:47:07.600 --> 00:47:10.640] Um, I mean, I use Airtable a lot, and I love Airtable.
[00:47:10.640 --> 00:47:14.960] We use that, it's basically our CRM, that's what we were building the database in.
[00:47:14.960 --> 00:47:18.000] I okay, I will say we were using softer.
[00:47:18.000 --> 00:47:19.040] Have you heard of softer?
[00:47:19.160 --> 00:47:23.440] S-O-F-T-R to build the front end for the database platform.
[00:47:23.440 --> 00:47:26.240] So, we're not doing it anymore since we put that project to the side.
[00:47:26.240 --> 00:47:31.480] But I really love what they're doing, and I think it's makes it possible to build.
[00:47:29.680 --> 00:47:35.560] Like basically, I was able to build like a data platform.
[00:47:36.200 --> 00:47:45.400] I mean, I had a coach who kind of helped me figure out some of the hard parts, but basically built it myself, which 10 years ago would not have been possible for the complexity of what we were doing.
[00:47:45.640 --> 00:47:50.200] And they've really made it possible to build so many tools on your own.
[00:47:50.200 --> 00:47:52.600] So yeah, softer S-O-F-T-R.
[00:47:52.600 --> 00:47:53.000] All right.
[00:47:53.000 --> 00:47:54.040] We're going to look it up.
[00:47:54.040 --> 00:47:56.040] We'll link out to it in the show notes, everyone.
[00:47:56.040 --> 00:47:59.560] This is why I love asking this question because I love learning about new tools.
[00:47:59.560 --> 00:48:02.920] I feel like as a founder, like I geek out on what's everyone using?
[00:48:02.920 --> 00:48:03.480] How do we make things?
[00:48:03.880 --> 00:48:10.840] Especially because now it's like, it's so easy when you've been doing this for online business or 15 years to like still use the same things you used before.
[00:48:10.840 --> 00:48:15.160] And like there's so many great new tools now that make things a thousand percent easier.
[00:48:15.160 --> 00:48:19.960] I was doing an Instagram live with one of our members this morning who launched her business today.
[00:48:19.960 --> 00:48:23.560] And I asked her, her company is called Motet.
[00:48:23.560 --> 00:48:26.280] It's a baby sleepwear brand.
[00:48:26.280 --> 00:48:27.800] And I was like, how did you, what does the name mean?
[00:48:27.800 --> 00:48:28.600] How did you come up with it?
[00:48:28.600 --> 00:48:30.440] And she's like, ChatGPT.
[00:48:30.440 --> 00:48:31.800] She's like, the name I wanted.
[00:48:31.800 --> 00:48:35.720] My trade, but she said her trademark attorney said she couldn't use the name that she wanted.
[00:48:35.720 --> 00:48:38.680] And literally, ChatGPT named her business.
[00:48:38.680 --> 00:48:40.600] So it's just amazing.
[00:48:40.600 --> 00:48:41.800] Like all of these new tools.
[00:48:42.040 --> 00:48:47.080] Like, I can't even remember what it was like before all of these AI tools a few years ago.
[00:48:47.080 --> 00:48:47.400] Yeah.
[00:48:47.400 --> 00:48:48.520] I mean, they're popping up too.
[00:48:48.520 --> 00:48:51.880] And there's so many new ones to keep track of and just to try.
[00:48:51.880 --> 00:48:52.680] And yeah.
[00:48:53.000 --> 00:48:55.960] Are you using AI in your business at all with content?
[00:48:55.960 --> 00:49:04.040] We use Claude, which I like because you can make the project and you can like upload all of, I mean, I'll give you a specific example.
[00:49:04.680 --> 00:49:08.840] I'd say we use it more for, we don't usually use it for making original content.
[00:49:08.840 --> 00:49:10.840] We usually use it for repurposing content.
[00:49:10.840 --> 00:49:27.440] So, like, one of our reporters will write the story and then we'll say, can you help me create this, create a different version for the newsletter or for social or, or like, even for, I'm on LinkedIn a lot and I have a Claude project.
[00:49:27.440 --> 00:49:33.520] We've uploaded all my LinkedIn posts and I can say, like, can you take this one and make two new versions for me?
[00:49:33.520 --> 00:49:36.160] So I can see if there's a different version I want to try.
[00:49:36.960 --> 00:49:39.120] So I find it helpful for that.
[00:49:39.440 --> 00:49:41.200] Yeah, we love, we love Claude.
[00:49:41.200 --> 00:49:45.600] Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, all of these tools are like the best.
[00:49:46.000 --> 00:49:48.720] I don't know how to live life anymore without them.
[00:49:48.720 --> 00:49:52.560] Lexi, what is your biggest business secret?
[00:49:59.280 --> 00:50:14.160] I kind of talked about this earlier, but I think like making your business work for you and making it work around your life, there's so many opportunities to do that now and so many inspiring examples.
[00:50:15.760 --> 00:50:19.840] I think that's my biggest secret is like it doesn't, it's not just about your business.
[00:50:19.840 --> 00:50:22.320] It's about you and what you want.
[00:50:22.320 --> 00:50:23.280] Yeah, absolutely.
[00:50:23.280 --> 00:50:25.680] Build the business that works for you.
[00:50:25.680 --> 00:50:33.600] And just because someone else is doing something and it looks like they're successful, like someone else's success, like that might not be what you want.
[00:50:33.600 --> 00:50:34.720] And that is totally fine.
[00:50:34.720 --> 00:50:42.240] Build a business that you want and surround yourself with people like you, Lexi, who want to share all this awesome information and content.
[00:50:42.240 --> 00:50:44.960] And we can all come together to help each other.
[00:50:44.960 --> 00:50:46.480] Last question for you, Lexi.
[00:50:46.480 --> 00:50:49.280] What does being an entrepreneur mean to you?
[00:50:49.280 --> 00:50:50.720] Oh, I love community.
[00:50:50.720 --> 00:50:55.600] And I mentioned at the top of this podcast that I love supporting other female founders.
[00:50:55.600 --> 00:50:59.040] So if there's a place where I can do that, then that just makes me happy.
[00:50:59.040 --> 00:51:01.400] That's like, oh, that's, yeah.
[00:50:59.520 --> 00:51:06.440] And even talking to female founders who are thinking about selling, those are the best highlights of my week.
[00:51:06.520 --> 00:51:07.240] You can ask my husband.
[00:51:07.240 --> 00:51:09.240] I'm always telling him, like, guess who I got to talk to today?
[00:51:09.240 --> 00:51:12.280] Or like, guess who you won't believe what this woman is building.
[00:51:12.280 --> 00:51:13.400] It's like, it's so cool.
[00:51:13.400 --> 00:51:15.240] So I love hearing those stories.
[00:51:15.240 --> 00:51:16.360] Yeah, same here.
[00:51:16.360 --> 00:51:18.520] Well, where can everyone find you, follow you?
[00:51:18.520 --> 00:51:22.040] And for those that haven't yet subscribed to your newsletter, where should they head over to do so?
[00:51:22.040 --> 00:51:24.360] And we will link out to everything in the show notes below.
[00:51:24.360 --> 00:51:26.200] Yeah, we're at theygotacquired.com.
[00:51:26.200 --> 00:51:29.400] The newsletter is theygotacired.com slash newsletter.
[00:51:29.400 --> 00:51:31.400] And I'm on LinkedIn at Alexis Grant.
[00:51:31.400 --> 00:51:34.920] I sometimes go by Alexi, but on LinkedIn, I'm Alexis Grant.
[00:51:35.240 --> 00:51:39.000] Thank you so much for being here and sharing your story.
[00:51:39.000 --> 00:51:43.160] I'm Stephanie, and this is the best business meeting I've ever had.
[00:51:43.480 --> 00:51:44.760] Hi, Entrepreneurs.
[00:51:44.760 --> 00:51:45.800] It's Steph here.
[00:51:45.800 --> 00:51:52.920] And I hope today's episode has left you feeling inspired and with some actionable tips that you can apply to your own business.
[00:51:52.920 --> 00:52:00.280] The way we've grown our community and resources is by sharing content like this for years and asking for help along the way.
[00:52:00.280 --> 00:52:05.800] So here's where we need your help so we can continue to make as much impact as possible together.
[00:52:05.800 --> 00:52:22.840] If you can leave us a five-star review and extra credit if you share this episode on Instagram, LinkedIn, or DM it to a founder friend who would benefit from hearing it, not only would it mean the world to us, but you sharing this episode is going to help someone who just may need to hear what we share today.
[00:52:22.840 --> 00:52:25.880] And you know I love nothing more than giveaways and prizes.
[00:52:25.880 --> 00:52:32.600] So every month I'll be giving away a one-on-one session with me to someone who has shared the episode and left a review.
[00:52:32.600 --> 00:52:35.440] So send me a personal DM over on Instagram.
[00:52:35.440 --> 00:52:40.360] I'm at Steph Jill Carton once you've done it, so you can be entered to win.
[00:52:40.360 --> 00:52:45.000] Wishing you a productive week ahead and stay tuned for another impactful episode next week.

Prompt 2: Key Takeaways

Now please extract the key takeaways from the transcript content I provided.

Extract the most important key takeaways from this part of the conversation. Use a single sentence statement (the key takeaway) rather than milquetoast descriptions like "the hosts discuss...". 

Limit the key takeaways to a maximum of 3. The key takeaways should be insightful and knowledge-additive. 

IMPORTANT: Return ONLY valid JSON, no explanations or markdown. Ensure:
- All strings are properly quoted and escaped
- No trailing commas
- All braces and brackets are balanced
Format: {"key_takeaways": ["takeaway 1", "takeaway 2"]}

Prompt 3: Segments

Now identify 2-4 distinct topical segments from this part of the conversation.

For each segment, identify:
- Descriptive title (3-6 words)  
- START timestamp when this topic begins (HH:MM:SS format)
- Double check that the timestamp is accurate - a timestamp will NEVER be greater than the total length of the audio
- Most important Key takeaway from that segment. Key takeaway must be specific and knowledge-additive.
- Brief summary of the discussion

IMPORTANT: The timestamp should mark when the topic/segment STARTS, not a range. Look for topic transitions and conversation shifts.

