S E L L I N G M Y D I G I TA L A G E N C Y: T H E J O U R N E YA L E X C O W E L L

T H E B E G I N N I N G O F T H E J O U R N E Y

Degree in Oceanography with Marine Biology, University of Southampton

Worked for dot com boom agency 2000-02

Moved to Brighton & founded Cubeworks 2002

T H E N E X T C H A P T E R

Sold Cubeworks to MBA in June 2013

In middle of ‘earn out’ with MBA until January 2016

Founded a new business - Sponsorworks, global SaaS sponsorship management platform

LONDON - MIAMI - BRIGHTON

T H I N G S I ’ L L C O V E R ( B R I E F LY )

1. What’s your strategy?

2. Planning for sale

3. The sale process

4. Merging

5. My top tips

1 . W H AT ’ S Y O U R S T R AT E G Y ?

– T E D T H O M A S M A N A G I N G PA R T N E R , S U N E X I T A D V I S O R S

“It’s almost like the military: before you go in, you want to know how you're going to get out.”

W H AT R O U T E W I L L Y O U TA K E ?

Trade sale

Succession plan

Lifestyle business

Transition e.g. services to product

IPO

2 . P L A N N I N G F O R S A L E

– O N E O F M Y A D V I S O R S

“You only sell your business once.”

Q U E S T I O N S T O A S K Y O U R S E L F

1. Who might buy your business?

2. What products & services would add value to their business?

3. What size business would suit these buyers?

4. What do you need to change or add to your offering?

O N A P E R S O N A L L E V E L

★ If you are critical to the business, can you extricate yourself in advance? [No = earn out (probably) / Yes = you’re free!]

★What are you going to do next?

K E Y FA C T O R S T O M A X I M I S E VA L U E

1. Profitability

2. Maintaining competitive edge

3. Resilience

4. Scalability & growth potential

5. Culture

6. Brand equity (esp. if brand name will remain)

– J A C K G A R S O N !

A U T H O R , H O W T O B U I L D A B U S I N E S S & S E L L I T F O R M I L L I O N S

“If you've got all this, people will be banging down the door to buy your company.”

G E T A L L T H I S T I D Y ( N O W ! )

Detailed forecasts & quick access to business data

Contracts for all client projects

Staff contracts up to date

Contractors - be careful of NI liability

Operations & staff manuals - get it all down

Office lease - be aware of potential costs, break clauses etc.

Office environment - spick & span

Expenses - no messy personal expenses

3 . T H E S A L E P R O C E S S

A D V I S O R S Y O U ’ L L N E E D

1. Deal broker - critical for a trade sale, less so otherwise

2. Accountant / Tax advisor - may be same person or two people

3. Specialist lawyer - in digital & M&A

D O I N G T H E D E A L AT T H E B E S T T I M E

When is the right time in the market to sell?

★Find & stay in touch with an industry M&A broker. Get to know one a few years before you plan to sell.

What is the minimum deal for shareholders & when could you achieve this?

★You must be prepared to walk away if you don’t get this.

T H E A C T U A L P R O C E S S

Your #1 aim: get an offer (ideally more than one to create competition)

1. Prepare short sales prospectus

2. Send it to target buyers & arrange meetings

3. Present really tight story to buyers

4. Get offers

B U T D O N O T F O R G E T…

★The deal might not happen…

★…so don’t ever take your eye off your business - it can take 6-12 months, a long exhausting time

T H E N E G O T I AT I O N

Broker is key in initial stages

Might want a second advisor to complement the broker for any sticking points

Question the buyer as much as they question you. (Get business plan & forecasts. Ask around in the industry to see what they are really like.)

After heads of terms, you need a great lawyer. Still a lot to negotiate.

4 . M E R G I N G

Q U I C K T I P S O N M E R G I N G

★Remember during any tough negotiation you might have to work with these people

★Ensure deliver unified message across board - internal & external

★ It’s all about relationships - avoid any ‘them’ & ‘us’ - throw some parties!

★Use social technology to unite multiple locations - we just replaced Yammer with Slack (it’s brilliant)

I N S U M M A R Y

M Y T O P T I P S

1. Be clear on your strategy

2. Start preparing your business today

3. Be clear on what you want

4. Rally trusted advisors around you

5. Enjoy the ride! It’s an exhilarating experience.

T H A N K S

alex.cowell@mba.co.uk@alexcowell

Feel free to send me any questions.

LONDON - MIAMI - BRIGHTON