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Chris Savage - Buying Out Your Own Company
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Turing Fest
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July 05, 2023
Technology
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Chris Savage - Buying Out Your Own Company
Turing Fest
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July 05, 2023
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Transcript
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Buying Out Your Own Company https://linktr.ee/savagethoughts
Hello! 👋 I’m Chris Savage CEO & Founder at Wistia
https://linktr.ee/savagethoughts
Hi, we’re
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC In 2017, we raised $17.3M in debt
to do a leveraged buyout of our own company
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC How did we get here? And what
happened next?
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC How did we get here? 🪚
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Started bootstrapped Started in 2006
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC 2010 Raised $1.4M in Angel Money
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC We focused on getting profitable Once that
happened we started focusing on long term stuff
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC We hit $10M in Revenue with $3M
in EBITDA
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC We started running at a loss 💸
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Looked pretty good from the outside
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Looked pretty rough on the inside
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
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Missing a forecast ⛈
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Missing a forecast ⛈ -150K -75K 0K
75K 150K 225K 300K January February March April
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Where are we now? 10 years in
$17M in ARR -$4M in EBITDA 82 Employees
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Three offers to sell 💰
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC What do we do now? 🤨
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC The Buyback 👔
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC We did a tender offer 💸
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC What happened next? 🐎
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC The re-alignment began 🛠
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC We introduced profit sharing 🍰
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Painful reality 😰
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC 1:1s with everyone 🗺
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Positive changes 🚀
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Culture coming back
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Retreats
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Growth 📈 Revenue growth rate increased Gross
margins improved by 4% $10M swing in EBITDA in one year
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC We were aligned, creative, and energetic 🔋
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Hiring was easier ✅ Everyone business focused
✅ People believed in independence ✅
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC We underestimate the power of focus and
alignment
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC A few of years of smooth sailing⛵
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC COVID 🦠
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Our market became early stage again 🌅
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Our strategy was becoming unclear 🤷
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Video hosting and analytics for SMBs Our
Strategy ♟
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC All-in-one video marketing platform for B2B mid-sized
businesses Our Strategy ♟
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Our Values ⚖
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Invest more 🤑
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Re-introduced Equity 🪙
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC It’s working 🏎
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Paid off our debt 💸
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC What have I learned? 🧠
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Things take longer than you think We
underestimate focus When you make big changes, go for it
SUBTITLE, NAME, ETC Thank you! 🙏 https://linktr.ee/savagethoughts