Return ONLY valid JSON. Ensure all strings are properly quoted, no trailing commas:
{
  "segments": [
    {
      "segment_title": "Topic Discussion", 
      "timestamp": "01:15:30",
      "key_takeaway": "main point from this segment",
      "segment_summary": "brief description of what was discussed"
    }
  ]
}

Timestamp format: HH:MM:SS (e.g., 00:05:30, 01:22:45) marking the START of each segment.

Prompt 4: Media Mentions

Now scan the transcript content I provided for ACTUAL mentions of specific media titles:

Find explicit mentions of:
- Books (with specific titles)
- Movies (with specific titles)  
- TV Shows (with specific titles)
- Music/Songs (with specific titles)

DO NOT include:
- Websites, URLs, or web services
- Other podcasts or podcast names

IMPORTANT: 
- Only include items explicitly mentioned by name. Do not invent titles.
- Valid categories are: "Book", "Movie", "TV Show", "Music"
- Include the exact phrase where each item was mentioned
- Find the nearest proximate timestamp where it appears in the conversation
- THE TIMESTAMP OF THE MEDIA MENTION IS IMPORTANT - DO NOT INVENT TIMESTAMPS AND DO NOT MISATTRIBUTE TIMESTAMPS
- Double check that the timestamp is accurate - a timestamp will NEVER be greater than the total length of the audio
- Timestamps are given as ranges, e.g. 01:13:42.520 --> 01:13:46.720. Use the EARLIER of the 2 timestamps in the range.

Return ONLY valid JSON. Ensure all strings are properly quoted and escaped, no trailing commas:
{
  "media_mentions": [
    {
      "title": "Exact Title as Mentioned",
      "category": "Book",
      "author_artist": "N/A",
      "context": "Brief context of why it was mentioned",
      "context_phrase": "The exact sentence or phrase where it was mentioned",
      "timestamp": "estimated time like 01:15:30"
    }
  ]
}

