Lonely at the Top

One of the most common themes I hear when talking to successful business owners is that it is lonely at the top. This was reinforced during one of my recent podcast interviews when I was talking to a founder, Tony Keating, who shared a story about a particularly difficult period in his business. Tony co-founded Resapp, a business that commercialised technology that diagnosed respiratory illnesses via a recording of a patient’s cough. While the business was ultimately acquired by Pfizer in 2022 for $179 million, the journey to get there was a difficult one.?

As he told the story, I was particularly interested in who he turned to for support during that toughest of times. He said his lawyer was great to talk to and his investment bankers too. While I am sure they were great, these are not fields traditionally associated with an empathetic ear and emotional support in times of trouble. I asked if he talked to other founders who had been through a similar situation before. His answer was no, when you are in the middle of running a business and in the heat of battle it’s difficult to develop those types of relationships with your peers.?

I was interested because as our podcast has grown, we have formed great business relationships with our guests - a growing list of exceptional founders and business leaders here in Australia. It’s clear to me that there is a huge wealth of knowledge and experience within our ‘podcast alumni’. I’ve been thinking about how best to bring that group together in a way that is most valuable to them. After talking to a founder who anticipates selling their business for over $100m in the next 12 months about their private investments, I realised what would be most valuable to our podcast guests and our future guests.?

We have the perfect mix of founders who have created and sold huge businesses, as well as founders who are working their way through that process. We also have founders who have decided not to sell and keep their businesses privately owned. That is a rare group opportunity to bring like-minded business owners together. Some who have been there and done it at the highest level and others who are about to. It’s a perfect mix of experience and knowledge to be able to share with those who need such rare advice the most.?

So, the plan for the second half of 2024 is to bring together a small group of 10-15 successful business owners for a private boardroom lunch to discuss the decision-making process around selling or not selling their business. Those that have been there and done it have a wealth of knowledge, real-life examples and tips and traps to share, that you only learn once you’ve been through it. But more than that there is also the transition phase to explore when it comes to the post-exit impact on your life. This is a massively under-researched area and all too often I hear stories of how difficult this phase is for founders.

For example, when a founder sells and suddenly has a large amount of money, what made them an exceptional businessperson is often their biggest weakness as an investor. They want to act fast and move quickly when making investment decisions. But that’s a recipe for disaster. Time and time again I’ve seen people lose millions from their first few investments post-exit before they realise their mistake and put in place more robust decision-making processes. My advice once the money hits your account is simply to put it on term deposit for 3-6 months and just decompress. Then look at your next steps.?

Many of you reading this are exactly who we want to bring together in this type of forum, you either run a very successful business or have sold one. I have started conversations with many of our podcast guests in the past few weeks and the support for the idea is fantastic. Whether you are an existing client, podcast guest or a friend of our firm, we would love to hear your thoughts on how we can build on this concept in the months and years ahead. I would love to hear your feedback and thoughts on this idea.?

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