Emmet McGonagle
Randy Stewart Thompson – chairman of Valhalla Private Capital, managing director of Old Kent Road Financial and co-owner of Peterborough United Football Club – has warned entrepreneurs to learn the nuances of corporate finance before selling their startup.
Speaking of his experience of selling an internet company in 1996 at
Decentralised Energy Canada (DEC)’s 2022 Annual General Meeting and Investor Forum alongside
Anouk Kendall, president of DEC;
Natasha Kostenuk, CEO of
Ayrton Energy;
Dan Erhardt, CEO of
Arcus Power Corp and John MacInnes, chair and CEO of
Earthware, Randy claimed he had “a really massive chip on [his] shoulder” as a result of the exit.
"I built the company, sold it, and nobody feels sorry for you,” he remarked. “The whole process of building is so fun, but the process of exit is so effing shitty.
Referring to the “trench warfare” of exiting his business, Randy continued: “If you know anything about the internet, 1996 was not the year to sell an internet company.
“We had all the pieces to be massively successful, sell in 1999 and move to California, but we effed it up.”
In retrospect, Randy claimed his lack of knowledge in “key components of raising money” was his company’s downfall, citing a lack of board of directors, accountants and operations as his Achilles’ heel.
“It wasn't about whether a young punk could sell, it was about whether we could actually run a company,” Randy added.
“Fundamentals came into the business startup business at the end, and I wish I knew it at the beginning.
As a result, Randy warned that “no entrepreneur should ever walk into a room like I did”.
“There's this cool thing called Google, there's these things called podcasts, and there's no excuse for not understanding anymore,” he concluded.
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