If no media is mentioned, return: {"media_mentions": []}

Full Transcript

[00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:05.680] Hey, Entrepreneurs, it's Steph here with a special invite just for you.
[00:00:05.680 --> 00:00:10.800] Do you want to experience what it's like to be part of our Entrepreneursa League community of founders?
[00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:12.400] Now is your chance.
[00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:21.360] You can join me this month at one of our upcoming Entrepreneursa League info sessions where I'm going to share with you all you're going to get access to when you join the community.
[00:00:21.360 --> 00:00:27.040] Plus, I'll be giving away some big bonuses that you will only be able to get access to when you attend live.
[00:00:27.040 --> 00:00:35.600] Head over to refer.entrepreneesa.com forward slash info session to join us at one of our virtual info sessions this month.
[00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:40.640] That's refer.entrepranista.com forward slash info session.
[00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:44.560] Or head over to the show notes right now and tap the link to join us.
[00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:49.200] I can't wait to meet you there and learn more about you and your business.
[00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:52.800] Take yourself back to the place you were in selling that first business.
[00:00:52.800 --> 00:00:54.320] Like what would you have done differently?
[00:00:54.320 --> 00:01:04.400] Well, one thing that I learned through that, and I really learned it after going through that experience even before I started They Got Acquired, was just you can run all these different metrics and numbers and valuations to figure out what your business is worth.
[00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:09.920] But in the end, the real number is whatever you're willing to take for it and whatever the buyer is willing to pay.
[00:01:13.440 --> 00:01:17.120] Have you ever dreamed about building a business to eventually sell?
[00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:22.080] Well, you are not alone and there is so much that goes into a successful exit.
[00:01:22.080 --> 00:01:29.600] As someone who has sold a business, I know firsthand the challenges that come with selling, but also the amazing opportunities that it can bring.
[00:01:29.600 --> 00:01:34.960] But the key is knowing as much as possible about the process before you even start it.
[00:01:34.960 --> 00:01:39.440] You are gonna wanna listen to every word of this episode today with Alexis Grant.
[00:01:39.440 --> 00:01:42.160] She is the founder of They Got Acquired.
[00:01:42.160 --> 00:01:51.040] She has not only built and sold multiple businesses, but she is now dedicated to helping other founders navigate the complex world of acquisitions.
[00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:59.680] She was a journalist turned entrepreneur, and you're going to hear her very unique perspective on what drives successful business exits.
[00:01:59.800 --> 00:02:08.120] So, no matter what size business you might have, you could actually be creating a sellable business asset, and her business has the resources for you.
[00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:16.120] They Got Acquired is a platform that really shines the light on some of the often overlooked stories of founders who sell their businesses.
[00:02:16.120 --> 00:02:18.120] So, you can learn from all of them too.
[00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:23.480] Get ready to hear Alexis's journey and her biggest business secrets.
[00:02:24.760 --> 00:02:28.200] This is the Entrepreneur Podcast presented by Socialfly.
[00:02:28.200 --> 00:02:38.920] It's the best business meeting you'll ever have with must-hear real-life looks at how leading women in business are getting it done and what it takes to build and grow a successful company.
[00:02:38.920 --> 00:02:44.840] It's beyond the Graham with no filters, no limits, and plenty of surprises.
[00:02:48.680 --> 00:02:52.440] Lexi, I am so excited to finally have this conversation with you.
[00:02:52.440 --> 00:02:54.280] I have to tell all of our listeners.
[00:02:54.280 --> 00:03:01.960] Well, first, I'd been subscribed to your email newsletter for a while, probably when you first started the newsletter.
[00:03:01.960 --> 00:03:04.680] I feel like I was following you on LinkedIn and subscribed to the newsletter.
[00:03:04.680 --> 00:03:06.520] It is so good, and you're going to tell everyone about it.
[00:03:06.520 --> 00:03:20.840] And then we connected through an entrepreneurial group, and we were like, We just have to find all the ways to collaborate and share all of your incredible knowledge and expertise with our Entrepreneurista community because we have lots of founders that are looking to build a business to sell.
[00:03:20.840 --> 00:03:24.040] And I knew you'd be able to shed a lot of light and insight today.
[00:03:24.040 --> 00:03:27.400] So, thank you so much for spending the afternoon with me.
[00:03:27.400 --> 00:03:31.240] Yeah, I mean, one of my favorite types of founders to support is women.
[00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:38.040] And even though I don't run a business that says we only support women, like I love helping women founders, so would love to do that today.
[00:03:38.040 --> 00:03:39.640] Yes, there's definitely nothing better.
[00:03:39.640 --> 00:03:43.560] That's why we started our Entrepreneurista community and actually started this podcast.
[00:03:43.560 --> 00:03:51.440] The podcast started before our actual Entrepreneursa League community to share incredible stories like yours to be able to help as many founders as possible.
[00:03:51.440 --> 00:04:00.080] So I want to hear your backstory, Lexi, because you didn't wake up one day and decide you wanted to start a newsletter or media company on helping businesses learn how to get acquired.
[00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:03.360] What was your background prior to starting your business?
[00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:06.400] Yeah, well, I started my career in journalism.
[00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:15.360] And I, after I worked for a couple of different traditional newspapers, I moved into running a content marketing company.
[00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:21.600] And to condense a long story short, I sold two different media and content businesses.
[00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:25.440] And both times I felt like I didn't really know what I was doing.
[00:04:25.440 --> 00:04:28.240] I didn't know who was out there to help me.
[00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:36.320] And all the stories that I saw of successful sales were these like huge mega hundreds of million dollars, millions of dollars deals.
[00:04:36.320 --> 00:04:39.440] And that didn't feel like it was applicable to me.
[00:04:39.440 --> 00:04:43.280] And so, yeah, I started this brand they got acquired about three years ago.
[00:04:43.280 --> 00:04:46.000] And I'm really solving my own pain point.
[00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:49.120] It's like, how can I help other founders who are in this position?
[00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:57.920] And it's funny because we do typically hear about those huge sales, but there's actually far more of us building quote-unquote smaller businesses.
[00:04:57.920 --> 00:05:01.520] So we focus on those six, seven, and low, eight-figure deals.
[00:05:01.520 --> 00:05:11.040] And just doing this has made me feel like, you know, less alone because there are a lot of people who are building that space and who want to sell in and playing in that ecosystem.
[00:05:11.440 --> 00:05:14.960] But when I was selling, I didn't really know how to find them.
[00:05:15.280 --> 00:05:16.560] Yeah, absolutely.
[00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:27.200] And I feel like so many of the founders that I speak to don't even realize that they're building an asset and a sellable asset that has value that they can sell.
[00:05:27.200 --> 00:05:29.600] So I want to actually hear about your original company.
[00:05:29.600 --> 00:05:32.920] So you had these media publishing companies.
[00:05:33.160 --> 00:05:36.920] What were the companies and what made you decide you wanted to sell them?
[00:05:36.920 --> 00:05:41.880] So the first one was a content marketing agency and it was small.
[00:05:41.880 --> 00:05:44.040] It was me and a group of contractors.
[00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:49.000] So it was a small business and I had never thought about selling it.
[00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:51.240] I did was not growing it with the intention of selling it.
[00:05:51.240 --> 00:05:53.400] I was really a lifestyle entrepreneur.
[00:05:53.400 --> 00:05:57.160] I was growing it so I could support my own lifestyle that I wanted.
[00:05:57.800 --> 00:06:04.920] And one of our clients offered to buy the business or he wanted to buy the business.
[00:06:04.920 --> 00:06:05.800] And that was the first time.
[00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:07.080] I mean, it was a shocking offer to me.
[00:06:07.080 --> 00:06:10.840] I had never even thought about it or even realized that he was interested.
[00:06:11.160 --> 00:06:15.480] And it was a client we'd worked with for about a year and a half when he brought it up.
[00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:17.800] And it was a client I really enjoyed working with.
[00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:22.200] He ended up buying the business and it was what's called an Aqua Hire.
[00:06:22.200 --> 00:06:31.640] So myself and several members of my team, we went in-house with that company to continue to build out the content division there.
[00:06:32.360 --> 00:06:36.120] It was a personal finance media company called the Penny Hoarder.
[00:06:36.200 --> 00:06:37.480] And I was a second employee.
[00:06:37.480 --> 00:06:40.520] So I got to kind of help scale that business.
[00:06:40.840 --> 00:06:43.000] So it was kind of the right opportunity at the right time.
[00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:48.360] I was actually pregnant when the client brought up the idea of potentially buying us.
[00:06:48.360 --> 00:06:49.640] He didn't know that at the time.
[00:06:49.640 --> 00:06:51.000] And kudos to him when I told him.
[00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:52.680] He was really cool about it.
[00:06:53.320 --> 00:06:54.760] But yeah, there was a lot going on.
[00:06:54.760 --> 00:07:01.400] It was my, during my first couple of years, right after I sold the business, I had my first baby.
[00:07:01.400 --> 00:07:04.200] And then less than two years later, I had my second one.
[00:07:04.200 --> 00:07:07.880] So it was a lot of business and life all happening at the same time.
[00:07:07.880 --> 00:07:12.600] So, who did you go to back then when the client comes to you and says, I'm interested in buying the company?
[00:07:12.600 --> 00:07:14.440] What, you said you didn't have a lot of resources then?
[00:07:14.440 --> 00:07:15.280] You didn't know what you were doing.
[00:07:15.440 --> 00:07:18.720] Like, what actually happened, and what did you learn from that experience?
[00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:25.440] Yeah, I mean, looking back, I think I wish I knew all the things that I knew now because I didn't know any of it back then.
[00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:33.200] I went to my dad and my brother, who my brother's an investment banker, so he sells like really big banks.
[00:07:33.200 --> 00:07:39.600] And, but that was like the closest thing that I knew to someone who would have an idea of how does MA mergers and acquisitions even work.
[00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:52.160] I also found someone online who helped me kind of figure out like how much my business might be worth, but it wasn't like a true valuation.
[00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:57.600] And he certainly wasn't someone who specialized in running like an online business like I was doing.
[00:08:00.320 --> 00:08:01.200] What was your next question?
[00:08:01.200 --> 00:08:02.560] Like, how did it, how did it happen?
[00:08:02.640 --> 00:08:03.600] Yeah, what else did you learn?
[00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:11.840] Like, what would you have done differently, knowing what you know now about selling a business, take yourself back to the place you were in selling that first business?
[00:08:11.840 --> 00:08:13.840] Like, what would you have done differently?
