When approached by an inventor with 7 patents for a new giant fake tree hunting blind, Clint Fiore went out on limb (a very lifelike tree limb) and quit his current job to raise capital, build a prototype, find an angel investor, manufacture, market, and sell what would eventually become Nature Blinds.
If you listen, you will learn:
- The process of getting a start-up company going
- What it is like working with angel investors
- Opportunities and downfalls that may come with angel investments
- The trouble with valuing a start-up company
- How Clint sold ownership interest and exited his business
- How he leveraged his skills and migrated into buying and selling businesses in the middle market
Nature Blinds Comes to Life
Clint Fiore was an aviation specialist, pilot, and insurance salesman from Texas. He was a self-proclaimed business junkie but at this point in his life, was not a business owner and definitely not a hunter.
“So here I am, this salesman for an insurance company who is reading business books and all of a sudden I get connected with this dreamer, inventor, artist guy who has patents and knows how to make cool looking stuff but doesn’t know how to do a business. I guess I read enough books by that point where I was like, you know what, I can do that.”
Clint raised money for a prototype of the new age hunting blind which was basically a hyper realistic looking tree that hunters could hide in. He found an angel investor who saw opportunity in the Texas exotic hunting ranch market.
Within a year, the company went from 6 to 50 employees, hit over 2 million dollars, and despite some bumps along the way, continued to grow.
Valuing and Exiting Nature Blinds
Being a minority owner of the company, Clint didn’t have control of the vision or direction of the company.
The company started to succeed in more than just hunting blinds. They started selling smaller consumer products that had mass market appeal. Cash was thin because of earlier manufacturing issues so the angel investor, who had ownership in the company, was willing to invest millions more in the company. Great! The catch was that he wanted to be in the driving seat.
“He who makes the gold, makes the rules.”
Clint was given a buyout offer. This was personally rough for Clint as he helped to start the company and get it to where it was.
Clint describes his buyout offer as “fair” but has a hard time putting a value on the start-up. They had millions of fans, were in 25+ states, had intellectual property, etc. How can you put a price on that?
Texas Business Buyers
After a forced exit from Nature Blinds, Clint searched for what he was going to do next. He owned, operated, and sold a technology start-up before looking to buy another business.
Looking online was easy but getting a business broker to call you back was the hard part. He realized how disjointed the business brokerage industry was and wanted to change it. Texas Business Buyers emerged and put a new spin on the process.
Listen and learn more about Clint’s journey and exit of his first company and the start of his newest venture, Texas Business Buyers.
Contact Information and Bio for Clint:
Email: clint@texasbusinessbuyers.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clintfiore/
Twitter: @clintfiore
Texas Business Buyers Website: https://texasbusinessbuyers.com/
Company Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/texasbusinessbuyers/
Facebook Tag: @texasbusinessbuyers
Main Office Phone or Fax: 210-774-6800
Founder and President of Texas Business Buyers, Clint Fiore, has a unique combination of entrepreneurial, executive leadership, and high-tech systems experience. He has utilized these attributes to create a first-of-its-kind business that systematically removes the mystery and obstacles associated with finding a business, buying and financing the business you want, preparing your existing business for sale, and marketing your business efficiently to its next owner.
Clint is in the sweet-spot to bridge the gap between Buyer and Seller. He’s old enough to have real-world experience as an entrepreneur and have been in your shoes as a business owner, yet young enough to fully-understand the needs of today’s young and tech-savvy business buyers.
His experience includes:
- Founding Partner of a Texas-Based, 50 employee, Manufacturing Company that launched two national consumer brands each with multi-million dollar sales and nationwide distribution.
- Successfully sold ownership interest of founded company.
- Has raised 7-figures of Angel Investment for two different startups, both still operating successfully.
- Former Vice President of a successful startup technology and social media company currently valued over $20M with users in dozens of countries.
- Former Public Speaker that has spoken in over 20 US States to over 100,000 live audience members.
- Three years experience as the #1 Commercial Broker for the largest privately-held Aviation Insurance Agency in the USA. Many high net worth, aircraft-owning clients and small business relationship in the Aviation world.
Clint lives in the Texas Hill Country with easy access to Austin and San Antonio (as well as Kerrville, Fredericksburg, Marble Falls, Boerne etc). He’s also a private pilot and flight instructor and travels around the state frequently. He’ll happily come to meet you at your business or a local coffee shop or restaurant nearby, anywhere in the state.
He and his wife Melissa have 4 wonderful children; Amelia, Sophia, Cecilia, and Jetson. Clint grew up in Wichita Falls where he was part of his family’s 4th generation family business, Smith’s Gardentown Farms. He also holds a Professional Aeronautics Degree with minors in Business Administration and Navigation from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.