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CONCLUSION
Those with the most successful exits have
several things in common: they were clear
on their motivations and objectives before
preparing to sell; they chose the right exit
option for them and their business; and
they began maximising capital value early.
Crucially, they got the best advice they could
afford early enough in the process to get the
best result at the end – giving themselves
options for the lives and lifestyles they
wanted after exit.
Amongst the growing exit community within
The Supper Club, members have built a
range of portfolio careers, from investing
or mentoring to retraining or starting new
ventures. Some are doing all of these things
and more. The Club supports them with
special interest groups and associated
events; regular connections through their
Membership Managers; our Investment Club;
and roundtables with guest experts to share
their advice and experiences.
Thank you to our members who shared their
insight in this guide, and to our supporting
partners for advice our members regularly
benefit from. We hope this tour through
the process helps you prepare for the best
outcome by asking the right questions.
LIFE AFTER EXIT: MIKE CLARE
SETTING UP A CHARITY
After successfully
building and selling
Dreams, I set up the
Clare Foundation,
which is a charity
that helps other
charities to become
more efficient and
work smarter. People working in charities
are generally decent and honest but often
hopeless with things like negotiation,
business plans, and knowing when to
take risks. But a charity is essentially
a business, with HR, IT, admin, and the
whole middle section of administration is
just the same.
We even run a charity incubator; they
come under our umbrella before they
incorporate. We also help charities
amalgamate and collaborate where there
are too many doing the same thing and
the same sort of cause. It’s good fun,
it’s working well, and hopefully it’s doing
quite a bit of good.
LIFE AFTER EXIT: ZACK FEATHER
BECOMING A NED
When moving onto
the next thing I was
tempted to just
jump in, but had to
hold myself back. In
my own business,
Asclepius Global,
growth was rapid.
We went from zero to £62m in seven
years before selling to Blackstone. I
learned quickly, but I also made big
mistakes; both have helped me scale
other businesses and avoid similar errors.
For me, it’s not necessarily about finding
the best ‘unicorn’ or even just finding the
best product, but above everything else,
finding relentless people who are driven
to succeed. I look at the business to see if
it’s basically in good shape, if the product
is solving an issue that I can resonate
with, and it’s an exciting business that I
can make a difference in.
When you run your own business, you’re
very focused on that one thing but now I
have to run in 6 or 7 directions, which is
mentally hard to deal with. I’ve looked at
lots of different businesses and currently
sit on the board (and am invested in) 6
or 7. They’re all really exciting and run by
young, up and coming people.
Board meetings are really hard now as
you need a different skill set and to be
much more diplomatic. You have to be
almost like a fatherly figure, nurturing
more than driving through the process.
There’s a risk that they can become a bit
dependent so you have to empower them
to make decisions – getting people to
achieve success for themselves.
It’s important to differentiate yourself
from other employees from the outset,
and clearly define your relationship
otherwise you’ll end up doing everything!
That’s quite hard for me. Culturally,
you’re the most senior person in the
business; but it’s not yours so you have to
keep some distance.
The businesses I’ve invested in and am a
NED for tend to find me. I started going
to networking events, investment days,
and through word of mouth it started to
get around that I was looking and now
people get in touch with me.