Sold last year (2 founders) to a very focused private equity fund from a weak position - We were bootstrapped and profitable but large competitors entered the space and we were slowly losing the battle.
From financial perspective it was personally a good deal. Now have a 3-year non-compete for a specific field. The new owner is doing well with a larger team, resources and synergies between their other investments.
One aspect that's not very often covered is the psychological side which was very hard for me. Soon after closing and moving forward, I absolutely felt lost, more than ever before - Kind of lost my purpose? No customers to care about, weaker connection with earlier team mates and professional friends from the industry, a lot of free time and no hecticness I used to have.
Started working on something new, validated and built the 1st version of the product, got very light traction but didn't find a profitable model for it. Had investment offers on table to get funded but declined as we were not confident about the business case.
Now investing slowly, doing the things I like more intensively (skiing & climbing) and trying to understand what would the next professional/entrepreneurial step be and what I want in life.
How hard is it to build something new while under a non-compete?
I understand you can find new areas to work in, but I imagine you'd think back to previous work and be tempted to make connections to that field, or use some of what you built previously in the new context.
Is it difficult, or is it just a completely separate problem space?
From financial perspective it was personally a good deal. Now have a 3-year non-compete for a specific field. The new owner is doing well with a larger team, resources and synergies between their other investments.
One aspect that's not very often covered is the psychological side which was very hard for me. Soon after closing and moving forward, I absolutely felt lost, more than ever before - Kind of lost my purpose? No customers to care about, weaker connection with earlier team mates and professional friends from the industry, a lot of free time and no hecticness I used to have.
Started working on something new, validated and built the 1st version of the product, got very light traction but didn't find a profitable model for it. Had investment offers on table to get funded but declined as we were not confident about the business case.
Now investing slowly, doing the things I like more intensively (skiing & climbing) and trying to understand what would the next professional/entrepreneurial step be and what I want in life.