Planning an Exit.. or just Exit Curious?

1. Building a Business for Exit
the prequel…

2. GRAHAM’S BACKGROUND
• 50+ M&A deals
• Former CEO/MD of Faro, FiveTen, Greythorn, Robert
Walters, TMP, HW Group, Badenoch & Clark
• Sits on a number of boards including Brightsparks,
Coppergate, CXC, cube19, Ebsta, Evolution, Executives in
Africa, IMS, JCW, Profiles and Ventura
@grahampa

3. DAN’S BACKGROUND
• Sold Broadbean to DMGT in 2008
• Founder of cube19, raised c£2m to date
• NXD at Ebsta & previously Chairman at Recruitment Juice,
involved in fund-raises for both
• Investor and M&A advisor for several technology
businesses
@dan_mcg

4. WHAT WE’RE COVERING
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Operational/tactical advice to build an outstanding business
Key success factors
Real life examples to improve profitability
How to get a shot at an extra £20k in fees per recruiter by doing less work
WHAT WE AREN’T COVERING
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Most of what we covered last year

5. LAST YEAR’S TAKEAWAYS
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Getting ready to sell
Choosing the right advisors
Practical tips
Managing the roller-coaster
Avoiding potholes
Have a plan – be realistic not idealistic
Earnouts & succession planning
Warranties, Indemnities and Disclosures
Deal breakers
Prepare your due diligence
What a ‘successful’ exit looks like

6. What’s at Stake? Fast 50 2009: Where are they now
ANALYSIS OF HOW FAST 50 2009 ENTRANTS ARE PERFORMING IN 2013
Declining Performance 26%
Administration 6%
Distressed
M&A Event 4%
Successful
M&A Event 16%
Continued Growth 48%

7. The Goal of a Scalable & Replicable Model
4 Key Success Factors
Be clear on what you are
& what you aren’t
Have a model that
delivers consistent
recurring profit
Hire good people
& keep them
Understand & measure
what really drives
your business

8. •
Be clear on what you are
& what you aren’t
What type of business do you want (and what do you
have)? Be realistic not idealistic
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What markets do you specialise in? Be specific
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Do you & the rest of the management team have clearly
defined roles and responsibilities? Make the tough
decisions now
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If you have partners do you always share decision
making? It could be holding you back
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Does your decision making relate to your company
strategy & end goal? Are you aligned & will it make…

9. •
Do you believe you devote enough time to recruiting
and retaining your own staff?
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Do you know your cost of replacing staff? Lost revenue,
fees, training etc
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How are your staff motivated and incentivised? Is it in line
with the company strategy & objectives?
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How do you know your staff are happy? When did you last
check?
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NXD’s? Set the bar high
Hire good people
& keep them

10. • Create a culture of fact-based decision making
• Use your data to create a model which isn’t
dependent on you
• Use data to gain a competitive edge (examples
coming up…)
• Model your star performers (the outlier myth)
• Create the Playbook
Understand & measure
what really drives
your business

13. The #1 Vanity Metric Harming Your Business
Example 1
Amount left on the table:
£546,000

14. F***!

15. The #1 Vanity Metric Harming Your Business
Example 2
Amount left on the table:
£651,000

16. The #1 Vanity Metric Harming Your Business
Example 3
Amount left on the table:
£1,075,000

17. • What type of business do you have? (Contract v.
Perm, International etc.)
• Are you in control of cash? For existing AND
growing?
Have a model that
delivers consistent
recurring profit
• Are you keeping your best staff?
• Business Development strategy?
• Tax & compliance?

18. Don’t forget your
due diligence
bundle

19. Scalable & Replicable
Be clear on what you are
& what you aren’t
Have a model that
delivers consistent
recurring profit
Hire good people
& keep them
Understand & measure
what really drives
your business

20. QUESTIONS?