[00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:30.880] Well, one thing that I learned through that, and I really learned it after going through that experience even before I started, they got acquired, was just that your business is worth like you can, you can run all these different metrics and numbers and valuations to figure out what your business is worth.
[00:08:30.880 --> 00:08:36.160] But in the end, the real number is whatever you're willing to take for it and whatever the buyer is willing to pay.
[00:08:36.160 --> 00:08:41.120] And this was a unique and Aqua Hire is a unique situation because you're going along with the asset.
[00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:45.040] So, they're also having to incentivize you and your team to stay with the company.
[00:08:45.040 --> 00:08:52.320] And in my case, like they didn't want any of our other clients, so the revenue we bought in from all of our clients was kind of irrelevant, right?
[00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:54.240] Because they weren't going to continue doing that anyways.
[00:08:54.240 --> 00:09:02.200] So, it was really about like what was what would make it worth it to me and what was worth it to the company that wanted to buy us.
[00:09:02.520 --> 00:09:14.760] So I think that was my biggest learning going through that is all the calculations in the world can be irrelevant if you can't find that sweet spot between the two parties.
[00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:23.000] Did you have a lot of back and forth negotiation with that deal, or was it pretty, you know, set what they offered you and you decided to take it?
[00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:25.320] No, we had back and forth negotiation.
[00:09:25.640 --> 00:09:31.160] And I mean, I think to the buyer's credit, he was really, he really wanted to make it worth my while.
[00:09:31.160 --> 00:09:34.760] And so he wanted to get a sense of like what was helpful for me.
[00:09:34.760 --> 00:09:49.720] I mean, once we established I was about to have a baby, I realized like, oh, if going into this, if I could get a couple of months paid maternity leave, which I wouldn't have had for my own, the business I was running, I would have had to kind of keep things moving.
[00:09:50.760 --> 00:09:53.080] Like that, that was a great incentive.
[00:09:53.480 --> 00:09:59.640] So yeah, we definitely talked through like what made it a good opportunity for me and my family.
[00:09:59.640 --> 00:10:04.120] And what was the next business you started and then sold that business too, correct?
[00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:04.520] Yes.
[00:10:04.520 --> 00:10:07.000] So this was the second one was different than the first.
[00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:11.240] And actually it was, it was a website, a website for writers.
[00:10:11.240 --> 00:10:15.400] And so I had started it when I was running the content marketing agency.
[00:10:15.400 --> 00:10:17.960] What we did then was we ran blogs for businesses.
[00:10:17.960 --> 00:10:24.600] So this is in like the 2010 when businesses were thinking about wanting to have blogs, but they didn't know how to do it.
[00:10:24.600 --> 00:10:26.280] So we would do it for them.
[00:10:26.280 --> 00:10:38.440] And I realized that all of the work we were doing to build blogs for other businesses, like if they up and left, we didn't have any upside in all of the effort we'd put in.
[00:10:38.440 --> 00:10:53.920] And so it occurred to me that, like, what if we put all the processes we'd come up with, the people that we had built, because we had, you know, a handful of editors that worked with us regularly, but then a much larger group of freelance writers who were contributing to all these blogs that we were running.
[00:10:53.920 --> 00:11:02.880] And I thought, what if we put that network to work for us and created a site where it would be something that I would get the upside in over time?
[00:11:02.880 --> 00:11:08.480] And so we treated it just like a client site and grew it over time.
[00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:16.240] And then when I went in-house at the penny hoarder, because I was there for a bunch of years, and like I said, I had two kids, so I didn't have a lot of free time.
[00:11:16.560 --> 00:11:20.080] I had an editor who was running that site on the side.
[00:11:20.400 --> 00:11:28.320] And really, during a couple of those years, like when it wasn't my full-time focus, I think we were just making enough money to break even.
[00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:32.880] Like, I just wanted to cover the cost of the site and to keep growing.
[00:11:32.880 --> 00:11:37.840] And then when I left the penny hoarder, I was thinking about like, hey, what do I want to do next?
[00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:41.040] And I picked up that project and kind of played with it for a while.
[00:11:41.040 --> 00:11:42.560] And I applied some of the things I learned.
[00:11:42.560 --> 00:11:44.880] I increased its SEO.
[00:11:45.680 --> 00:11:49.920] I just kind of tried a few new tactics with it to see what I could do.
[00:11:49.920 --> 00:11:56.400] And I eventually realized like this was a project that felt like who I was 10 years ago instead of who I was then.
[00:11:56.400 --> 00:11:58.720] And so I decided, that's when I decided to sell it.
[00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:00.240] And that was an asset sale.
[00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:06.480] So I basically, because I had the site had been largely running without me, anyways, for the last how many years.
[00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:09.920] So I basically was able to pass it over to the new owner.
[00:12:09.920 --> 00:12:12.240] And then I did not go along with that.
[00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:15.200] We handed them like our documentation of how we had done it.
[00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:22.320] But it was very different from the first sale where, like, myself, my team were part of the sale.
[00:12:22.320 --> 00:12:24.800] So, um, yeah, it was it was similar.
[00:12:24.800 --> 00:12:32.360] Like, I got to apply a lot of things that I had learned the first time, but there was also some differences in the type of sale.
[00:12:32.680 --> 00:12:37.080] Did you run a process to sell the asset, or did people come to you?
[00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:37.720] I did.
[00:12:37.720 --> 00:12:47.480] Um, but so I had interest from a couple of different competitors in this space, which is what first got me thinking: like, maybe I should sell this.
[00:12:47.480 --> 00:12:52.760] And because of that interest, I was then able to get other people interested.
[00:12:52.760 --> 00:12:58.760] Um, at the time, I didn't use an advisor, and like now, I would maybe think about that differently.
[00:12:58.760 --> 00:13:08.360] So, that sale was uh it was a mid-six-figure sale, so it was kind of like right at the cusp of when, even now, when I talk to people and say, Should I use an advisor?
[00:13:08.360 --> 00:13:16.360] That's usually I'd say, like, if you're gonna sell for more than half a million, I would maybe think about it because you might be able to get more by using someone who knows what they're doing.
[00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:21.000] But I didn't have that as an option to me at the time because I didn't know how to find even someone who would help me.
[00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:22.440] What year was this?
[00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:25.800] This was in 20, this was January 2011.
[00:13:25.800 --> 00:13:28.600] I mean, 2011, sorry, January, January 2021.
[00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:29.160] 21.
[00:13:29.160 --> 00:13:32.680] Okay, so only four years ago, and now it's just amazing.
[00:13:32.680 --> 00:13:38.840] Like, think about now, starting how they got acquired, like how much you've learned over the course of the past few years.
[00:13:38.840 --> 00:13:54.600] That now, I'm just so excited to dive into all of your learning lessons because you have interviewed hundreds of founders and heard all of their amazing stories, but also, I'm sure, a lot of horror stories you've heard as well from going through the acquisition process.
[00:13:54.600 --> 00:14:08.120] So, up next, you'll learn everything Alexis wishes she knew before selling her businesses, as well as her best tips if you're going to go through or plan to go through the acquisition process.
[00:14:13.880 --> 00:14:15.120] Hi, Entrepreneurs.
[00:14:14.920 --> 00:14:16.000] It's Steph here.
[00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:22.880] As a founder, I know firsthand that building a business can feel so lonely, but it doesn't have to.
[00:14:22.880 --> 00:14:27.520] And that's why we created our Entrepreneur Founders Weekend Wealth and Wellness Retreat.
[00:14:27.520 --> 00:14:29.680] And I can't wait to meet you in person there.
[00:14:29.680 --> 00:14:43.840] So you're officially invited to join us from April 30th to May 3rd, 2026 at the stunning PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, for three transformative days of connection, collaboration, and real business growth.
[00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:46.000] This isn't just another business conference.
[00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:54.400] It is a curated retreat designed to help you build authentic, lasting relationships with women who truly understand your journey.
[00:14:54.400 --> 00:15:01.200] From business panels and workshops to wellness activations and so much more, this is the room that you need to be in.
[00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:12.720] So if you are ready to invest in yourself and your business and your vision and your next level of success, head over to entrepreneurs.com forward slash foundersweekend to reserve your ticket today.
[00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:20.960] That's entrepreneursa.com forward slash foundersweekend or head over to the show notes right now and tap the invitation to reserve your ticket.
[00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:22.400] I'll see you there.
[00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:41.200] You just mentioned before that when you went through this second process, you started trying to get other people interested in the potential deal.
[00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:43.840] What were some of the tactics and things that you did to do that?
[00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:47.920] So for someone who's like, oh, I want to get buyers potentially interested, what should they be thinking about?
[00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:53.520] Well, first, I'll say that this is like one of the best things that you can do to give yourself leverage.
[00:15:53.520 --> 00:15:59.040] And one common mistake that people make is they get an interest from a buyer and they sell to that first buyer.
[00:15:59.040 --> 00:16:13.880] And that's what right now there's like a whole ecosystem of buyers who are just like randomly reaching out to everybody they know to see if anyone wants to sell their business because they're hoping that they can be the first bite and they'll catch you before you have anyone representing you and before you have other interested parties.
[00:16:13.880 --> 00:16:18.840] So the best thing you can do for yourself is don't just sell to the first person.
[00:16:19.080 --> 00:16:24.040] There's a few cases where that makes sense, when it's like a very strategic deal and it's a perfect fit.
[00:16:24.040 --> 00:16:28.680] But usually the best way to get sell for more is to get other parties interested.
[00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:32.280] So at the time, how did I do that?
[00:16:34.440 --> 00:16:38.840] I really just like mined my network and I told a couple people in my network that I was thinking about selling.
[00:16:38.840 --> 00:16:40.600] Did they know anyone who was interested?
[00:16:40.920 --> 00:16:50.360] And a friend of mine happened to be in the process of selling her site and she was like, oh, people who are buying my site might also want yours because it was in a similar area.
[00:16:51.160 --> 00:17:01.720] And so I ended up selling to someone who came through my network rather than one of the original competitors who had approached me.
[00:17:01.720 --> 00:17:07.560] But because of that interest from the competitors, I was able to drive up the sale price significantly.
[00:17:08.120 --> 00:17:12.440] So just having all that interest, I did like basically ran a bidding process.
[00:17:12.440 --> 00:17:14.120] I mean, this is my first time doing this.
[00:17:14.120 --> 00:17:18.680] I didn't really know what I was doing, but you were doing this yourself, still with no advisor this time.
