Three Things I Learned In SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events 3.27.23
Selling your company usually happens when you don't want to - getting your butt kicked may be temporary and winter is here for sports teams
Three Things I Learned in SaaS, Sports, Tech & Live Events:
"It's only when you don't want to sell your company that you'll have the chance to." It seems so obvious but it is lost on far too many early entrepreneurs. Myself included. When we started, building a great company then taking it public or selling in new investors was a big time dream. But once you're sitting on something really great, something you really enjoy and where you have massive upside if you continue on your own, the investors and buyers all the sudden show up. Everyone dreams of the exit. The day you sell out and sit on the beach. Turns out it doesn't work that way b/c if you're selling something great….you're selling something great which you love and enjoy!
Stick with it. Things change and so do you. When I was in junior high school we had an all-school one-on-one basketball tournament. It was awesome. I wish more schools did so. I wasn't much of an athlete, but I was good enough (on the team, played but didn't start - that kind of thing) and I hadn't grown yet. Somehow, I made the semi-finals - and it was a pretty big school with ~300 kids per class. I played our starting point guard, Jon, in front of the whole school. It was a public murder. I lost 11-3. Embarrassing. If Jon and I played senior year in high school, I would have won 11-0. He didn't grow. I did. A lot. Things change. Stick with it. And don't get desperate and start heaving up threes when you get down early. It doesn't work =)
Buckle in sports teams - it's about to get rough. I've been doing this job for 15 years. We talk to companies about their plans for the upcoming years when it comes to live events. "Cut everything we can" is a mandate just about everywhere. The big companies will keep investing, but selling to them is the easy part of a sports properties job. The middle market and smaller businesses are what fill up stadiums and get revenue teams to quota. One account after another has a mandate from execs to cut costs not just in sports but with all vendors. Ticket renewals and new sales are a trailing indicator as companies have to wait until their renewal comes up. Just know, the decisions have been made. Adjust your new sales and renewal forecasts appropriately and take nothing for granted. Everyone thinks they're immune. They're not. Winter is here.