What to Expect When Transacting – Managing the Emotions of a Process

By Billy Pritchard

Aug 09 2023

As founders begin to pursue a sellside transaction process, it is important to understand the various phases of process execution and the emotional cycles that will most likely come with each phase. Our team is a firm believer that, often, the most value we can add to these processes is helping manage the founders’ emotions throughout the journey.

We use the river guide analogy frequently – we are experienced on the water and have been through these rapids before…our job is to highlight what is around the next bend, coach our clients through navigating those sections, and ensure we increase the probability of reaching the takeout safely. In a typical sellside transaction, the emotional cycles tend to be the biggest “rapids” to navigate. The graphic below lays out a common emotional journey that founders experience through the four key stages of a sellside process. While there is no perfect way to fully prepare a founder for this unique experience, we believe this roadmap can help a founder reduce the emotional tension and maintain a steady and balanced approach to the typical challenges in a sellside process.

In short, “it takes what it takes” to complete a business transaction. However, a general awareness of how emotions enter and influence the transaction process, along with an experienced guide to get through those rapids, is critical to delivering a successful outcome.

Related Posts

How Enterprise Value Translates to Net Transaction Proceeds

Jul 01 2021

Guest article by  Billy Pritchard, vice president at Founders Advisors. In the world of private capital transactions, deal values and statistics are discussed primarily using the Enterprise Value metric. The term “Enterprise Value” is often defined as the total value ascribed to the business, inclusive of both the company’s equity and the debt used to […]

Read More…

Why “Enduring” Is a Third Option

Sep 19 2019

This is a guest article by Biso Collective founder and CEO Dave Gray. We hope you enjoy it! I recently had lunch with a former teammate and active participant in our city’s startup ecosystem. During our discussion he asked, “Do you think software companies can really be enduring?” I’m not 100% sure of his perception that led […]

Read More…

Managing Buyer Expectations is Key to High SaaS Customer Retention

Mar 26 2019

While I believe high customer retention (and/or low revenue & customer churn, depending how you prefer to frame it) takes a village that touches all aspects of the company…I also believe that sales plays a big role. Particularly when it comes to setting customer expectations. If you have a sales team that routinely overpromises, you are […]

Read More…