[00:17:18.680 --> 00:17:20.040] I did not have an advisor.
[00:17:20.040 --> 00:17:21.560] I did have a lawyer.
[00:17:22.120 --> 00:17:25.720] And he advised me a little bit.
[00:17:25.720 --> 00:17:28.200] I'd say he kind of stepped over the line in a good way.
[00:17:28.840 --> 00:17:30.520] He wasn't just my lawyer.
[00:17:30.520 --> 00:17:32.840] He was like helping me negotiate a little bit.
[00:17:32.800 --> 00:17:46.240] Um, and I also did a call with someone from like some expert platform, you know, who had done this before and said, hey, this is what I'm thinking about doing, how I'm thinking about running this bidding process.
[00:17:46.560 --> 00:17:47.680] Is this how you would do it?
[00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:53.520] And he gave me some ideas based on his experience, but I did not have what did he say?
[00:17:53.520 --> 00:18:03.920] Yeah, so one thing he told me, which I did, and I wish I hadn't actually, was he suggested, um, so sometimes people want to get like a bidding war going.
[00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:11.440] And I guess I had kind of already done this because I already had offers in hand from the competitors who told me like what they were interested in paying.
[00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:17.120] So, I kind of knew what the threshold was already and what anyone else had to beat to make it work.
[00:18:17.120 --> 00:18:27.680] Um, but he said, tell everybody they can bid, give them a deadline, and tell them there's going to be no um counter bids, like you're just going to take the best offer out of all of those.
[00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:41.760] And one of the reasons he suggested that was because he said, um, you know, often deals fall through, which is 100% true, and the top bidder might not end up, it might not work for some reason.
[00:18:41.760 --> 00:18:49.760] And you want to still have a really good relationship with the next bidder so that you can continue to try and sell to them if you need to.
[00:18:50.080 --> 00:18:53.440] And I'm trying to think why else he suggested that.
[00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:59.840] I think he just said, like, it eliminates like all this back and forth and gets people just put their best offer on the table right away.
[00:18:59.840 --> 00:19:10.400] Um, so I did that, and but I think like I could have said, and looking back, knowing what I know now, I think it probably would have been smarter to be able to go back and say, Oh, so-and-so offered this.
[00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:12.480] Now, you need to beat that.
[00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:22.320] But I mean, also looking back, I know that I was so lucky when I sold that site because I didn't understand at the time.
[00:19:22.320 --> 00:19:30.280] Like, so now I understand how you value businesses, and I got way more for that business than someone would say it was it was worth.
[00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:40.040] It wasn't making that much money, but because we'd done very well in search, and at the time, again, this is early 2021, our competitors all wanted that.
[00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:44.040] I was able, like, no one cared about the financials of the business.
[00:19:44.040 --> 00:19:46.600] Like, that was almost a moment.
[00:19:46.760 --> 00:19:48.840] Yeah, they wanted the asset.
[00:19:48.840 --> 00:19:53.880] And like, now that I understand more about selling businesses, I realize how rare that is.
[00:19:53.880 --> 00:19:57.080] Like, most buyers, they really care about the bottom line.
[00:19:57.240 --> 00:20:01.800] They care about what your profit is looking like and your EBITDA.
[00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:05.960] So, I realized, like, in retrospect, I got lucky.
[00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:10.520] But I think also what helped with that was certainly having multiple buyers who were interested.
[00:20:10.520 --> 00:20:13.000] And that's like the number one thing that pushed up the sale price.
[00:20:13.320 --> 00:20:18.920] What have you learned in terms of selling media companies that the typical processes for evaluation?
[00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:22.200] Like, how are media companies being valued today?
[00:20:23.400 --> 00:20:28.280] So, well, generally, most companies are valued based on their EBITDA.
[00:20:28.280 --> 00:20:33.320] Or if it's a small business, sometimes we use something called SDE, which stands for sellers' discretionary earnings.
[00:20:33.320 --> 00:20:36.920] It's basically a proxy for how much you bring home.
[00:20:36.920 --> 00:20:39.480] And you can tell talking to me, like, I'm really a founder.
[00:20:39.480 --> 00:20:40.280] I'm not an accountant.
[00:20:40.280 --> 00:20:41.880] I'm not an MA advisor.
[00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:46.440] Like, I think sometimes this actually makes it more accessible for people when I'm talking to them about it.
[00:20:46.440 --> 00:20:53.320] But that also means sometimes I'm not using like, oh, these fancy words for these fancy terms in the industry.
[00:20:54.360 --> 00:20:56.120] But yeah, they care about your profit.
[00:20:56.120 --> 00:20:57.480] That's like the number one thing.
[00:20:57.480 --> 00:21:02.920] And then for media companies specifically, they also do care about your audience.
[00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:10.280] And certainly, there are deals where a buyer is buying the media company because they want to reach the audience.
[00:21:10.280 --> 00:21:23.520] They may have something that they want to sell to that audience or another way that they're able to make that audience much more valuable to them than the owner who is running that company.
[00:21:23.520 --> 00:21:29.280] And I mean, those are the best strategic deals for media companies, but they also are rare.
[00:21:29.280 --> 00:21:31.680] Like, those are the ones we hear about all the time.
[00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:38.480] And I talk to a lot of founders who want to sell, and they always say, I want to sell to a strategic buyer, which is fantastic.
[00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:41.920] But in reality, it's like very difficult to orchestrate that.
[00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:47.040] And in most cases, those strategic deals happen when the buyer approaches the seller.
[00:21:47.040 --> 00:21:51.520] And it's because the buyer sees the opportunity and they want to make it happen.
[00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:57.440] It is much harder to orchestrate as a seller who's just saying, okay, I want to sell this business.
[00:21:57.440 --> 00:22:02.560] And how do I get someone who's going to pay above market rate for my business?
[00:22:02.560 --> 00:22:08.160] When you sold both of your companies, were you transparent with the buyer?
[00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:09.440] Like, I'm ready to be done.
[00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:11.040] I just want to sell the asset.
[00:22:11.040 --> 00:22:17.440] Like, any lessons you can share there just about your conversations with the buyer going through the sale process?
[00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:23.360] I mean, yeah, I think the second time I was clear: like, I just want to pass this over and I want to do something else.
[00:22:23.360 --> 00:22:29.440] And I mean, that's a real reason that a lot of founders want to sell is they're either burned out or they want to do something else.
[00:22:30.320 --> 00:22:32.720] I will say, though, like, it depends on the type of sale.
[00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:35.440] Like, I think it's good when you're going into it to know what you want.
[00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:40.560] And some founders are open to different options, which gives you more flexibility.
[00:22:40.560 --> 00:22:46.720] Like, you can say, I'd stay for a while if they want me to stay, or I can be out if that's their preference.
[00:22:47.120 --> 00:22:59.760] Most founders, though, know like either I want to be done with this as soon as possible, or I really love this and I want to stay on and help continue to build it with more resources, depending on the buyer's situation.
[00:22:59.880 --> 00:23:08.120] So I think kind of knowing what you want is helpful and being able to articulate that is helpful.
[00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:19.800] But I would also recommend like in those conversations, sometimes it makes sense to show a flexibility and a willingness to work with a buyer because different buyers might want different things.
[00:23:19.800 --> 00:23:25.720] And in lots of companies, the buyer actually wants the founder to stick around for a certain period of time.
[00:23:25.720 --> 00:23:35.240] And in many cases, like the compensation might actually be tied to the buyer sticking around or even tied to the performance of that company after it's sold.
[00:23:36.040 --> 00:23:42.040] So I think just going into it with a sense of what you want, but being open to different ideas is the best way to go.
[00:23:42.040 --> 00:23:48.840] So now it's 2021, you sell that business, and now you decide, let me start another business.
[00:23:49.880 --> 00:23:51.000] What was your inspiration?
[00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:55.080] And when did you go forward and start your company that you're focused on today?
[00:23:55.400 --> 00:23:57.800] Well, I knew I wanted to do something new.
[00:23:58.120 --> 00:24:01.000] I mean, I love starting businesses and I like the zero to one phase.
[00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:02.440] That's my favorite.
[00:24:03.720 --> 00:24:14.680] And I was looking for something that was like a hybrid of doing what I do well, which is really like media companies, content operations, like that's kind of my sweet spot.
[00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:18.600] But also something that would challenge me and allow me to learn something new.
[00:24:18.600 --> 00:24:24.360] And I felt like the MA space was, could be that for me because there was, I had a lot to learn there.
[00:24:24.360 --> 00:24:34.920] Again, like I'm not, I don't have experience in MA other than, I mean, I've gone through it twice myself, which is helpful for other founders, but I haven't worked professionally in this space.
[00:24:34.920 --> 00:24:36.840] And so I felt like there was a lot I could learn there.
[00:24:36.840 --> 00:24:43.400] So I felt like this brand they got acquired, it kind of brings together both of those elements for me, which is what makes it fun.
[00:24:43.400 --> 00:24:48.320] It's like I have a little bit of a head start because I know how to grow a brand, but I get to learn something along the way.
[00:24:44.920 --> 00:24:49.200] No, that's so much fun.
[00:24:49.360 --> 00:24:55.680] It gives you that like oomph every morning to just like get to your computer and know that you're building something that's still learning.
[00:24:55.680 --> 00:24:58.160] And I feel that so much too.
[00:24:58.160 --> 00:25:01.040] Okay, so take me back though to day one.
[00:25:01.040 --> 00:25:05.040] You open up your laptop, you're like, I'm going to start this site, how they got acquired.
[00:25:05.040 --> 00:25:06.240] And like, what did you do first?
[00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:09.440] So for our founders who are like, I want to build a media company, I want to build a new brand.
[00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:10.480] Like, what would you recommend?
[00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:11.840] What did you do first?
[00:25:11.840 --> 00:25:22.080] Well, the first thing I did that worked really well was I set up a landing page and I used a technology called CARD, C-A-R-R-D.co, I think it is.
[00:25:22.080 --> 00:25:25.280] And it's a popular landing page builder, but it's like super easy to use.
[00:25:25.280 --> 00:25:25.920] It's cheap.
[00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:27.040] It looks great.
[00:25:27.040 --> 00:25:34.800] And I just kind of put the idea there of it was something like, hey, do you want to hear how other founders have sold their business?
[00:25:35.040 --> 00:25:37.360] I mean, this is just such an undercovered space.
[00:25:37.360 --> 00:25:46.400] And really, until we came into it, there wasn't, there wasn't really a, like there were brokers kind of sharing some of these stories, but there wasn't really a third-party media outlet sharing them.
[00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:48.960] So it felt like a big opportunity.
