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Chris Savage - Buying Out Your Own Company

Chris Savage - Buying Out Your Own Company

Turing Fest
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July 05, 2023
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  1. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Buying Out Your Own Company
    https://linktr.ee/savagethoughts

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  2. Hello! 👋
    I’m Chris Savage
    CEO & Founder at Wistia
    https://linktr.ee/savagethoughts

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  3. Hi, we’re

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  4. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    In 2017, we raised $17.3M
    in debt to do a leveraged
    buyout of our own company

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  5. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    How did we get here?
    And what happened next?

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  6. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    How did we get here? 🪚

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  7. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Started bootstrapped
    Started in 2006

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  8. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    2010
    Raised $1.4M in Angel Money

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  9. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    We focused on getting profitable
    Once that happened we started
    focusing on long term stuff

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  10. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC

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  11. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC

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  12. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC

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  13. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    We hit $10M in Revenue with $3M in EBITDA

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  14. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    We started running at a loss 💸

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  15. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Looked pretty good from the outside

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  16. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Looked pretty rough on the inside

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  17. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    “We talk a lot about short-
    term revenue now.
    Watching revenue and reacting to it
    is good. Basing all our work around
    its near-term movement is bad.”
    - VP of Engineering

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  18. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Missing a forecast ⛈

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  19. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Missing a forecast ⛈
    -150K
    -75K
    0K
    75K
    150K
    225K
    300K
    January February March April

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  20. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Where are we now?
    10 years in
    $17M in ARR
    -$4M in EBITDA
    82 Employees

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  21. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Three offers to sell 💰

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  22. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC

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  23. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    What do we do now? 🤨

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  24. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    The Buyback 👔

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  25. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    We did a tender offer 💸

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  26. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    What happened next? 🐎

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  27. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    The re-alignment began 🛠

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  28. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    We introduced profit sharing 🍰

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  29. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Painful reality 😰

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  30. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC

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  31. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    1:1s with everyone 🗺

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  32. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Positive changes 🚀

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  33. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Culture coming back

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  34. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Retreats

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  35. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC

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  36. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Growth 📈
    Revenue growth rate increased
    Gross margins improved by 4%
    $10M swing in EBITDA in one year

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  37. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    We were aligned, creative, and energetic 🔋

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  38. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Hiring was easier ✅
    Everyone business focused ✅
    People believed in independence ✅

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  39. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    We underestimate the
    power of focus

    and alignment

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  40. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    A few of years of smooth sailing⛵

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  41. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    COVID 🦠

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  42. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Our market became early stage again 🌅

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  43. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Our strategy was becoming unclear 🤷

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  44. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Video hosting and analytics for SMBs
    Our Strategy ♟

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  45. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    All-in-one video marketing platform for B2B
    mid-sized businesses
    Our Strategy ♟

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  46. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Our Values ⚖

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  47. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Invest more 🤑

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  48. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Re-introduced Equity 🪙

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  49. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC

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  50. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC

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  51. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC

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  52. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    It’s working 🏎

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  53. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Paid off our debt 💸

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  54. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    What have I learned? 🧠

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  55. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Things take longer than you think
    We underestimate focus
    When you make big changes, go for it

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  56. SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
    Thank you! 🙏
    https://linktr.ee/savagethoughts

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