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.
[reunion]
AT MY 20TH high school reunion several years ago, they called me ?Tree,? that charming nickname from the class of 1980.
At the reception my husband was way more popular than I, just as back in high school Jody and Becky and Polly were.
And one classmate loudly delivered this choice line: ?Well, I see everyone has gotten fat except for Lynn.? (My name is not Lynn.)
But at the Upsize Growth Challenge reunion June 25, times were sweet. To celebrate five years of this unique contest, we invited the alumni from seasons one through four to join the three 2008 winners.
They showed up true to type and reminded me why I love this contest so much: Mix an entrepreneur with an ambitious goal and expert help to reach it, and you?ve got a group that could be voted most likely to succeed.
A fact: Of the 12 winning companies in seasons one through four, only one is not operating anymore, which is a statistic that runs counter to the small-business failure rate.
So who was there? The irrepressible Craig Kruckeberg of Spray Control Systems, king of the one-liner and master of an enviable cash balance. Convinced by our experts to quit working in the business and start working on it, he?s about to spend some of that cash as he hunts for his company?s first acquisition. ?I?m scared to death. I?m freaked out about it,? he says about his plan, but you know he?s really loving every minute of his new adventure.
The brainiac Gary Smith of Innovatech Labs, who?s added SEO, or search engine optimization, to his bag of tricks, and credits that effort with increased revenue. He captured the esteem of our accounting experts in 2005, when he became a devotee of cost accounting, using the analysis to figure out which of his company?s lab tests were priced too low. The results are profit margins more than double what they were pre-contest.
There were other types among the alumni, too: The promoter, who asked to squeeze just one more guest into the free company table. The pragmatist, who took a part-time job to keep the business going longer. The heir-apparent who had just been tapped to take over daily operations, but who didn?t get the invitation to the event in time to attend because the company?s founder neglected to pass it along.
Everyone had a kind word to say about Upsize and the contest sponsors for helping them reach their goals. Everyone shared a tale about progress they?ve made and obstacles they?ve overcome since winning the Upsize Growth Challenge. No one called me Tree.
Who says you can?t go home again?
? Beth Ewen
Editor and co-founder
Upsize Minnesota
be***@*******ag.com
