My guest today is Vicki Raport, one of the founding members of Quantum Retail Technology. Vicki was on the front lines of Quantum’s sale. The story she has to tell is impressive and is a clean-cut example of how a company sale should happen. We discuss the journey Vicki and her partners took to build a successful business and how they kept a delicate balance between five (yes, five) founders. They pivoted the business from a SaaS to an Enterprise model, Vicki explained how they reached that decision and what it meant for the business as a whole.

If your goal for your business is to build a lucrative company and then sell it, Vicki’s story is inspirational and fascinated.

You will learn about:

Vicki’s background and the career change that was the beginning of Quantum Retail Technology.

How Vicki used skill sets to find the right people for her team.

How Quantum Retail Technology pivoted into “deployable software.”

The pros and cons of Enterprise software and what is it?

What triggered the sale plans.

How Vicki and her team planned for the company sale.

The failed attempt to maximize the business.

The importance of being intentional in business.

The team’s goals for the company sale.

How to hire the right investment banking firm.

Why the chosen buyer was a good fit.

How Vicki and her team handled running the company during the sale negotiation.

How Vicki’s employees responded to the sale.

What Vicki would have done differently.

The importance of hiring the right lawyer.

How to cope with emotional and mental drain during a sale.

Today’s show highlights some very interesting and useful points for any entrepreneur. Not only did Vicki Raport and her four partners build a well-respected and profitable business, but when they sold, they got the cleanest contract out of the deal. They got the terms they wanted and the company they sold to fulfilled each and every one.

So what did Vicki do differently that helped her achieve such a desirable outcome?

Intention Is Everything When Selling A Company

Vicki attributes her success to great intention. She had intention in design, action, planning and execution. When she started her company, she knew she wanted to work in the market she was familiar with and so contacted a bunch of her old coworkers to see if anyone else was interested in developing a business.

By drawing from five different founders, their business (Quantum Retail) was able to utilize multiple skill sets and strengths. It quickly became a successful industry giant whose clients, while not numerous, were mighty and well-known. As with most entrepreneurial endeavours, Quantum started out as a single-purpose business catering to one client’s needs and then developed more of a portfolio as they gained more clients who had other needs in the same market.

Vicki’s story is a great example of capitalizing on what you know and building off of that until you are an indispensable service (or product) in your particular market niche. The only difference is in the intention; in the planning. Thoughtfulness, intention, planning, due diligence… whatever name you need to give this concept of acting with intention, do it. The better prepared you are and the more contingencies you plan for, the greater success you will achi