Do you ever wonder about the emotional journey entrepreneurs go through after an exit? Join Khaled Talhouni of Nuwa Capital, Ali Halabi of Voltlines, Ziyaad Ahmed of Spotii, and Tammer Qaddumi of VentureSouq as they explore the emotional changes, post-exit depression, and the pendulum swings that founders experience as well as the relief of paying back investors, the potential pitfalls of going public, and valuable advice on protecting oneself during an acquisition.
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HIGHLIGHTS
2:14 The Emotional Journey of Joining a Larger Business
8:05 Riding the positives and the negatives
10:53 Five things to look out for in exits
14:06 What went wrong with SWVL's acquisition
18:52 Protecting Your Business
21:42 Acquisition Gone Wrong: Volt Lines Story
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QUOTES
"Exits are the end goal of every entrepreneurial journey, and that's half of the point of building a great company."
"The emotional change that the founder goes through when getting acquired is like moving back in with your parents."
"Most entrepreneurs fall for the mistake of getting connected and becoming one with their startup."
"Some days you feel like you're on top of the world, some days you just don't want to get out of bed."
"You go from being the master of your own destiny to a quarterly report, writing memos, and dealing with a chain of command."
"The experience of an exit is not a binary shift from controlling your own destiny to being an employee, but rather a spectrum of autonomy."
"Taking a company public prematurely can be a mistake if the business is not ready in terms of size and maturity."
"The share price and market caps of the acquiring company can impact the perceived success of an exit."
"Always think about the worst-case scenario. Only the paranoid survive."
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