March 19, 2024

Bob Falahee’s Founder’s Journey: 15 years Building SunPro Motorized Awnings & Screens from Day 1 to a Strategic Exit

1 hour 12 minutes

In this episode, we interview Bob Falahee, the recently exited founder of SunPro Motorized Awnings & Screens.

Bob’s entrepreneurial origin story starts in Michigan, where he was a sales leader for a semi-truck trailer manufacturer. Bob and his family left behind the cold winters of Michigan for Florida, where he founded SunPro with $36,000 in seed capital. He went on to expand SunPro from a local retractable awning business to a wholesale manufacturing leader in the category.

The conversation reviews SunPro's founding story, its strategic growth and his daughters' pivotal involvement on the finance and retail sides of the business. We also dive into the mind of the founder on the exit process. When did Bob start thinking about exiting? What drove his timing and thinking? How did he start learning about what goes into a successful exit? Bob recounts the impact of cultural fit in selecting an investment banker and walk through how he thought about strategic succession planning and M&A preparation.

Discussion points:

Bob’s first exit from a successful Michigan semi-trailer business

Family relocation to Florida and the search for a small business

Turning a partnership with a local awning business into a new company

Growing the business with dealer-centric service

Streamlining production via software and improved delivery

SunPro's strategic growth and family-driven retail expansion

The importance of five-star reviews for business growth

Preparing for an exit

Cultural and expertise alignment in investment bank selection

The structure of the sale to Hunter Douglas

Post-exit personal transformation and venturing into new businesses

Masters in Small Business M&A is produced by the team at Axial (www.axial.com). Axial makes it easy for small business owners to confidentially discover, research and connect with top-ranked M&A advisors and capital partners. In every episode, we explore the vast world of small business M&A, interviewing a mix of proven and emerging owners, operators, acquirers, and M&A advisors whose strategies and methods are being put to the test.

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Resources:

Bob Falahee LinkedIn

SunPro Manufacturing

Peter Lehrman LinkedIn

Axial Website

...more