It seriously was over three weeks after our vacation this summer began before we fully decompressed and truly begin to relax. Most of you do not know that our life took an unexpected turn (yet another) last October. We were enjoying a leisurely breakfast when an e-mail came through on David's Blackberry. We were very accustomed to frequent e-mails and phone calls throughout the day related to SpeedyPrep, our online CLEP exam preparation company. However, this e-mail was not from a potential or current customer. Instead, the e-mail was from a business acquisition deal broker stating that he represented a party who was seriously interested in purchasing our company. Having our curousity peaked, but at the same time expecting the contact to be spam, fraudulent, or at the very least not really a serious potential buyer, David decided to respond. Ever since we started SpeedyPrep, we thought that our innovative company would eventually attract the attention of many large educational institutions and corporations; however, we did not think that the possibility of selling SpeedyPrep would come for several more years. It quickly became apparent during David's phone call with the broker that the interested party was indeed serious. Over the next two months, we went through a rollercoaster of emotions that is often the case with a merger and acquistion. I think I remember David saying that approx. 80% of business negotiations related to the purchase or sale of a business fall through. During the two months, we attended and participated in my sister's out of town wedding, David attended a week long business seminar in Vegas, we celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas, we attended my sister's in-town wedding reception, and David's grandmother became ill and passed away . . . and these events were all in addition to the everyday tasks associated with running SpeedyPrep, negotiating the sale of our business, and completing outstanding SpeedyPrep projects and constructing the 2010 business plan and strategy. We are hopeful that Christmas Eve this year will not be consumed with attorney meetings, business conference calls, negotiations, and grieving the loss of a loved one!
David watching Tony Hsieh (CEO of Zappos) speak at PubCon in Las Vegas (10-2009) two days after Tony Hsieh decided to sell Zappos to Amazon for 928 million dollars.
Grandmother (David's Grandmother) and Catherine (summer 2008)
Anyways, back to what I was saying before I interrupted with pictures to illustrate some events of 2009, we wanted to ensure that we were 100% ok with the business selling or not selling---we knew that keeping or selling the businesss would require lots of work, time, and stress, but also bring both experience and reward. There were definite risks associated with both selling (too soon?) or holding (how long before another offer presented itself?). Either way, we were determined to make 2010 another record-breaking year of exponential growth. So did we sell it? Why would we want to? Answers to come. . .
