My guest on this episode is Brandon Kuchta, the former CEO of Analytical Technologies Group, which provides repair, maintenance, and contract services for lab instruments. I say former because he sold ATG last October, and today's episode is going to cover all things selling a company from determining the right timing, what is typical in a process, and communication across stakeholders. We also talk about life after the sale, including Brandon's consulting period with the new owners and how operators can relax and give themselves a well-deserved and often much-needed break. Enjoy.

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Links:

Brandon Kuchta on LinkedIn

Seven Springs Partners

Topics:

(2:31) - What was the business you ran and what was the process for selling it?

(4:09) - How did you know it was the right time to sell the business?

(7:03) - What advice did you get from other folks about selling a business and planning for life after the sale?

(8:27) - How long was it between deciding to sell and selling the business? 

(9:25) - What sorts of things would you do to prepare to sell a business if you had a 2-3 year runway?

(13:12) - Would you run a business differently if you knew you would be selling it?

(14:39) - What made you decide to hire a bank to represent the company instead of going directly to buyers?

(16:18) - How did you filter which bank you would partner with?

(19:41) - What types of offers were you fielding?

(22:11) - What were the typical terms you saw for seller financing?

(23:38) - How did you think through rollover structures within offers?

(26:04) - What were some expectations buyers had if they wanted you to roll over some equity?

(27:48) - What was your thinking on a strategic sale vs. a PE sale?

(29:33) - How do you think about communicating the process of selling with different stakeholders?

(34:28) - What was the reaction from your team when you announced the sale?

(36:32) - What did the consulting agreement look like?

(38:41) - What is your role today?

(39:16) - How have you relaxed and decompressed as the former CEO?

(43:31) - What are your health and fitness plans?

(49:10) - What’s a strongly held belief you’ve changed your mind on?

(50:59) - What’s the best business you’ve ever seen?