I once said that “investors only ever get married with divorce in mind”. In fact, it’s often the most popular question at most start up events. “What’s your exit strategy?”
At the Hive event last week, local entrepreneur Simon Crowe of Grill’d had a refreshingly alternative view: He doesn’t have one.
What Simon wants to do is build a profitable business which grows beyond him. One which can operate without him. Simon gets it.
Here’s some advice all young entrepreneurs should heed. Because when you can achieve the above you don’t need an ‘exit’, you have ‘options’.
I have spoken to a few people about Simon’s “no exit strategy” exit strategy and it is really refreshing.
On a fundamental level it is about your motivation and passion…. and your definition of what success is.
How can you be truly passionate about something if you are planning to “ditch” it at some point down the road? You can’t, not really. You can be motivated, but by what? The dollars at the end? Does that really count any more?
True success will comes from being absolutely passionate about what are doing (as Simon is), what is means to you, what is means to others, and who it “belongs” to. Simon deosn’t want Grill’d to “belong” to him; he wants his stakeholders (I hate that word, but can’t think of a better description!) to own it. That’s where the success lies.