[00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:54.320] I think it has proven to be that, like in terms of providing information that people really can't get anywhere else.
[00:25:54.320 --> 00:25:58.880] So I put up this landing page and said, hey, sign up if you want to know when we launch.
[00:25:59.520 --> 00:26:05.440] And then I talked about it on the internet.
[00:26:05.440 --> 00:26:06.800] I'm like, what did I do?
[00:26:06.800 --> 00:26:08.720] I mean, I've had my own newsletter.
[00:26:08.720 --> 00:26:10.480] I don't send anything out to them anymore.
[00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:16.240] But like at the time, I think I had, I had, I've been writing on the web for like 15 years or something.
[00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:18.480] So I had like little people in different places.
[00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:20.480] Like I had a small newsletter of my own.
[00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:23.680] I think I used Twitter at that time and LinkedIn.
[00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:26.320] And I just kind of said, here's what I'm thinking about.
[00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:29.680] Is it interesting to you?
[00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:30.840] And if so, sign up.
[00:26:30.840 --> 00:26:39.240] And I also, I also asked in a lot of places, like, hey, does anyone know a founder who has sold who'd be willing to share some of the details with us?
[00:26:39.240 --> 00:26:40.840] And because that did two things.
[00:26:40.840 --> 00:26:50.040] It gave me, it helped me find people who would share their stories, but it also gave me like an excuse to kind of say what we were up to without just saying, this is what I'm doing.
[00:26:50.360 --> 00:26:54.760] It was almost a way to help other people at the same time as getting people to sign up for the list.
[00:26:55.160 --> 00:27:00.200] And we, so we, when we launched the brand, we had a thousand people on the email list.
[00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:07.480] And that was great because like for a content-heavy brand, you know, if you start putting content out, you don't want to create it for like five people initially.
[00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:12.360] We kind of had some people who were willing to or interested to read it at the beginning.
[00:27:12.360 --> 00:27:13.000] That's awesome.
[00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:15.960] So you were building in public essentially from day one.
[00:27:16.280 --> 00:27:23.640] Have you kept that same transparency, like sharing your stories on LinkedIn and showing people what you're doing as you've been building the platform?
[00:27:23.640 --> 00:27:24.360] I try to.
[00:27:24.360 --> 00:27:25.960] I mean, I have always enjoyed doing that.
[00:27:25.960 --> 00:27:27.560] For me, it's not like a strategy.
[00:27:27.560 --> 00:27:29.720] It's just like I'm a writer.
[00:27:29.720 --> 00:27:37.960] I like sharing behind the scenes of like how I'm thinking about things and like putting ideas into words helps me process and helps me elevate my own ideas.
[00:27:38.360 --> 00:27:40.040] So I kind of do it in that way.
[00:27:40.040 --> 00:27:44.520] I guess, yeah, you could call it build in public, but it's really just like, yeah, sharing what's going on.
[00:27:45.160 --> 00:27:45.800] Being yourself.
[00:27:45.800 --> 00:27:46.040] Yeah.
[00:27:46.360 --> 00:27:46.760] Sharing.
[00:27:47.160 --> 00:27:48.760] I'm totally with you.
[00:27:48.760 --> 00:27:56.120] I feel like so many brands today, even if they're not a media company first, are media companies because of content, right?
[00:27:56.120 --> 00:28:00.840] Even consumer brands, service-based businesses, we're all sharing stories.
[00:28:00.840 --> 00:28:08.600] We're putting out content all of the time to be able to, you know, drive business, get new clients, get new customers.
[00:28:08.600 --> 00:28:23.360] Based on all of your experience building actual media companies and building out processes for content, what recommendations do you have for business owners that are really looking to build out their business as a content destination or media hub?
[00:28:24.240 --> 00:28:26.800] I mean, it's so much harder than it used to be.
[00:28:26.800 --> 00:28:32.560] I love that this is like a trend and people are doing it now for everything, but it does make it harder than part.
[00:28:32.560 --> 00:28:40.160] It's just there's a lot more noise, and like many of the platforms are just harder to crack, I think, than they used to be.
[00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:45.200] The number one tip I would say is like identify what you can share that no one else can.
[00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:47.760] Like what is your unique value proposition?
[00:28:49.360 --> 00:28:55.600] Looking at what we do, it's, I mean, I chose it because I felt like it was unique, but now it makes it easier.
[00:28:55.600 --> 00:29:01.040] It's like, okay, no one else is really sharing stories of founders who have sold and what it looked like for them.
[00:29:01.040 --> 00:29:06.160] So that in itself makes it like, if I want to get that information, I have to go to They Got Acquired.
[00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:07.920] Like, what can that be for your brand?
[00:29:08.320 --> 00:29:12.880] What can you provide that people really can't get anywhere else?
[00:29:12.880 --> 00:29:15.920] Sometimes it's how you share the information.
[00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:19.120] Like, there's a lot of business newsletters that have done really well.
[00:29:19.120 --> 00:29:28.480] The information they share is great, but it's like how they share it, the voice they share it with, or like how easy it is to consume that helps it do well.
[00:29:28.480 --> 00:29:35.120] So I think it can be a combination of like what you're actually sharing and the way that you share that information.
[00:29:35.120 --> 00:29:36.240] Yeah, I love that.
[00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:45.200] Coming up, Alexis shares some surprising founder stories, plus her biggest tips for timing the sale of your business.
[00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:53.840] Founders are always asking us, what has been the secret to our success building multiple seven-figure businesses?
[00:29:53.840 --> 00:29:55.280] Do you want to know how?
[00:29:55.280 --> 00:29:56.960] It's our community.
[00:29:56.960 --> 00:30:04.280] We created the Entrepreneursa League for founders like you because the most successful entrepreneurs do not navigate business alone.
[00:30:04.600 --> 00:30:10.360] We navigate the challenges and opportunities with the support of people we know, love, and trust.
[00:30:10.360 --> 00:30:14.280] The relationships you build in business will be the key to your success.
[00:30:14.280 --> 00:30:16.360] Trust me, it's how we've done it.
[00:30:16.360 --> 00:30:22.040] And I'm giving you access to everything we've used to grow and scale our businesses over the past decade.
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[00:30:26.440 --> 00:30:48.840] Our members have access to everything we've used to grow our businesses over the past 10 plus years, from in-person events to virtual events, business education, funding resources, office hours with myself and other top founders in your industry, press opportunities, and access to our community platform where you can instantly get all of your business questions answered.
[00:30:48.840 --> 00:30:55.560] You can join us in the community over at refer.entrepranista.com forward slash join us.
[00:30:55.560 --> 00:31:01.320] That's refer.entrepranista.com forward slash join us to join the community.
[00:31:01.320 --> 00:31:04.680] Or head to the show notes right now and tap the link to join.
[00:31:04.680 --> 00:31:06.920] I cannot wait to meet you.
[00:31:07.560 --> 00:31:16.040] Now you've talked to and interviewed hundreds of founders on you have a podcast, the newsletter, the site and articles.
[00:31:16.040 --> 00:31:21.080] What has been the most surprising thing that you have heard or learned from a founder?
[00:31:21.640 --> 00:31:22.440] Good question.
[00:31:22.440 --> 00:31:32.680] I mean, so we have a team of reporters and they interview all the founders, but I do, I usually, I'd say I touch or at least get to kind of edit most of the stories that come through.
[00:31:34.440 --> 00:31:35.400] Surprising.
[00:31:35.400 --> 00:31:46.320] I mean, the thing that surprised me is I thought after a while this would get old and like, oh, selling a business, once you learn about it a few times, it's not that interesting.
[00:31:44.600 --> 00:31:52.320] But like every single story comes through and I'm like, oh, gosh, like I want to hear more about how this person does it.
[00:31:53.600 --> 00:32:01.520] Or like, personally, I love the stories where the founders are keep things lean and bootstrapped.
[00:32:01.520 --> 00:32:07.360] I mean, we also do write about some VC-backed businesses, but most of our founders that we feature are bootstrapped.
[00:32:08.560 --> 00:32:12.720] And I just like hearing about like the non-traditional success stories.
[00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:17.200] So like people who didn't go do all the shoulds, everything we're told we should do.
[00:32:17.520 --> 00:32:31.840] We had a woman named Anna Mast on our podcast, and she started her business and she was only working, I can't remember the exact number, but it was something like, it might have been seven hours a week or something when she had her kids.
[00:32:31.840 --> 00:32:34.400] And then she ended up turning that into a full-time job.
[00:32:34.400 --> 00:32:36.320] She ran the business with her mom.
[00:32:36.320 --> 00:32:43.680] So like there was all these things about it that were like different than the traditional Silicon Valley stories that we always hear.
[00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:52.960] And those are the ones that get me excited because I think that there's like a lot of us out there who are building with this ethos of like doing things a little bit differently.
[00:32:53.840 --> 00:33:02.320] Maybe doing things in a, I kind of hate the term lifestyle business because it sounds, I think it takes away from the business component sometimes.
[00:33:02.320 --> 00:33:07.760] So thinking about like, how can you build a business that supports your life instead of the other way around?
[00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:11.840] So yeah, those are the stories that kind of always get me excited.
[00:33:12.160 --> 00:33:19.200] What has been your biggest learning lesson from a mistake that you've heard a founder make that you're like, I have to pass this on.
[00:33:19.200 --> 00:33:23.080] So, if someone else does not do that, there's so many of them.
[00:33:23.360 --> 00:33:24.160] Let's just share them all.
[00:33:24.160 --> 00:33:25.440] Share your top three.
[00:33:25.760 --> 00:33:32.520] We're really lucky that a lot of founders are generous with sharing their mistakes because that's like takes vulnerability to say this is what I did wrong.
[00:33:32.520 --> 00:33:33.800] But I can think of a few of them.
[00:33:29.840 --> 00:33:37.960] We had one founder who she thought her books were in good shape.
[00:33:37.960 --> 00:33:39.240] She'd even had someone help her.
[00:33:39.240 --> 00:33:42.840] And so, this maybe wasn't even exactly her fault, but they didn't do a great job.
[00:33:42.840 --> 00:33:51.880] She went into the sale process and she had an offer from a company which she had like tentatively accepted.
[00:33:51.880 --> 00:33:59.000] They went under LOI, which is called a letter of intent, which means like they agreed, okay, we're gonna look at buying your company for this amount.
[00:33:59.000 --> 00:34:01.480] So, like, the basic terms are kind of agreed upon.
[00:34:01.480 --> 00:34:11.720] And then they go into due diligence, which is where the buyer looks under the hood at the seller's company and they realize that her numbers like weren't what she had said that they were.
[00:34:12.280 --> 00:34:17.560] And because of that, they revised downward the offer they had given her.
[00:34:17.560 --> 00:34:20.440] And it was no longer that exciting to her, the offer.
[00:34:20.440 --> 00:34:25.240] And probably, if she had started the process with that offer, she would not have pursued it.
[00:34:25.240 --> 00:34:28.840] But at this point, she was like so tired and she just wanted to be done.
[00:34:28.840 --> 00:34:32.280] And so she ended up selling the business for that amount.
[00:34:32.280 --> 00:34:39.880] And so that's one thing I always say: is like, really make sure that your numbers are buttoned up at the beginning of the process because it can save you so much headache.
