The 10 Aha! Moments That Got Us to Acquisition While Maintaining 94% Control (Part 2of 2)

Continued from Part 1 of 2

Aha! 6: Compete on integrity

For us, that meant going the extra mile for customers without sacrificing our values. It meant being responsive to their customers to ensure their reputation would only be enhanced by choosing us as partners. It meant laser focus execution and follow through. It meant delivering exactly what we said we would, when we would, and being accountable for any shortcomings.

That attitude became the foundation of every relationship we formed for our customers, partners, and industry friends.

Someone once told me that it takes years to build a reputation and only seconds to destroy it.

People love rooting for the underdog and they want to help. But if you want them to take a chance on your company, they’re going to need to think to themselves — I’m willing to put my name to this company because this person will not let me down.

Our business was growing faster than our ability to keep up and we were accumulating debt with service providers that were imperative for our operations (eg. lawyers and accountants). We had just enough customers to think maybe we were onto something but not enough to know for sure that we had more than early adopters.

After years on the grind without any real success, my cofounder and I had considered quitting, getting real jobs and living “normal lives.” At the time, we asked ourselves how we would feel the next day if we gave up — we both said we would always wonder if Spacio could have been more. With only a few months left of runway and an unreasonable desire to win, we decided to give it one last push.

I gave myself 90-days to do everything I could in my power to make the business go and if we were going to go down, we would go down with no regrets. It was with that determination that we finally raised a small amount of capital from two private investors which helped significantly propel us in product development and customer acquisition.

Aha! 7: Leave no stone unturned

That was my 7th Aha! Moment. There’s always a way if you look hard enough. I talked to anyone that would give me their time of the day, and anyone who could potentially lead us to capital. In fact, our largest investor came through an inbound call from a part-time real estate agent who liked our app and wanted to buy our company thinking we were nothing but a one man show. I laughed when I took his call and told him that our company was not for sale but we were raising capital and asked if he knew someone with money. He introduced me to the fund manager at his company and the rest was history.

In order to win, you have to be the one who keeps going when giving up seems to be the only option.

We got the capital we needed to get out of debt and hired two more developers to keep up with customer demand. It didn’t take long for me to realize that having investors really sucked. There is no such thing as free money and having investors meant that I was responsible for managing their expectations. Reporting on things that I didn’t have to before when I was truly my own boss. That taught me one very important lesson…

Aha! 8: The only people who have to give you money are your customers

Unless your business can sustain itself, you will always be at the mercy of your investors and with that comes an extra layer of pressure to deal with on top of your business. That wasn’t something I was prepared to deal with and I knew we had limited time to get to profitability before we had to raise capital again.

From that moment on, we focused on revenue and nothing else. Being revenue driven served our product so well that my cofounder and I used it as a way to settle disputes over decisions. We would ask ourselves, “Does this help drive revenue?” If yes, we would prioritize it. If not, it would have to wait.

While revenue does not guarantee the exit you want, it does afford you the freedom to choose your destiny.

Building a business is hard and doing it alone is even harder. I realized that we didn’t have to do it alone because so many people were ready and willing to help. You’ve probably heard the phrase “fake it till you make it.” Nowhere is that more true than in the startup community where everyone is killing it and doing really well. Nobody is killing it and nobody is doing really well, everyone is struggling in their own way…

Aha! 9: Be authentic, ask for help

When you’re doing well, you don’t need help and others are more inclined to leave you alone. I found that by being authentic and saying, “I’m trying really hard and I’m struggling, can you help me?” goes a long way. Some of our biggest opportunities came from seasoned entrepreneurs and industry leaders who were empathetic about where we were and wanted to give back. They wanted to pay it forward and do for us what others have done for them.

Aha! 10: Be honest to yourself about the life you want to lead

The media skewed our idea of success so much that we believe raising venture capital, getting peer endorsements, and media recognition defines our ambition. VCs are so quick to dismiss entrepreneurs who “just want to build a lifestyle business,” making them feel inadequate while so many of them have never built a business of their own. Between zero and unicorn there are so many successful businesses and entrepreneurs need to understand that the definition of success is actually a very personal thing. With all the noise and social pressure, it’s easy to fall into the trap of letting others define that for us.

Unquestionably, I fell into the same trap thinking I wanted the same thing everyone else was striving for. The glory of raising venture capital and the pipe dream that maybe one day we can exit for $100m just to show everyone else that we’ve made it.

I was miserable because that was not the path we were on, and maybe that was not the path we were on because that was not what I authentically wanted. It wasn’t until I started asking myself, “What kind of life do I want to lead?” that I eventually had the courage and conviction to admit that what I wanted was not the pipe dream. I knew I wasn’t willing to make the sacrifices necessary to chase it. For the first time, I listened to what I truly wanted and all the noise became irrelevant.

It wasn’t until I was sure about what I didn’t want that I also knew we needed help. We knew that we would be better off joining a larger organization that had the resources and expertise to help us grow into something more. That was when we started looking for the right partner, one with the same values and culture alignment as us.

That’s when Aaron (CEO of HomeSpotter) and I started a dialogue as friends, and became partners when HomeSpotter acquired Spacio.

I am incredibly proud of what we built. We worked hard and we never gave up. Together, the two companies will go further and faster.

Thank You

I want to thank…

My parents who gave me the courage and security to quit my job 10 years ago to start my first company.

Friends who have ever offered words of encouragement, been there for me, put a roof over my head and bought me a meal.

Industry friends and customers who have made this journey a little bit funner and a lot more unforgettable.

Investors, advisors, and mentors who made our success possible.

Most of all, my life partner and cofounder to eWebinar, David Dawson, who was my staycation during my darkest hours.

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