How One Key Hire Helped Dimple Up Their Value By 500% in 2.5 Years
April 6, 2018 |
Want to increase the value of your business by up to 71%?
Take the 13-minute survey and get your Value Builder Score
About this episode
Subscribe:
Teetering on the brink of liquidation, a key hire at Dimple led to a dramatic turnaround that resulted in a $13.4M exit.
Damien James started Dimple in 1997 to help people living in aged-care facilities by visiting them and offering podiatry (foot care) services.
He built the company to $200k EBITDA when he realized his company might need a different kind of executive in order to keep growing.
James hired a new CEO, and together they grew the company to $11M in revenue and $2.4M EBITDA in just over two years. That’s when Zenitas Healthcare acquired Dimple for $13.4M.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- The signs that someone on your management team may be a “bad apple”
- Clues to spotting a rain-maker during the hiring process
- How strategic acquirers position themselves for purchase
- Options for structuring an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)
- A clever tactic to avoid an earn out
- Pitfalls to avoid after the sale
James scaled his business by offering a unique service to old age homes, which made Dimple attractive to a strategic buyer who wanted to offer other services through the same channel. Module 2 of The Value Builder System™ helps you identify a unique service of your own with the most potential to scale up the fastest. Get started for free right now by completing Module 1.
Our guest
Damien lives in Melbourne – the official sporting capital of the world – and loves the ‘Mighty Tiges’ who finally won their first AFL Premiership in 37 years last September. 4 weeks earlier Damien sold his business for $13.4 million, which was valued at a $2.54 million just 2.5 years earlier. Damien is enormously grateful to have experienced this special sequence of events and describes it as the best 3 months of his life.Related to this topic
Raising Money? Avoid This Sleazy Investor’s Trap
Barry Hinckley founded Bullhorn with his two partners. They raised three rounds of financing and went on to sell for $135MM in 2012. Hinckley and his team raised money from family, friends, and venture capitalists and have the scars to prove it.
How the Fine Print in an Acquisition Offer Can Leave You Penniless
Before the pandemic, fancy salad bars were popping up in major cities across the US, making the category one of the fastest-growing sectors of the restaurant industry. Despite their popularity in major cities, when Ana Chaud moved to Portland, Oregon, she was surprised to see a shortage of good salad options.
Getting Acquired Doesn't Have to Be a Blood Sport
Our show is all about maximizing your take from the sale of your business. We're about helping the seller outmaneuver the buyer to maximize the seller's take from an exit. We think it's a noble cause, but every once in a while, a guest reminds us that selling a business doesn't have to be so confrontational.
Business Exit Lessons Learned After Interviewing Hundreds of Entrepreneurs
Listen now to hear the lessons Bo Burlingham has learned after interviewing hundreds of entrepreneurs regarding their business exit.
How to Get Negotiating Leverage When You’re Desperate
Chris Muench started C-Labs in 2008 to go after the burgeoning opportunities presented by the Internet-of-Things (IOT).
How Matchmaking By Microsoft Led To One Of 2018’s Biggest Technology Deals
Mergers can be painful. But when Mitchell Feldman was approached by Microsoft about merging with another company, the result was a match not even HPE could resist.
3 Ways to Untangle Yourself from Your Business
Debbie King was running on a treadmill so familiar to service company owners. Her company, Association Analytics, helped associations make sense of their member data, and she was wasting time on proposals that often did not get accepted. Then, when King did win a project, she was creating a custom solution for every job that required her to hire senior-level staff and personally get involved in client work. The model put a cap on her business, and when she reached 20 employees, she decided it was time to get out.
The Backstory Behind Dream Water's $34.5M Exit
David Lekach started Dream Water; a natural sleep aid bottled in a 5 oz shot similar to the famous 5-Hour Energy Drink. Lekach built Dream Water up to almost $10 million in annual revenue before selling it to Harvest One, a cannabis company, for $34.5 million in cash and Harvest One stock.
Nathaniel Broughton grew Spread Effect to a $4 million company in only four years — so why would he sell for a rock bottom multiple?
Lessons From a A £20 Million Exit
Have you ever stayed in a fancy hotel and wondered how much they pay Aveda for those little bottles of shampoo? Turns out, there is a company called Pacific Direct that acts as a middleman between the hotel chain and the company supplying the shampoo.
Walking Away From an 8 Figure Exit
Josh Davis started Spirit of Women, a marketing agency selling content about women's health to hospitals. Davis built the company up to almost $10 million in annual revenue when he kicked off a process to sell it, which he hoped would garner an offer of around 7x Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA).
Lee Gregory built Sir Lines-A-Lot, a company that paints lines on highways, to 40 employees. It was blue-collar work, so when Gregory learned his company could be worth north of eight figures, he decided it was time to sell. During this interview, Gregory drops dozens of knowledge bombs for aspiring value builders.