In Atlanta, we spend too much time talking about how founders need more capital 💰.
Sometimes what they really need is better advice before the term sheet shows up.
Recently, we connected an Atlanta CEO Council member who is a bootstrap founder, now at ~$15M ARR, navigating a potential exit to a PE-backed strategic buyer after receiving 20+ bids with one of our experienced CEOs (who has executed 12 sell-side transactions ‼️ ).
The conversation wasn’t about fundraising or pitch decks.
It was about how to:
⭐ maintain leverage with multiple bidders
⭐ negotiate for value and certainty
⭐ do reverse diligence on the acquirer
⭐ protect founder equity post-close
⭐ think through rolled equity, taxes, and estate planning before liquidity hits
The kinds of things that don’t usually get talked about publicly but can materially change the outcome of a founder’s life’s work.
For 25 years, ACEOC has quietly brought together later-stage CEOs and exited operators who are willing to share what they’ve learned with founders approaching moments like this.
Real operators helping other operators make better decisions when it matters most 💪 .
Atlanta doesn’t just need more founders.
We need more founders with access to wisdom before the deal 🤝 closes.
ACEOC BOD
Roger Barnette | Kelly Gay | Harish Mamtani | Palaniswamy Rajan | Asif Ramji (Chairman) | Leonard Shutzberg | Armistead Whitney | Jeremy Wing
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