[00:34:40.120 --> 00:34:50.920] And it just, if you don't want the buyer to find anything different from what you promised when they look hard at your business, because it just gives them an excuse to change the offer, right?
[00:34:51.160 --> 00:34:58.200] And, anyways, having great numbers, like having keeping your books in good shape also helps you make the best decisions for your business.
[00:34:58.840 --> 00:35:04.440] So I think that's one all-around tip that like is helpful, regardless of whether you're going to sell your business or not.
[00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:11.640] Another one, we featured a woman who sold her business and she wished she had sold it earlier.
[00:35:11.960 --> 00:35:23.440] And so, there's a lot of founders I talked to who, I mean, it's, I think it's normal for founders to like want to get as much as they can out of their business and like they see it climbing and they want to stay on that ride.
[00:35:23.440 --> 00:35:30.080] Um, you want to sell your business when it's still going up, and it's very difficult to time.
[00:35:30.080 --> 00:35:35.600] Um, and some advisors say you shouldn't even bother trying to time the market, for example.
[00:35:35.600 --> 00:35:37.920] But what you can time is like your own energy.
[00:35:37.920 --> 00:35:43.040] Like, are you do you still have enough energy to run this business and the business performance and like how it's doing?
[00:35:43.040 --> 00:35:51.520] A lot of founders will look to sell when the business starts to go down because it becomes frustrating, it's not working as well as it did before.
[00:35:51.520 --> 00:35:59.760] They're realizing, oh my gosh, I should have sold a year or two ago, or they're just like totally burned out, and that's why the business is performing differently than it did before.
[00:35:59.760 --> 00:36:22.800] Um, so trying to time like your own energy, and in some ways, like I actually encourage people to think about maybe selling a little bit before you feel ready or like thinking about the process before you feel ready, which is kind of a controversial idea because you like a lot of advisors will say, you want the founder to really be ready when they go to sell because you don't want them to change their mind, you don't want to go through all of this for nothing.
[00:36:22.800 --> 00:36:28.640] Um, and like certainly, some founders at the last step will say, I can't part with my baby.
[00:36:28.640 --> 00:36:33.360] You don't want to be that person, you want to be know what you're doing and have your decisions made.
[00:36:33.360 --> 00:36:37.760] Um, but if you, it's like easy to wait too long, basically.
[00:36:37.760 --> 00:36:46.720] And there we had a founder who talked about that with us and said, I didn't sell when I should have, and the business declined, and I sold for half as much.
[00:36:46.960 --> 00:36:50.480] Um, yeah, no, thank you for sharing those learning lessons.
[00:36:50.640 --> 00:36:56.000] It's so helpful, especially for founders who might not even be ready to go through the process right now.
[00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:59.440] But hearing stories like this is how we're all able to learn.
[00:36:59.440 --> 00:37:04.520] So, when it does become the time to maybe sell, you hear this information and you know.
[00:36:59.840 --> 00:37:10.680] Go to your website, go subscribe to your newsletter to learn all of these and hear about all of these stories.
[00:37:10.680 --> 00:37:12.280] So it's super helpful, Lexi.
[00:37:12.280 --> 00:37:20.520] So for our entrepreneurs, when they go to They Got Acquired on your website now, tell me what everyone can expect to see there and learn.
[00:37:20.520 --> 00:37:23.960] Yeah, I mean, so our newsletter, as you mentioned, is our kind of number one vehicle.
[00:37:24.120 --> 00:37:26.840] It's at theygotacquired.com/slash newsletter.
[00:37:26.840 --> 00:37:31.240] And the main thing we share is stories of other founders who have sold and how they did it.
[00:37:31.240 --> 00:37:38.840] But then we also interweave like some advice and ideas and education around like what does a sale process look like?
[00:37:38.840 --> 00:37:40.360] What are the different parts of the process?
[00:37:40.360 --> 00:37:41.720] How long does it take?
[00:37:42.520 --> 00:37:50.040] And then we also connect founders who want to sell with advisors who can help them sell, which is one of the things that I wanted when I sold.
[00:37:50.040 --> 00:37:56.040] Like I didn't know how to find someone who would sell my like an online business, which is primarily what we focus on.
[00:37:56.040 --> 00:37:58.440] I say online digital tech enabled.
[00:37:58.920 --> 00:38:10.520] So most of the stories we cover are either media companies, agencies, SaaS, like software, or e-commerce.
[00:38:11.160 --> 00:38:16.360] And we kind of have started to broaden beyond that because we're getting inquiries from other types of companies too.
[00:38:16.360 --> 00:38:31.480] But one of the things we like to do is if you think about if you think you want to sell in the next year, first of all, I will do a free call with any founder who thinks they want to sell in the next year just to help you figure out like what you should do next and like, what path should you take.
[00:38:31.480 --> 00:38:38.040] And also, I could happy to share like any resources that we have that is applicable to that to that founder.
[00:38:38.040 --> 00:38:50.800] And then, yeah, often if they're in a position where it makes sense for them and their type of business to have an advisor to help them sell, we can connect founders to someone who has sold that type of business before.
[00:38:50.800 --> 00:38:51.920] Oh, that's so helpful.
[00:38:51.920 --> 00:38:52.880] That is an amazing offer.
[00:38:52.880 --> 00:38:54.320] So, we'll link out to that in the show notes.
[00:38:54.400 --> 00:38:58.240] Everyone knows how to connect with you if they want to take a call with you.
[00:38:58.240 --> 00:39:00.640] And, Lexi, what is your business model?
[00:39:01.680 --> 00:39:03.120] How does your business generate revenue?
[00:39:03.120 --> 00:39:05.440] And how did you figure out what the model should be?
[00:39:05.440 --> 00:39:06.000] Oh, man.
[00:39:06.000 --> 00:39:10.880] So, I've been running this business for three years, and we've tried a bunch of different things.
[00:39:10.880 --> 00:39:26.000] I knew going into it, I did not want to do services, and that's been tricky because I think that would actually be kind of an obvious route for what we're doing, like becoming a brokerage, for example, which we may do in the future, but at the moment, it's not on the cards.
[00:39:26.400 --> 00:39:35.680] Or even like coaching founders through how to sell or putting out lots of big courses about how to do this.
[00:39:36.080 --> 00:39:40.400] We have one course that, but it's a very short course, and it's only $99.
[00:39:40.400 --> 00:39:42.240] And eventually, at some point, we might even make it free.
[00:39:42.240 --> 00:39:44.400] So, it's like just an hour long.
[00:39:44.800 --> 00:39:47.120] I don't want to go like that route either.
[00:39:48.240 --> 00:39:59.360] So, and also, like, I spent a lot of last year working on what I had hoped would be our monetization model and it didn't work out.
[00:39:59.360 --> 00:40:00.720] We can go into that if you want.
[00:40:01.680 --> 00:40:08.560] But basically, I'd actually love, I'd love to hear about that because I think a lot of founders, you know, try to start with something and have to pivot because it's not working.
[00:40:08.560 --> 00:40:10.400] Like, how did you realize something didn't work?
[00:40:10.400 --> 00:40:14.480] How long do you give something to decide like this is this is not the way?
[00:40:14.480 --> 00:40:14.880] Yeah.
[00:40:14.880 --> 00:40:19.920] And I think a lot of this too comes back to like, I really want to build a business that I enjoy running that works with my life.
[00:40:19.920 --> 00:40:21.920] I pretty much work like 25 hours a week.
[00:40:21.920 --> 00:40:23.360] I have kids.
[00:40:24.560 --> 00:40:31.080] So, I think that's, and on the positive side, it's helped me figure out like, what do I do and don't want to do?
[00:40:31.480 --> 00:40:36.360] But on the negative side, I think it makes me automatically say, okay, these pieces are not for us.
[00:40:36.680 --> 00:40:51.160] And what I was really excited about for the first few years is building an MA platform that's kind of like Pitchbook, but would cover online businesses and businesses that sold for less than $50 million, which is where we play.
[00:40:51.160 --> 00:41:01.160] Because anyone who's in the space knows that it's really hard to find comps, like comparable transactions for these types of deals.
[00:41:02.280 --> 00:41:08.680] And we spent a long time building that and even like building up the team to build that.
[00:41:08.680 --> 00:41:13.800] And I kind of had a realization about six months ago.
[00:41:14.120 --> 00:41:15.640] There was a couple of things.
[00:41:15.640 --> 00:41:20.600] One was I realized to do this properly, I really had to go bigger.
[00:41:20.600 --> 00:41:23.320] I probably needed to raise money, which I didn't really want to do.
[00:41:23.320 --> 00:41:25.160] I don't want to build that kind of business.
[00:41:26.680 --> 00:41:30.680] And I just, I think it was overambitious in thinking that I could do this with a small team.
[00:41:30.680 --> 00:41:36.920] And it's really a much bigger project that needed, to do it well, needed to be funded better.
[00:41:37.800 --> 00:41:49.480] And the second piece was when I went out to try and get advisors interested in the platform, which I still think would be for the, if someone wants to build it, is like a fantastic resource for our ecosystem.
[00:41:49.960 --> 00:41:56.360] But when I tried to sell it to advisors, they all told me, oh, this is interesting, but we actually want something else.
[00:41:56.360 --> 00:42:00.520] And the something else they all wanted was to connect with founders who wanted to sell.
[00:42:00.840 --> 00:42:06.120] And it took me a long time of hearing this before I finally said, okay, we're doing that.
[00:42:06.120 --> 00:42:12.680] Because we were already kind of were connecting founders to advisors, but it was just like one of the portfolio of things that we did.
[00:42:12.680 --> 00:42:18.080] And the more I thought about it, I was like, doing that is basically a win-win-win.
[00:42:18.080 --> 00:42:23.280] Like the founders appreciate it because they have no idea how to find someone who has experience selling their type of business.
[00:42:23.600 --> 00:42:25.840] And I know that from personal experience.
[00:42:25.840 --> 00:42:29.360] And then the advisors appreciate it because they want to connect with people.
[00:42:29.360 --> 00:42:38.720] And often the people that we're connecting with them with, they're not like, you know, the high-profile founders that you see everywhere, right?
[00:42:38.720 --> 00:42:44.080] So it's like kind of a different type of founder sometimes that they wouldn't be able to connect with elsewhere.
[00:42:44.320 --> 00:42:47.440] And then if that connection works, it's a win for us too.
[00:42:47.440 --> 00:42:50.400] So now we're monetizing in a couple of ways.
[00:42:50.480 --> 00:42:54.000] We do sponsorships and we do referrals.
[00:42:54.000 --> 00:42:59.360] And so almost everything we create for founders is actually free, which is kind of cool.
[00:42:59.360 --> 00:43:02.960] So we can, the goal is really just like help founders as much as we can.
[00:43:02.960 --> 00:43:05.760] So it's like aligned with my values as well.
[00:43:05.760 --> 00:43:09.200] And then we make money from people who want to reach the founders.
[00:43:09.360 --> 00:43:16.240] And it means that I get to say to founders, like, I could be honest about, hey, you know, here's who I think would be best for you.
[00:43:16.240 --> 00:43:17.680] Here's who wouldn't.
[00:43:18.560 --> 00:43:25.440] And so far it's working, but we've only leaned into this hard in like the last six months.
[00:43:25.440 --> 00:43:25.760] Okay.
[00:43:25.760 --> 00:43:30.560] You'll have to come back and report back on how everything's going next year for sure.
[00:43:30.560 --> 00:43:38.240] Now, you mentioned, of course, you're a mom as well, and you have focused on building a business for the life that you want.
[00:43:38.240 --> 00:43:48.720] How have you really integrated everything with your business, with raising a family, and any advice you can share to what we call our mama pranistas out there that are building businesses and building families?
[00:43:49.040 --> 00:43:51.280] I feel like I'm still figuring this balance out.
[00:43:51.280 --> 00:43:54.000] And I have two kids, one's almost 10.
[00:43:54.000 --> 00:43:58.920] And I still feel like 10 years in, it's like a constant recalibration of figuring things out.
[00:43:58.560 --> 00:44:03.640] Like one thing that has worked really well for me is to do capacity planning.
