Dear BTF Community,
In opening this latest issue of the BTF Insider, you may have noticed what we’ve been working on behind-the-scenes here at BTF for the last bit – a new design and feel for both our newsletter and our conference brand. We’ve been excited and proud of this refresh, and continue to be committed to bringing this community the same quality content you know and expect from BTF with a new look!
In this interview, Polly Craik, Co-Founder of Vexxit, discusses:
- Selling her previous business after 25 years;
- The importance of knowing who the buyer is: and
- Realizing there are many different paths in a business transition.
Enjoy,
Mark
Today when someone refers to a tech startup, you may picture a young person sitting behind a computer writing code. But think again.
After building and evolving her last business (FineLine Solutions) for more that 25 years, the time came in 2015 for Polly Craik to sell it to a much larger company that could take it to the next level.
She says it was the right decision for the business, its employees and its customers at the time.
“As an entrepreneur, retirement was never contemplated and in 2016, a conversation with a great visionary over a cup of coffee, blew oxygen onto the simmering entrepreneurial embers and years later at age 50++ I have the privilege of being part of a passionate team of extraordinary people as we prepare to launch Vexxit Inc.,” says Craik, Co-Founder of Vexxit.
Craik is chair of the Business Transitions Forum in Winnipeg on October 16.
Last year, she sat on a panel at the Forum discussing the sale of her previous business.
“It’s interesting because it’s a different journey for everybody in talking about the process and also about life after selling your business. That was what piqued my interest in this Forum. It would have been great to have access to it before I sold my business,” said Craik. “And just learning from others who were willing to share their experience.”
Vexxit, which she is involved with now, has a goal to provide accessible and transparent legal and accounting services for all, helping customers reach peace of mind and check items off their to-do lists.
Craik described the period of selling her former business as “an emotional roller-coaster.”
“Probably sold our business a little sooner than we had planned. It was the right buyer and it was the right thing to do for the business and for employees. We were on a journey to look for somebody to acquire it. It deserved to be put into the hands of a larger enterprise. We were getting a lot of pressure to have offices in the U.S. because that’s where our clients were. And just felt it was the right thing to do,” she said.
“So when the right buyer came along we moved very quickly and we were 100 per cent out. We did end to end within four months we had our first conversation until we were out of our business that we had built and grown for 25 years.
“But we had processes in place and had a good solid management team. They kept all our employees. We had certain criteria we felt were important and the buyer that we sold to ticked all those boxes. But then happening so quickly it was like your life changes overnight and we really didn’t have time to plan for what came after.”
Craik says looking back on the experience she learned that there are “so many different ways to climb a mountain and every path is different.”
“Really reach out and do your due diligence in advance and explore all options. And start early. Preparation. It takes years,” she says.
“And understanding from the buyer’s perspective. Every buyer is different. What is in their best interest? How do you find the right match? Do you want to sell outright? Do you want to transition to employees? Just a lot of searching while still running the business and staying focused on it. And not allowing your mind to shift to anything else but looking after the business while doing whatever your next step is as a side project.”
When transitioning a business, relationships count, she adds.
Mario Toneguzzi is a veteran of the media industry for more than 40 years and named in 2021 a Top Ten Business Journalist in the world and only Canadian. He also made the RETHINK’s global list as a Top Retail Expert 2024.