Ian Smith | The Portfolio Partnership

Entrepreneurship and the Exit Myth

by Ian Smith | Jan 24, 2024 | Entrepreneurship, Exiting your business, Operational Alignment

Most entrepreneurs start a business to create something valuable whether they bootstrap it from Day 1 or launch through seed capital and/or venture capital. The type of funding will influence the exit process. External funders will expect an exit. If the business is...

Branding For Buyout

by Ian Smith | Jan 15, 2024 | Exiting your business

Sometimes you meet a friend through a network event, or a common connection, or though your kids but rarely do you realize you have a new friend through a book! Branding For Buyout by Ted Schlueter nails one of the realities of private company exits – most owners need...

30 Quotes To Inspire Your New Year

by Ian Smith | Dec 28, 2023 | 2024

Happy New Year to all our subscribers and followers. Here is a little list (citation given if not mine) that might surprise you, and hopefully inspire you to look at your business or your client’s business through a new lens. BUSINESS: A business with a...

Why Investment Banks Fail To Sell Businesses

by Ian Smith | Nov 29, 2023 | Exiting your business, Scaling

As a sell side Investment Banker (I was one for 15 years in London) you will probably specialize in certain sectors after being a generalist. Over time you might have done five or six semiconductor supply chain deals or sold 10 recruitment businesses but to be...

How to Create Higher Margins

by Ian Smith | Nov 22, 2023 | Business Models, Economics, Execution Tips

Let’s be clear. Losses are not sustainable for any company. Amazon founded in 1994 made its first profit in Q4 2001. For years the eCommerce giant made losses. In fact Bezos famously stood up at an analysts meeting to announce Amazon had made a profit but then said I...