Press on Early Exits

Exit planning: Reap the rewards of entrepreneurship - The Globe and Mail

"‘For most owners, selling the company is the biggest transaction of their lifetimes,’ Dr. Peters says. ‘Unfortunately, most owners get less than they could - often many millions less. The biggest reason is that they didn’t have a good exit strategy. A well-designed and executed exit transaction often adds 50 per cent to the final selling price.’

As he explains, owners are often too busy building their business to think much about leaving it.‘Exits are the least understood part of being a business owner,’ he notes. ‘Managers will often develop and execute dozens of product strategies, financings or sales plans during their careers. But even veteran managers will only be involved with a few exits.’

The solution is to think of the end right from the beginning. ‘In many cases - possibly the majority - owners wait too long to exit,’ he says. ‘Ideally, companies should have a written exit strategy before the company structure is complete, and certainly before the first financing. A clear exit strategy will literally affect business decisions made almost every day.’"

Read the rest of Thane Stenner’s August 24, 2009 article here.

Exit strategy essential for entrepreneurs - The Okanagan Saturday

"Some companies should be started with the ending in mind.

‘Yes, entrepreneurs should definitely think exit as they start a company,’ said Early Exits author Basil Peters during a stop in the Okanagan this week.

‘If an entrepreneur and a company has an exit strategy right from the beginning, then they tend to be more successful and reach their goals sooner.’

The key with exits is to sell when times are good."

Find the PDF of Steve MacNaull's June 20, 2009 piece here.

Nine Books to Read Before the Recovery - TheStreet.com

"Peters is an experienced venture capitalist, who recently spoke at the Angel Capital Association conference. The book is focused on exit strategies, the top concern when an investor writes a check. It's a good read about what entrepreneurs should ask for and expect from investors."

Check out Nine Books to Read Before the Recovery by Marc Kramer on TheStreet.com at this link.

The Frank Peters Show - Basil Peters on Early Exits

"For early-stage angel-backed deals it's been a measure of success when VCs come along and invest in the next round.

Angel investor Basil Peters suggests we re-think that outcome, ‘I think that there are things that have changed which angels should think carefully about, in developing the financing strategy for the companies in which they have invested and, even more importantly, to think about before they make their next angel investment.’

As VC funds have grown to an average of $300 million, this means the math for each deal ‘increases the minimum exit valuation... probably into the hundred million dollar range.’ Angel investors will be waiting for years for these exits.

Basil discusses his new book: Early Exits, Exit Strategies for Entrepreneurs and Angel Investors (But Maybe Not Venture Capitalists). It’ll make you think..."

Listen to the full interview on the Frank Peters show at this link.

Don't Cross the Streams by Stephen Fleming - Excerpts

"Fascinating pair of events in Atlanta this week… the DLA Piper ‘Venture Pipeline’ and the Angel Capital Association annual summit.

The most interesting discussion so far was led by Basil Peters. He’s crunched a lot of numbers in writing his book Early Exits and come up with some non-intuitive conclusions.

The interests of angel investors and venture capital investors are inexorably diverging. That’s a big deal. It has the potential to change the dynamics of the entire early-stage investment market."

The full text of Stephen Fleming’s outstanding article (and some fascinating comments from his readers) is available here.

How I Nearly Blew the Biggest Deal of My Life - EO Octane June 2009

"As an entrepreneur, fund manager and veteran of business sales, there is one thing I know to be infallible: Exits are the least understood part of being an entrepreneur. I know this because I almost blew it when I sold the first company I co-founded. It wasn't until I had completed another five or 10 business exits that I understood all of the things I did wrong."

Read the entire PDF here | Watch the video of Basil's EO talk here.

National Angel Capital Organization - About Basil Peters’ new book: Early Exits

Basil Peters, noted British Columbian investor and entrepreneur, has recently authored a book titled Early Exits: Exit Strategies for Entrepreneurs and Angel Investors (But Maybe Not Venture Capitalists).

The author’s intent for this book is to fill the gap that exists between currently available books for retiring entrepreneurs looking to sell out, and venture capitalists who may control all the terms and conditions of an exit from the start.

According to Mr. Peters, exits are often completed when companies are only two or three years from startup, and the largest number of exit transactions today are in the under $30-million valuation range. As the fund manager for Fundamental Technologies II, an angel investment fund in British Columbia, Mr. Peters can draw upon a wealth of personal experience to deliver a rewarding read.

This is the link to the full post on the National Angel Capital Organization site.

Angel Capital Education Foundation - Ask an Angel: Early Exit Options

Exit opportunities have changed dramatically over the last few years. Basil Peters, fund manager for Fundamental Technologies II (an angel fund) and member of angel groups in Canada and the US, encourages angel investors to recognize that the opportunity for earlier exits exists and to build strategies to capitalize on it.

ACEF: Your book, Early Exits, will be coming out in a few weeks. It is about angel investors and entrepreneurs creating more successful, more frequent, and more profitable exits. We take it you aren’t writing about IPOs?

BP: No. I’m talking about $10 to $30 million exits for angel-backed companies that are often less than five years old when they are acquired by corporations.

The full interview by the Angel Capital Education Foundation is available here.