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.
John Folkestad, co-owner of Salo LLC in Minneapolis, is a big believer in education for entrepreneurs.
He is one of 60 and the only Minnesotan in the class of 2007, for the “Birthing of Giants” program, sponsored by Inc. magazine, Young Entrepreneurs Organization and MIT.
About 300 people apply each year, and their companies must have $1 million in revenue minimum. It’s a three-year program, and they meet for education once a year for about five days.
“The main thing is getting entrepreneurs out of their business, and then entrepreneurs getting together,” Folkestad says. This year the founder of Boston Chicken spoke, among others, about what makes businesses fail and succeed.
“You glean things from people like this,” he says. Reached just a few weeks after returning from the session, Folkestad says the company is already implementing things learned.
“We formally hired a controller. She’s strong everywhere I’m weak, in process,” he says.
They’ve also created a detailed system for hiring people for their own firm, something they had for clients but not for themselves. He used to do a couple of reference checks. “Now I won’t hire anyone without 10 references,” Folkestad says. “Yes, that takes time, but it costs much more to get the wrong person.”
Also new: They pay $25,000 to internal people for referrals: $5,000 the day the person starts, and $5,000 on each of four anniversary dates as long as they’re both still there.
Salo, which places financial professionals temporarily and permanently with companies, grew from nothing in 2002, to $3.4 million in ’03, $11.4 million in ’04, and $22 million to $26 million in 2005.
“It was shoot from the hip, which is what I do,” Folkestad says, about the old way he ran his firm. “ I can’t be the limiting factor for our firm.”
When he and Amy Langer started the company, they attended the University of St. Thomas FastTrak program, which he raves about. He urges other entrepreneurs to seek education.
“I run across a lot of entrepreneurs that are focused on their day-to-day existence and they’re not looking at the future. We’ve asked a lot of people for advice. One, it’s a lot more fun, and two, they’ll be a lot more successful.”
The Birthing of Giants program, which cost $3,100 this year, has one more bonus, he says: it attracts people from all over the world. “I’m talking to a guy who runs a medical device company in Russia,” he says. “This guy has a massive property in the Ukraine. He’s invited us bear-hunting in February,” a trip that Folkestad thinks he’ll decline. “I’m more of a hotel kind of a guy, but what a neat opportunity.”
John Folkestad, Salo LLC: 612.230.7256; in**@*****lc.com; www.salollc.com
