Jay Sachetti joined Jeff O’Brien, partner at Husch Blackwell and Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president of Exit Planning Strategies talked about the market for mergers and acquisitions, exit planning opportunities for companies that don’t end up for sale and how companies can maximize their eventual sale price during an early October panel at the first Upsize on Tap event at Summit Brewing Co. in St. Paul.
When the state Legislature passed a law requiring employers to provide paid leave and safe time for employees, Justin Bieganek started hearing differing details from friends, colleagues and peers.
When Upsize co-founder Beth Ewen wanted to take a step back from editorial duties a few years back, she reached out to me and a couple others to measure our interest in taking over. I’ve always loved the magazine, so I immediately replied back in the affirmative.
That earned me an interview with Wes Bergstrom, another co-founder and the majority partner at the time. We met at Broadway Pizza in Richfield. The meeting was not what I expected.
Of the 90 or so minutes we spent together, we talked about journalism for maybe 30 minutes. I think he was willing to take Beth’s word for my skill set in that area.
We spent the remainder of the time talking about music, which I enjoy but don’t study enough to discuss in-depth manner. And we talked about sports, about which I am a passionate fan and can discuss ad nauseam. He wondered about my thoughts on fixing the Gopher basketball team, who the Vikings should look at drafting and whether I thought the Twins had a chance to break through that season.
Clearly, he wanted to know whether our business meetings would have to be all about business. We reached an agreement shortly thereafter. And we talked as much these past couple years about fixing his Gophers cagers as we did about fixing any challenges facing the magazine.
I enjoyed working with him the past few years and I’m sad to report to those who have not heard, he passed away last March. His unexpected death and the COVID-19 pandemic put us on hiatus.
While these are certainly not the circumstances under which I had hoped to take on this role, I am happy to report that the hiatus is over. I, along with two business partners, have acquired the magazine. And we’re ready to re-start. I’ll be taking on the roles of editor and publisher. Co-owner Jonathan Hankin should be familiar. He’s staying on from the previous ownership team as design director. Co-owner Dan O’Connell joins the magazine as chief financial officer with a background in accounting and finance.
You won’t see a ton of obvious changes, at least at first. The feedback I’ve gotten so far is that people generally like the look of the magazine and its content. We know we have some work to do on our website and our multimedia presence, which we will be rolling out in the weeks and months ahead. And we plan to be a bit more visible, both in terms of getting out to some small business events (as public health scenarios improve) and in terms of reaching out to you to see whether you might fit as a partner in some way going forward. If you’re interested, please reach out to me, if I don’t reach out to you first.
Finally, to answer the question I have most often gotten since the business deal closed (even my mom asked this first), Beth will soon be reclaiming this spot in the magazine. She’s taking a few months off to get caught up on some other projects. And she has opted not to continue in an equity role. But she plans to return soon in a columnist/copy editor/adviser role to help make sure Upsize is what we all want it to be.
It’s been a challenging year for Upsize, as it has for many of you. But, also like so many of you — some of whom we’re honored to profile in this issue’s cover story — we’re finding our way through, figuring out how we need to “pivot” and making plans for what we’re going to look like now and in the future. I’m looking forward to hearing from you with ideas.
