Eric (the money guy) & Brian (the product guy) Dosal will share their experience in starting, scaling and ultimately selling BrightGauge, their self-funded, 35 employee, SaaS business earlier this year. They’ll share an honest and open account of why they decided to sell while it was still experiencing rapid (50% year one year) growth and very profitable. They will share the lessons learned in starting a company in San Francisco and then moving it back to their hometown, Miami, FL and the reasons why they took the decision to to sell the company. They were not VC funded and had no pressure to sell. Even with a great culture, great team, great everything, it still could be a great idea to sell. AFTER selling, there are still things to do but it’s OK to take a break and/or start a new project. You’ll leave with lessons they learned in how/why to finish big and leave on top.

1. How & When to Finish Big
Brian & Eric Dosal
Co-Founders of BrightGauge Software
September 2019
#BoSConference

2. Why Are We Here
We
3x Attendees, but...
100x Videos Watched

3. Why Are We Here

4. Why Are We Here

5. Finishing Big

6. Our Goal Today
From our experience….
How & When To Finish Big

7. Every founder/leader finishes, not all Finish BIG
1. Death
2. Bankruptcy
3. Generational Transition
4. Exit

8. What is finishing big?

9. What is finishing big?

10. What is finishing big?
1. Fairly Treated & Compensated
2. Sense of Accomplishment & Fullfilment
3. Happy for Employees (or at peace with it)
4. Take Pride in Company Continuing
5. Find New Purpose

11. Our Story

12. 4th Generation Entrepreneurs
Abuelo Tito, Abuelo Martin, & Dad
August 1960

13. Entrepreneurship in our Blood

14. Joined The Family Business
#StaySmallKeepItAll

15. BrightGauge begins Jan 2nd 2010

16. 2010 - 2018

17. Scratching Our Own Itch in 2010

18. Built Our Dev Team in San Francisco in 2011/2012
FAILED

19. Rebooted with a team out of Miami in 2013

20. Strong Revenue Growth & Very Profitable

21. The business was humming!
1. 2,000 worldwide companies & growing
2. 33 people, 0 turnover in 2018*
3. 5 Managers who had worked for >2 years together
4. Growing 50% YoY in Revenue w/ profit going faster
5. Next 5 years, had a plan to 3x the company
6. We weren’t doing much as Executives/Owners
7. Perfect Culture

22. Yes, Perfect Culture

23. Why the heck would we sell?

24. Well blame the MONEY GUY!!!!
Not Exactly

25. Timing was right...

26. Market Dynamics: Frothy Stock Market

27. Market Dynamics: Peak SaaS Valuations
Source: www.tomtunguz.com

28. Ready to take chips off the table

29. But at the right number

30. We understood our role in the business cycle

31. Already Working On What’s Next

32. Company was naturally prepared to be sold
1. We had made ourselves irrelevant
2. Brian’s backup was prepped and groomed
3. No single points of failure from a team perspective
4. Financials were clean and simple
5. Our growth plans were documented & tested

34. We hired the right team [suits]
1. Attorneys are critical
2. Bankers were helpful
3. Accountants were supportive

35. We were clear on our terms from the start
1. Financial Number & Deal Structure
2. Brian would only help with the Transition
3. Had to have expertise in the next phase of growth
4. Had to be a good fit for our team

36. Narrowed Down The Field Of Potential Buyers

37. We found the right buyer

38. We found the right buyer

39. We Finished Big

40. Celebrated with our Family
Day Deal Closed Boys Trip To Napa

41. Shared the success with our original team

42. Everyone got bonuses & culture still thriving

43. 9 months later...

44. Life after BrightGauge: Slowed everything down

45. Life after BrightGauge: Wellness

46. Life after BrightGauge: Tons of Family Travel

47. Life after BrightGauge: Philanthropy

48. Life after BrightGauge: Next SaaS Venture
Team Performance Management

49. Zero Regrets, 100% Happiness

50. Every founder/leader finishes, not all Finish BIG

51. We Hope You All FINISH BIG!
Follow Our Next Journey
at www.strety.com
Brian Dosal
bdosal@strety.com
Eric Dosal
edosal@strety.com