From Launch to Exit: Navigating the Acquisition Process w/Pawel Brzeminski

Podcast

Summary

In this episode, host David Cristello interviews Pawel Brzeminski, the founder and CEO of Snap Projections. Pawel shares his journey of launching, growing, and successfully exiting his company. He discusses why he chose not to raise money from venture capitalists and instead opted for an acquisition. 

Pawel also provides insights into the process of reaching a scale where the company becomes an acquisition target and shares his experiences afterward. Tune in to learn from Pawel’s story and his successful arc with Snap Projections.

This episode is sponsored by LiveFlow.

LiveFlow empowers you with flexible, powerful reporting tools to create customized dashboards that meet your specific needs. Connect to all your clients’ QuickBooks accounts and import their financial reports from QuickBooks into Google Sheets in no time. Learn more and book your demo here. 

What you’ll learn

The listener will learn about Pawel Brzeminski’s experience of launching, growing, and successfully exiting his company, Snap Projections. 

They will gain insights into the process of reaching a scale where the company becomes an acquisition target and what life has been like afterward. 

You will also learn about the speaker’s background and motivation for helping people manage their finances, as well as the challenges and lessons learned from previous business ventures. 

Additionally, the episode covers Pawel’s experience in trying to raise capital, the decision-making process behind selling a company, negotiating the terms of the acquisition, and the challenges and adjustments that come with starting and scaling a business after acquisition. 

The benefits and challenges of being acquired by a larger company are also discussed, along with the importance of visibility and autonomy in post-acquisition relationships.

Guest Bio

Pawel Brzeminski is the founder and CEO of Snap Projections. Pawel has achieved great success in launching, growing, and successfully exiting his company. He has a strong ethos of reaching acquisition scale and shares insights on the unexpected process of getting acquired. 

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Detailed Synopsis

The podcast episode delves into effective strategies for growing small and medium-sized businesses while maximizing returns for accounting firms and CPAs. 

David introduces the episode as part of a series aimed at assisting global, small, and medium-sized businesses in scaling up and increasing profits. Which can be applied to your firm. 

Throughout the episode, the importance of maintaining accurate accounting and metrics within a business is emphasized, along with the need to be prepared for potential acquisitions.

In the episode, Pawel shares insights on the advantages of outsourcing finance and accounting, as well as legal services, which can save both time and money. 

Pawel discusses the process of reaching a scale where a company becomes an attractive acquisition target, as well as what life is like after the acquisition. 

This leads to talking about the fundraising process, founders often face the dilemma of whether to sell the company or pursue an investment from a strategic partner. In some cases, strategic partners may propose integrating the company into their organization rather than simply making an investment. This raises questions about whether the company should actively seek acquisition opportunities or continue with the investment process.

To navigate the acquisition process successfully, they discussed enlisting the help of M&A consultants and took the initiative to educate themselves on M&A acquisitions, despite having prior experience in this area. 

They also brought on board an ex-CEO of a public company who possessed valuable knowledge of how companies operate, leading the acquisition process. This allowed them to focus on running the company and ensuring its continued growth and success.

Pawel shares an interesting insight that public organizations may perceive acquired companies as more competitive. This revelation emerged during conversations throughout the acquisition process. 

Regarding the acquisition itself, the host explains that it initially began as a discussion about investing in the company and potentially transitioning to a majority stake. However, it was discovered that public companies prefer full acquisitions rather than minority investments. 

As a result, the acquisition process was expedited, and the host had to adjust their expectations regarding raising funds. Ultimately, the acquisition made sense for both the host and the team, as there were significant synergies between the two companies.

Timestamps

[00:01:57] Financial advisors and planners.

[00:04:28] Company acquisition process.

[00:08:25] Acquisition and Founder Worries.

[00:09:27] Shaping your own career path.

[00:12:39] Timing and successful acquisition.

[00:15:47] Automated multi-entity consolidation.

[00:20:17] Entrepreneurship and health struggles.

[00:21:54] The challenges of having kids while running a startup.

[00:29:12] Launching a new line of business.

[00:30:57] Autonomy post-acquisition.