{"id":4910,"date":"2019-12-12T13:55:16","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T11:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dazzlepop.net\/site\/?p=4910"},"modified":"2019-12-12T13:55:19","modified_gmt":"2019-12-12T11:55:19","slug":"capital-market-readiness-is-the-key-to-long-term-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dazzlepop.net\/site\/capital-market-readiness-is-the-key-to-long-term-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"Capital Market Readiness Is The Key To Long Term Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I\u2019ve taken a departure from my usual, interview based column to talk about a concept that has been recurring a lot in my discussions with entrepreneurs<\/a> who build fast growth companies. It\u2019s a foundational growth strategy<\/a> – a way of building your business that attracts capital and creates stability while fostering growth at the same time. It\u2019s called Capital Market Readiness, and it can dramatically alter the trajectory of your business<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the entrepreneurs that I meet own businesses in transition<\/a>. They\u2019re past the start up stage, experience success that supports their owners\u2019 lifestyles, but have not grown into large companies worth tens of millions or more in revenue. Doug Tatum<\/a>, advisor to CEO\u2019s of emerging middle market companies and an expert in capital markets calls this transition \u201cNo Man\u2019s Land.\u201d In his award winning book, aptly titled No Man\u2019s Land<\/em>, Doug talks about this difficult phase where many companies go to die, and what it takes to push through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo survive this phase [transitioning from a small company to a large one] in a company\u2019s life cycle, entrepreneurs must step away from the day-to-day and subject their businesses to a rigorous, objective analysis.\u201dDoug Tatum\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A capital market readiness strategy is part of that objective analysis. My long time mentor (who sold two businesses for a combined $270 million), serial entrepreneur, Norm Brodsky, describes the concept in one sentence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou should build [your company] as if you were going to have it forever and yet, at the same time, build it so that you could sell it tomorrow for as much money as possible, even if you don\u2019t intend to.\u201dNorm Brodsky <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building to sell means growing in a very intentional way that constantly adds to your company\u2019s enterprise value. As a thought exercise, determine the answers to these questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n