CEO Exit Strategy Tips From One Of The Top 40 Under 40

Wind Mobile founder Anthony Lacavera has started 12 businesses, six of which he has exited. His exits have ranged in value from the $6 million he got for one of his recent start-ups to $1.3 billion when he sold Wind Mobile. He did it by following two key CEO Exit Strategy tips.

•           Understand what kind of company you are running

Lacavera has owned hyper-growth unicorns and lifestyle businesses and urges entrepreneurs to be clear about their long-term prospects. Lacavera started a business supplying hotels with internet access and understood the company would be a good cash generator, but would never sell for a mint. He ran the business for almost two decades and used the cash it generated to fund various other ventures. Recently, he finally sold the business, which was generating $1.5 million in pre-tax profit, for $8 million—a relatively modest 5 times earnings, which was fine by Lacavera, because it had served its purpose of funding other companies along the way.

•           The role of CEO and owner are not the same

Lacavera encourages entrepreneurs to separate the role of CEO and business owner. Even though they may be the same person, they have different functions and, at some point, your business may be better served by separating the two roles. Entrepreneurs who are comfortable handing the reins to a professional manager may do better in the long run than those who need to control everything.

Lacavera had great success, which is visible in the fact that he has won just about every business award there is, including 2010 CEO of the Year, Top 40 Under 40, Deloitte Technology Fast 50, and Canada’s Fastest-Growing Company. One of the top secrets to Lacavera’s success — knowing when to bring in a CEO to replace himself in any of his ventures.

For more information on the Value Growth Partners CEO Exit Strategy, contact us today at (312) 525-8382 or visit our ceo exit strategy page.

Do You Want to Learn CEO Succession Planning Best Practices?

Did you know the ideal timeline for succession planning is 5 years? It is possible though for the unexpected to happen and if/when it does, a CEO succession planning best practices is to have a game plan i.e. a succession plan all lined up and ready to go to ensure continued success with your business.

Take a look at the CEO Succession Planning timeline here:

THE SUSTAINING PHASE

Begin this phase 2-3 years in advance. The executives are preparing to thrive under the new leadership; Right Mindset, Future Outlook, Organization's Sustainability, Updated Strategic Plan, Executive Team Assessment, and Internal Team Candidates.

THE TRANSITIONING PHASE

Begin this phase 6-12 months before the leadership transition and consider overlapping with the Sustaining Phase. The organization embarks on the executive search process for the successors that may include board members, management team, and executives. Extensive work is done with transition planning.

THE ONBOARDING & SUPPORT PHASE

The heavy lifting is completed within the first 3-4 months of this phase but the hand-off process continues over a 6-12 month period. The board and senior management team access and adjust to the new leader’s management style and leadership role.

CONTINUED SUCCESS PHASE

The succession preparation and planning process should begin as early as possible. However, there are cases when you do not have the luxury of 4-5 years to plan. In these cases, it is best to have a contingent succession plan in place in the event that an emergency arises.

Value Growth Partners is here to assist with all of your succession planning needs. Request a 15-minute consultation with Value Growth Partners now to set up your ceo succession planning.

"Becoming part of the Playrix family is a great honor for Cateia Games," said Cateia co-founder Dejan Radic.

Free-to-play mobile developer Playrix has acquired Croatian studio Cateia Games for an undisclosed amount.

Based in Zagreb, Cateia boasts a staff of 40 and mainly develops time management sims and point-and-click adventure games for PC and Mac.

The studio has been rebranded as Playrix Croatia, and has begun development on a new free-to-play mobile game,

"Becoming part of the Playrix family is a great honor for Cateia Games," said Cateia co-founder Dejan Radic.

"We are one of the oldest studios in Croatia, so this is the start of a new and exciting era for our team as well as a great opportunity for the local gaming scene to grow and prosper."

Playrix co-founder Dmitry Bukham said: "The talent of the Cateia Games team combined with our resources and expertise gives Playrix Croatia significant opportunities to create a new mobile hit for millions of players around the world."