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March 2, 2018 |
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Harpaul Sambhi’s company was 8 days away from bankruptcy. So why would LinkedIn want to buy it for millions?
While still a student in university, Harpaul Sambhi had an idea about how to leverage social media networks as a recruiting tool, and Careerify was born. Bootstrapping the business himself, Sambhi reached out to his dad for financial support, and his dad signed over the value of their family home to his son’s vision.
Founding Careerify in 2009 right in the middle of the economic downturn, when companies were laying off employees by the thousands, forced the fledgling startup to pivot. They were struggling to scale the business and were only 8 days away from bankruptcy when they signed their first big customer.
Careerify began attracting clients like Deloitte, Unilever, and SpaceX, and within a year and a half, they went from $0 profit to millions. This rapid growth prompted Sambhi to put out feelers for “stronger alignment” with some of his contacts, and after receiving four Letters of Intent, he sold Careerify to LinkedIn in 2015.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Sambhi had a successful exit, but one of the things that had the potential to derail the process was how dependent his business was on the social media platforms that were essential to his product.
To maximize your company’s value, and to make sure you retain negotiating leverage, you want a business that could easily swap out suppliers. This is one of the three components of The Switzerland Structure, which is Module 8 of The Value Builder System™.
Get started for free by getting your Value Builder Score now.
Sambhi is an entrepreneur and current angel investor. He bootstrapped his first business, Careerify Corporation, to profitability. Careerify’s customers included Microsoft, Deloitte, Unilever, Blizzard Activision, and SpaceX. Careerify was acquired by LinkedIn in 2015, marking one of their first acquisitions outside of the United States. Sambhi joined LinkedIn and rebuilt Careerify, oversaw LinkedIn’s HCM initiative, and led product development for LinkedIn’s partner ecosystem in the recruitment space. After LinkedIn was acquired by Microsoft, Harpaul joined Microsoft’s Dynamics product team to build a best-in-class HR technology suite.
6 Things to Know Before Approaching an Acquirer
Touraj Parang has experienced the highs and lows of selling a company.
In 2009, Parang sold his first company, Jaxtr, for pennies on the dollar. He took the lessons he learned and joined Webs.com, where he helped Haroon Mokhtazarda sell his company for over $115 million.
Parang left Webs.com and joined GoDaddy as a leader in their acquisitions group, where they acquired dozens of companies during his tenure.
How to Make Your Email List Worth 7-Figures
In 2007, Laura Roeder started selling online courses on how to market through social media. Her courses gained popularity, resulting in Roeder growing an email list of around 70,000 people. Inspired to further serve her customers, she decided to create social media scheduling software.
It was one of the first social media planning tools that allowed you to schedule your social media content. Piggy backing off the list she had built from her online course business, the company hit $1 million in recurring revenue in only 11 months.
The Story Behind Jason Flick's $100 Million Sale to WarnerMedia
These days, you’re just as likely to watch a football game on a mobile phone as you are on an old-school TV. The technology that enables you to watch your favorite show on whatever device you have handy was made possible by Jason Flick. Flick co-founded a company called You.i TV with a vision to “own the glass.” He struck deals to provide the user interface, which enabled content to be viewed across devices with the likes of the NFL, NBA, and just about anyone else who produces original content.
Rick Day built Daycom Systems into a $23 million dollar business over a 17-year run. Daycom sold phone systems but the company had a problem: it had become too reliant on one supplier.
How To Sell A 12 Employee Company For 8-Figures
James Ashford had a burning drive to become an entrepreneur and start a successful business. After a failed attempt to grow a marketing agency, Ashford knew that to build the business he had always dreamed of, he needed to make some drastic changes.
In 2016, Ashford took what little was left after his business failed and invested £4,000 in developing proposal software for accountants which he named GoProposal. By 2020, GoProposal was a slick application with £1.5 million in revenue and hundreds of accountants using it. That’s when Ashford agreed to be acquired for a healthy 8-figure sum.
In 2013 South African entrepreneur Jason Bagley started Firing Squad, a lead generation company specializing in cold emails.
In 2020 Firing Squad signed an agreement to be acquired by Southern Web and was later rebranded to SiteCare.
The deal was something Bagley would later come to regret.
The Hidden Secret That Made This Company Worth A Ton
Ian Silverberg was considering acquiring a health club when he discovered a surprising lease that all but guaranteed his acquisition would be a winner.
The Inside Story Behind Sage’s 8 Figure Acquisition of a 12 Employee Company
In 2016, Ashford took what little was left after his business failed and invested £4,000 in developing proposal software for accountants which he named GoProposal. By 2020, GoProposal was a slick application with £1.5 million in revenue and hundreds of accountants using it. That’s when Ashford agreed to be acquired for a healthy 8-figure sum.
Inside the Mind of An Acquirer – Nathan Winch
U.K.-based Nathan Winch started his career as a private equity investor after selling his first company, Winch Pharma, in 2017.
Since then, Winch has acquired over 20 businesses, with a focus on logistics and infrastructure companies.
Turning a $2M Business Into a 9-figure Windfall in 3 Years
When Matt Schmeltz and his partners acquired CloudCraze, it was a simple software application helping businesses that use Salesforce.com manage their customer relationships. CloudCraze generated $2 million in annual recurring revenue, but Schmeltz & Co. figured it could do much more.
Rory Fatt began his entrepreneurial journey running marketing seminars for restauranteurs. After several owners approached Fatt to do their marketing for them, he decided to launch Royalty Rewards in 2005.
The business was a multimedia marketing platform that helped small businesses market their products and services by rewarding loyal customers. The company took off, hitting just over $2 million in revenue in its first year.
Inspired to achieve financial freedom, Fatt began to explore selling his company. In 2022, he accepted an offer from Schianti Partners that would set his family up for life.
Why Candy Banners Sold for a Mint
In 2014 Tim Grassin founded Candy Banners, which designs ads that show up along the top, bottom, and sides of a website.
Grassin built a remote team in the Philippines to minimize his costs. Hiring inexpensive developers allowed Grassin to charge lower rates to agency owners, resulting in rapid growth.
The business had grown to over seven figures in revenue in 2020 when Grassin received an acquisition offer from one of his clients, Native Touch. The offer valued Candy Banners at around five times EBITDA, and the deal closed in 2021.