[00:44:03.800 --> 00:44:16.920] So I'll sit down and I know the next couple of months for lots of things happening in our household, I'm pretty much going to have like maybe four, maybe three, maybe two days a week to work.
[00:44:16.920 --> 00:44:21.640] And so I kind of map that all out and then I say, what is actually reasonable to do in this time?
[00:44:21.640 --> 00:44:26.840] Like for March, I think I said I had 13 day working days or something.
[00:44:26.840 --> 00:44:32.200] And, you know, we pick my husband and I both, we're both entrepreneurs and we split the load evenly at our house.
[00:44:32.200 --> 00:44:36.680] So like one of us is picking up our kids usually around three or maybe four.
[00:44:37.160 --> 00:44:41.960] So even those days are not like, you know, full eight hour working days.
[00:44:41.960 --> 00:44:51.640] So I like to create that capacity list for myself so I can be realistic because my main challenge is like, I'm ambitious and I want to do all these things.
[00:44:51.640 --> 00:44:56.200] And then I get really frustrated when I can't actually do all those things.
[00:44:56.200 --> 00:45:03.960] So trying to come up with a plan that's realistic is usually my best way to feel happy in what I'm doing.
[00:45:03.960 --> 00:45:05.080] I'm with you on that.
[00:45:05.080 --> 00:45:11.080] Are there different business tools and solutions that you use to help you optimize everything in your business that you want to share?
[00:45:11.480 --> 00:45:13.080] Well, I love operations.
[00:45:13.400 --> 00:45:19.240] We use clickup, which I love how customizable that is for our content funnel.
[00:45:20.440 --> 00:45:24.840] We also do a lot of around email personalization.
[00:45:24.840 --> 00:45:31.160] So like when someone comes into our newsletter, we ask them questions about themselves and hopefully, they answer them.
[00:45:31.160 --> 00:45:34.840] And if they do, then we can deliver them content that's like actually for them.
[00:45:34.840 --> 00:45:41.880] So, for example, like we put together all sorts of reports, like we have a report about agencies that have sold.
[00:45:41.880 --> 00:45:48.960] And if someone comes to us and says, oh, they're selling an agency, then we can automatically deliver to them the agency report.
[00:45:48.960 --> 00:46:00.720] So, yeah, I like doing that because like we have, we have so much content, and it's it's it is hard to figure out like on our side, how do we give them what they need, but on the user side, how do they find what they need or even know what we have?
[00:46:00.720 --> 00:46:07.680] Yeah, so I love the idea of like if they can tell us about them, then we can give things that are actually helpful to them.
[00:46:08.000 --> 00:46:08.480] That's awesome.
[00:46:08.480 --> 00:46:10.160] So, I find that to be really fun.
[00:46:10.160 --> 00:46:12.400] What email service provider do you use?
[00:46:12.400 --> 00:46:15.520] We use kit, convert kit, yes, yes, yes, awesome.
[00:46:15.520 --> 00:46:18.320] Okay, which I've used for years, and I really like it.
[00:46:18.320 --> 00:46:23.760] I'd say I think we're starting to outgrow it in that, like, we need more of a CRM.
[00:46:23.760 --> 00:46:28.560] Um, but I love it for ease of sending um emails.
[00:46:28.560 --> 00:46:29.040] What are you doing?
[00:46:29.840 --> 00:46:31.280] We now use Cleavio.
[00:46:31.280 --> 00:46:41.280] I feel like we've used everything we were on MailChimp, and then we moved over to Cleavio to be able to do all of these different customizations and email flows.
[00:46:41.280 --> 00:46:51.840] Um, we've actually been looking at moving just our newsletter over to Beehive, so not like the full email marketing that we do, but our newsletter because they now have a actually do know about this.
[00:46:52.000 --> 00:46:54.880] Um, Beehive now has a whole ad monetization platform.
[00:46:54.880 --> 00:46:55.760] Oh, yes, I heard that.
[00:46:55.840 --> 00:46:56.720] Beehive, yeah.
[00:46:56.720 --> 00:47:01.600] So, so we're exploring that right now and always love hearing what other founders are using.
[00:47:01.600 --> 00:47:03.440] Any other business tools you want to share that you love?
[00:47:03.440 --> 00:47:05.840] We're also we also use clickup, which we love.
[00:47:05.840 --> 00:47:07.600] Yeah, click up is the best.
[00:47:07.600 --> 00:47:10.640] Um, I mean, I use Airtable a lot, and I love Airtable.
[00:47:10.640 --> 00:47:14.960] We use that, it's basically our CRM, that's what we were building the database in.
[00:47:14.960 --> 00:47:18.000] I okay, I will say we were using softer.
[00:47:18.000 --> 00:47:19.040] Have you heard of softer?
[00:47:19.160 --> 00:47:23.440] S-O-F-T-R to build the front end for the database platform.
[00:47:23.440 --> 00:47:26.240] So, we're not doing it anymore since we put that project to the side.
[00:47:26.240 --> 00:47:31.480] But I really love what they're doing, and I think it's makes it possible to build.
[00:47:29.680 --> 00:47:35.560] Like basically, I was able to build like a data platform.
[00:47:36.200 --> 00:47:45.400] I mean, I had a coach who kind of helped me figure out some of the hard parts, but basically built it myself, which 10 years ago would not have been possible for the complexity of what we were doing.
[00:47:45.640 --> 00:47:50.200] And they've really made it possible to build so many tools on your own.
[00:47:50.200 --> 00:47:52.600] So yeah, softer S-O-F-T-R.
[00:47:52.600 --> 00:47:53.000] All right.
[00:47:53.000 --> 00:47:54.040] We're going to look it up.
[00:47:54.040 --> 00:47:56.040] We'll link out to it in the show notes, everyone.
[00:47:56.040 --> 00:47:59.560] This is why I love asking this question because I love learning about new tools.
[00:47:59.560 --> 00:48:02.920] I feel like as a founder, like I geek out on what's everyone using?
[00:48:02.920 --> 00:48:03.480] How do we make things?
[00:48:03.880 --> 00:48:10.840] Especially because now it's like, it's so easy when you've been doing this for online business or 15 years to like still use the same things you used before.
[00:48:10.840 --> 00:48:15.160] And like there's so many great new tools now that make things a thousand percent easier.
[00:48:15.160 --> 00:48:19.960] I was doing an Instagram live with one of our members this morning who launched her business today.
[00:48:19.960 --> 00:48:23.560] And I asked her, her company is called Motet.
[00:48:23.560 --> 00:48:26.280] It's a baby sleepwear brand.
[00:48:26.280 --> 00:48:27.800] And I was like, how did you, what does the name mean?
[00:48:27.800 --> 00:48:28.600] How did you come up with it?
[00:48:28.600 --> 00:48:30.440] And she's like, ChatGPT.
[00:48:30.440 --> 00:48:31.800] She's like, the name I wanted.
[00:48:31.800 --> 00:48:35.720] My trade, but she said her trademark attorney said she couldn't use the name that she wanted.
[00:48:35.720 --> 00:48:38.680] And literally, ChatGPT named her business.
[00:48:38.680 --> 00:48:40.600] So it's just amazing.
[00:48:40.600 --> 00:48:41.800] Like all of these new tools.
[00:48:42.040 --> 00:48:47.080] Like, I can't even remember what it was like before all of these AI tools a few years ago.
[00:48:47.080 --> 00:48:47.400] Yeah.
[00:48:47.400 --> 00:48:48.520] I mean, they're popping up too.
[00:48:48.520 --> 00:48:51.880] And there's so many new ones to keep track of and just to try.
[00:48:51.880 --> 00:48:52.680] And yeah.
[00:48:53.000 --> 00:48:55.960] Are you using AI in your business at all with content?
[00:48:55.960 --> 00:49:04.040] We use Claude, which I like because you can make the project and you can like upload all of, I mean, I'll give you a specific example.
[00:49:04.680 --> 00:49:08.840] I'd say we use it more for, we don't usually use it for making original content.
[00:49:08.840 --> 00:49:10.840] We usually use it for repurposing content.
[00:49:10.840 --> 00:49:27.440] So, like, one of our reporters will write the story and then we'll say, can you help me create this, create a different version for the newsletter or for social or, or like, even for, I'm on LinkedIn a lot and I have a Claude project.
[00:49:27.440 --> 00:49:33.520] We've uploaded all my LinkedIn posts and I can say, like, can you take this one and make two new versions for me?
[00:49:33.520 --> 00:49:36.160] So I can see if there's a different version I want to try.
[00:49:36.960 --> 00:49:39.120] So I find it helpful for that.
[00:49:39.440 --> 00:49:41.200] Yeah, we love, we love Claude.
[00:49:41.200 --> 00:49:45.600] Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, all of these tools are like the best.
[00:49:46.000 --> 00:49:48.720] I don't know how to live life anymore without them.
[00:49:48.720 --> 00:49:52.560] Lexi, what is your biggest business secret?
[00:49:59.280 --> 00:50:14.160] I kind of talked about this earlier, but I think like making your business work for you and making it work around your life, there's so many opportunities to do that now and so many inspiring examples.
[00:50:15.760 --> 00:50:19.840] I think that's my biggest secret is like it doesn't, it's not just about your business.
[00:50:19.840 --> 00:50:22.320] It's about you and what you want.
[00:50:22.320 --> 00:50:23.280] Yeah, absolutely.
[00:50:23.280 --> 00:50:25.680] Build the business that works for you.
[00:50:25.680 --> 00:50:33.600] And just because someone else is doing something and it looks like they're successful, like someone else's success, like that might not be what you want.
[00:50:33.600 --> 00:50:34.720] And that is totally fine.
[00:50:34.720 --> 00:50:42.240] Build a business that you want and surround yourself with people like you, Lexi, who want to share all this awesome information and content.
[00:50:42.240 --> 00:50:44.960] And we can all come together to help each other.
[00:50:44.960 --> 00:50:46.480] Last question for you, Lexi.
[00:50:46.480 --> 00:50:49.280] What does being an entrepreneur mean to you?
[00:50:49.280 --> 00:50:50.720] Oh, I love community.
[00:50:50.720 --> 00:50:55.600] And I mentioned at the top of this podcast that I love supporting other female founders.
[00:50:55.600 --> 00:50:59.040] So if there's a place where I can do that, then that just makes me happy.
[00:50:59.040 --> 00:51:01.400] That's like, oh, that's, yeah.
[00:50:59.520 --> 00:51:06.440] And even talking to female founders who are thinking about selling, those are the best highlights of my week.
[00:51:06.520 --> 00:51:07.240] You can ask my husband.
[00:51:07.240 --> 00:51:09.240] I'm always telling him, like, guess who I got to talk to today?
[00:51:09.240 --> 00:51:12.280] Or like, guess who you won't believe what this woman is building.
[00:51:12.280 --> 00:51:13.400] It's like, it's so cool.
[00:51:13.400 --> 00:51:15.240] So I love hearing those stories.
[00:51:15.240 --> 00:51:16.360] Yeah, same here.
[00:51:16.360 --> 00:51:18.520] Well, where can everyone find you, follow you?
[00:51:18.520 --> 00:51:22.040] And for those that haven't yet subscribed to your newsletter, where should they head over to do so?
[00:51:22.040 --> 00:51:24.360] And we will link out to everything in the show notes below.
[00:51:24.360 --> 00:51:26.200] Yeah, we're at theygotacquired.com.
[00:51:26.200 --> 00:51:29.400] The newsletter is theygotacired.com slash newsletter.
[00:51:29.400 --> 00:51:31.400] And I'm on LinkedIn at Alexis Grant.
[00:51:31.400 --> 00:51:34.920] I sometimes go by Alexi, but on LinkedIn, I'm Alexis Grant.
[00:51:35.240 --> 00:51:39.000] Thank you so much for being here and sharing your story.
[00:51:39.000 --> 00:51:43.160] I'm Stephanie, and this is the best business meeting I've ever had.
[00:51:43.480 --> 00:51:44.760] Hi, Entrepreneurs.
[00:51:44.760 --> 00:51:45.800] It's Steph here.
[00:51:45.800 --> 00:51:52.920] And I hope today's episode has left you feeling inspired and with some actionable tips that you can apply to your own business.
[00:51:52.920 --> 00:52:00.280] The way we've grown our community and resources is by sharing content like this for years and asking for help along the way.
[00:52:00.280 --> 00:52:05.800] So here's where we need your help so we can continue to make as much impact as possible together.
[00:52:05.800 --> 00:52:22.840] If you can leave us a five-star review and extra credit if you share this episode on Instagram, LinkedIn, or DM it to a founder friend who would benefit from hearing it, not only would it mean the world to us, but you sharing this episode is going to help someone who just may need to hear what we share today.
[00:52:22.840 --> 00:52:25.880] And you know I love nothing more than giveaways and prizes.
[00:52:25.880 --> 00:52:32.600] So every month I'll be giving away a one-on-one session with me to someone who has shared the episode and left a review.
[00:52:32.600 --> 00:52:35.440] So send me a personal DM over on Instagram.
[00:52:35.440 --> 00:52:40.360] I'm at Steph Jill Carton once you've done it, so you can be entered to win.
[00:52:40.360 --> 00:52:45.000] Wishing you a productive week ahead and stay tuned for another impactful episode next week.