My exit strategy would be to stay with the company for a while to make sure it launches correctly and maintains the values that I will instill in the culture and community of the company. After a few years, while it is still exciting and valuable, I would hopefully have offers from other social media companies to be bought out. I would like to sell the company for enough money that I could retire early and live a luxurious life without having to pick up work. Maybe I could take this money and reinvest it to other entrepreneurial ideas. I would like to have enough from the company to provide for my children. If possible, I would like to maintain a portion of the company. My exit strategy has influenced other decisions for the company to make sure that it is adaptable to growing social media trends and people's interests. I think the pet social media website can be updated to continue to be innovative and relevant.
It would be a good idea to invest in other entrepreneurial ideas since you do know what to expect when starting a company. Social media has a great deal of money and they are always looking for ways to stay ahead of the competition and this would be the way to do it. It is good that you took into consideration how you were exiting the company and making sure the decisions you made would adapt with the company.
ReplyDeleteHarrison is correct, I was also going to say that investing in other entrepreneurial ideas may be a good idea since you will already have experience and a feel for how the startup process works. I imagine it would be a lot smoother and a greater chance of success the second time around. But then again, there is always risk, so hopefully you don't undo all monetary gain from one venture and lose it in the next!
ReplyDeleteKelly,
ReplyDeleteYour exit strategy sounds great! This is exactly what many of our recent social media platform owners have done. For example, the owner of snapchat was offered a lot of money a couple of years ago, but turned it down knowing it would have a much higher value in the future. He also turned down a lot of advertising offers because he wanted to keep the app as attractive as possible. Recently, he sold snapchat for double what he was originally offered, plus kept a part in the company. So in relation to your exit strategy, I think you have the right mindset! Definitely worth reinvesting after as well.