An Entrepreneur’s Journey to a Sale

Have you ever wondered what the entrepreneurship journey looks like? There are a lot of components! Today we’re going to be talking to Kelly Caldwell. Kelly is a successful entrepreneur who started with a wildlife science degree and working in a zoo and ended up growing her business to $25 million in revenue and then sold it to a public company. She’s got a great story, and you won’t want to miss it!

In this episode, you’ll learn:

The first decision that Kelly made in order to jump into entrepreneurship with both feet.

Information about Kelly’s early career experience that led to her starting her own business.

Some of the challenges and milestones that Kelly met shortly after starting her business, including how she handled the cash cycle.

The direction that Kelly wanted to go in as the business grew, as well as how she shifted from growth mode to big-business mode.

Some of the considerations that Kelly had to keep in mind as she looked forward to selling, as well as what she thought the probable outcome would be once she sold.

How Kelly kept her employees in mind as she considered interested buyers.

What Kelly wanted in terms of both price and terms from a sale and how it turned out.

The emotions that Kelly went through when she went through the sale and integrating with the new company.

One thing that Kelly might have done differently on her entrepreneurial journey.

What Kelly is doing now in her life after business.

The entrepreneurial process is different for each of us, this is true. However, there are some core similarities all entrepreneurs share: we start with a passion to do or fix something, discover a niche for it and then exploit that opportunity in the best way possible.

Meet Kelly Caldwell, co-founder of AK Environmental, who saw the opportunity to delve into the niche market of environmental assessments (predominantly for the energy industry), and who managed to have a successful exit from her company 12 years later. So how did she do it?

Develop the Right Relationships

As with all great entrepreneurs, Kelly recognized her limitations. She entered into a partnership with her friend Amy who had strengths in the areas Kelly did not — Amy did sales and client retention, all the business-building stuff, and Kelly tackled the financial side. Each was incredibly happy with this setup since it played to their natural talents and interests and kept them working together.

To top that off, they had excellent communication. Throughout their entire business relationship, they kept the communication lines open for everything from run-of-the-mill business issues to more complex conversations about future development and exit planning. Amy, for example, was ready for retirement after the ten year mark; Kelly was ready to exit the company, but unsure if she would continue working after or not. The two of them had open and honest conversations about the situation and came to the mutual decision of selling their company — provided they could find the right buyer.