From Founder to Corporate Executive

There’s no playbook for the time after a founder sells their startup. Every person has different goals. My goal was to create as much value for the acquirer as possible, have a significant impact on an industry, gain valuable experience leading large teams at a bigger company, and prepare myself to start and lead a new business that could grow into an enduring and influential company. While at Unity, my influence and impact grew from leading the company I co-founded, Parsec, to eventually reporting to the CEO and overseeing 30+ products, Unity’s cloud and operational infrastructure, more than $100M of revenue, and 600+ people. Since I just left Unity after a three-year stint and am starting to work on a new company, I thought I’d share my experiences in case it helps other founders figure out what to do post sale.

Before the acquisition was completed, I wanted to make sure I had the option and the right setup to be able to learn in my new role. This was one of the reasons I thought Unity was the right acquirer for Parsec and for our team to be successful. After the stressful and marathon process of selling the company completed, I had to choose whether or not to invest in my new role. It’s easier to step back and “rest and vest.” But I wanted to learn and have a greater impact than that. Even with that goal, it was still a challenge for me to accept my new identity, not as an entrepreneur, but as a manager at a big company. I tapped into my network to learn how to reconcile the difference between my perception of self and the new role at Unity. While it was a consistent struggle to reconcile my identity with my role during my time at Unity, with help from several people at the company, I realized that I had a lot to offer through my orientation toward action, questioning the status quo, and shaking things up. I just needed a reality check and helpful guidance on how to fit into the corporate culture first. Once my role expanded, I learned the power of several communication tools and the importance of building trust with my leadership teams quickly.

I’ll share more details and stories about those experiences over the next few posts. With this series, my goal is to help other founders understand what they can achieve and learn post acquisition. For what it’s worth, following my time at Unity, I have a lot more confidence in my ability to lead a company that grows well beyond the impact that Parsec had. I learned how to work better with a diverse group of people and use communication and trust to drive action across that team. Beyond that, I also want the stories that follow in the next few posts to give credit to the hundreds of unbelievably talented folks at Unity who I worked with and learned from during my time there. I believe we achieved a lot together, and it would not have been possible without the world-class team that is dedicated to democratizing the creation of games.