HoldCo Builders From Broke At 31 To $100 Million Exit by 50 (Alexis Sikorsky Interview)
Sep 27, 2025
In this insightful discussion, Alexis Sikorsky, an entrepreneur who achieved a nine-figure exit from his software company, shares his remarkable journey from launching West Africa's first ISP to navigating the pitfalls of growth and survival during economic downturns. He discusses his innovative APEX methodology for advising founders on successful exits, emphasizing the importance of agility and planning. Alexis also reveals the transformative power of M&A as a growth strategy and reflects on personal lessons learned throughout his entrepreneurial endeavors.
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From Internet Café To Software Founder
- Alexis started the first ISP and internet café in West Africa and grew it rapidly before political conflict forced him to leave.
- He then retrained in IT, taught adults, bought a training company, grew it, and later founded New Access which became a software firm.
Sudden Exit And Complete Restart
- Alexis fled Senegal after his partner died amid a conflict with the government and returned to Geneva with nothing.
- That reset pushed him to learn IT, teach, and later buy and grow a training business into a software company.
Success Masks Fragility
- Rapid growth felt euphoric before 2008, but the banking-focused software business was fragile to macro shocks.
- Client concentration and zero war chest turned a crisis into six years of survival struggles.
