By Ed Johnson, CEO & Co-Founder of uRoutine

As someone who has recently gone through a startup “exit”, I thought it might be helpful to anybody else considering it, to share the journey and a few key considerations. Before I provide further context, I will start by confidently saying that selling a business is an experience like no other. 

When Gabriel and I founded tech startup PushFar, we were driven by a shared passion for creation and innovation. The thrill of building something from the ground up, seeing it take shape, and watching it impact people was what fuelled us. I know lots of entrepreneurs who are in the same camp – seeing something you build, being adopted and used by others and watching it grow.

However, as the business matured, revenue grew and our client-base expanded, our roles evolved in ways we hadn’t fully anticipated or considered. The day-to-day excitement of problem-solving, product development, and fast-paced decision-making gradually shifted into something a lot more structure and process-driven. Which, you might think, is a good thing and a safe haven from the usual chaos that goes with startup life. However, it’s an entirely different beast. And while that’s a natural evolution for any successful startup, it forced us to confront a difficult question: was this still what we wanted?

The Decision to Exit

Selling a business is almost never a straightforward decision, less so, I expect, when the business is doing well and growing from strength-to-strength. As a founder, this is particularly true when it’s something you’ve poured your heart and soul into. PushFar had grown into a thriving company, with a strong client base, solid revenue, and a clear path forward. Investors were happy, clients were happy, we should also have been happy – and to a certain extent we were. But internally, both Gabriel and I felt that our roles were shifting in a way that no longer excited us in the same way it once had.

At the core, we are entrepreneurs, and this is something I didn’t fully appreciate until I went through this journey. Now I know, though, that we thrive on building, creating, and innovating. As PushFar expanded, our responsibilities became more about managing sales, customer relations, operations and tech support rather than the hands-on, rapid iterating of the business we loved. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that – it’s a sign of a well-run business – but it didn’t align with what we enjoyed or took pleasure from.

At that point, we began exploring our options. One possibility was stepping back from daily operations while appointing a new CEO to run the company. That way, we could retain control while allowing someone else to handle the more structured aspects of the business. Many founders choose this route, and it can be a great way to ensure continuity while pursuing new ventures. But in our case, after careful consideration, we felt that this wasn’t the right approach. We wanted to ensure the business continued to grow under leadership that was fully invested, without the complexity of divided ownership. And, frankly, we knew we were ready for a new challenge.

So, Let’s Get Acquired

Once we made the decision to sell, the next step was finding the right buyer. We wanted to capitalise on the successful business we’d built, find a good return for our investors and crucially to hand over the reins to new owners who could carry on the business and oversee great growth. We had built something we were and still are incredibly proud of, and we weren’t willing to hand it over to just anyone. After exploring several options, we ultimately partnered with ScaleUp Capital, a UK-based private equity firm that we believed could take PushFar to the next level.

The acquisition process itself was such a valuable experience, and we learned so much about it, which is ensuring that we set up our next venture (more on that later) with the right framework from day one. Selling a business isn’t just about agreeing on a price and signing some paperwork – it’s a detailed, often lengthy process that involves due diligence (there’s a lot of that), negotiations, legal considerations, and emotional highs and lows. There were moments of excitement, frustration, and even doubt. Were we making the right decision? Were we truly ready to step away? But as we moved forward, it became clear that this was the right path for both us and the company.

Saying Goodbye

The strange thing about acquisitions is that whilst there’s usually the “deal day” when you sign the paperwork and handover the rights to your business, there’s often an earn-out period or deferred period – sometimes referred to as “golden handcuffs”. You are effectively tied into the business for a year or two. So, you say goodbye, but you stay with the business, going from employer to employee. The day the acquisition was finalised was both exciting and also, probably more so, a sigh of relief after all the work that goes into the deal process. On one hand, it was a celebration of everything we had achieved and finally capitalised on. PushFar had become a success story, and the exit validated all the hard work we had put in. But on the other hand, it was a slow goodbye – a realisation that we were no longer in control of something we had built from nothing.

Letting go, if you’re not prepared for it, can be one of the hardest aspects of selling a business. Through the exit process, I spoke to several founders who had been through similar experiences, to find out what it was really like. Nearly all of them said the same thing – when you know that it’s coming and you’re mentally prepared for it, the whole process can be a breath of fresh air. When you’re trying to fight it, to a lesser or greater extent, it can be painful. When you spend years pouring your energy into something, it becomes a part of your identity. Nowadays, I would argue, more so, with personal branding and social media. In many ways, a business exit can feel like a loss – not necessarily in a financial sense (quite the opposite with a successful exit), but in terms of purpose and routine.

One of the most unexpected challenges that I found was finding structure to my day, once the deal was done. I was still an employee with PushFar for more than a year and a half, after we signed the contract, but I went from owner to employee and the dynamic shifted a lot. I was far less busy; my role slowly but surely was handed on to others as part of the succession plan and I had far more free time than I knew what to do with. In the startup world, your schedule is dictated by the relentless pace of growth. Once that disappears, there’s an emptiness that’s hard to describe. It’s an adjustment period, and I now understand why so many entrepreneurs struggle with what comes next.

Finding Purpose (Again)

Gabriel and I knew we weren’t the type to retire early or sit back and relax for too long. Far from it – that’s the reason we wanted to sell PushFar, after all. The excitement of building something new was already calling us. And so, a month after our official exit, we have already embarked on a new journey and a new venture. Namely, uRoutine.

uRoutine is a social routine and accountability platform, designed to help people to achieve more, find motivation and improve productivity. It’s still in its early stages, but already, the feeling of building something from scratch again is exciting. The ideation, the problem-solving, the fast-paced decision-making – this is exactly what we love.

One thing we’ve learned through this process is that entrepreneurship isn’t just about business success. It’s about the fun and thrill of creating. Some people are happiest when running a steady, established company. Funnily enough, before our exit, I thought that I might quite enjoy being the CEO of a steady, established business. This process has taught me otherwise. Others, like us, are driven by the process of bringing new ideas to life. Recognising this about ourselves made the decision to sell PushFar even more clear in hindsight. It wasn’t just about cashing in on success – it was about making sure we were doing what truly fulfilled us.

Key Lessons on Exits

For any founder considering an exit, below are a few key lessons that I took away from this experience.

• Understand Motivations – Selling a business should be about more than just financial gain. Ask yourself whether stepping away aligns with your personal and professional goals. Are you still enjoying the work? Does your role excite you? If not, it might be time to explore other options.
• Consider the Alternatives – An exit almost invariably isn’t the only option. If you still love your business but feel bogged down by operations or processes, bringing in a CEO or restructuring your role could allow you to stay involved in a way that suits you better.
• Choose the Right Buyer – Not all acquirers have the same vision for your business. Make sure you’re selling to a company or investor who will respect and build upon what you’ve created.
• Prepare for the Emotional Side – Exiting a business isn’t just a financial transaction. It can be a major life change. Be prepared for the transition period and take time to rediscover what excites you outside of your former business.
• Embrace New Opportunities – An exit isn’t the end; it’s a new beginning. Whether you take time off, invest in other businesses, or start something new, lean into the excitement of what comes next. Whatever you decide, try and have a plan ahead of the exit, so you know immediately what to throw yourself into.

Selling PushFar was one of the biggest decisions Gabriel and I have ever made. It came with its challenges, but ultimately, it was the right choice for both us and the business. While stepping away from something we built was bittersweet, it opened the door to new opportunities that align more closely with our passions.

Now, as we pour our energy into uRoutine, we’re reminded of why we became entrepreneurs in the first place. If you’re a founder considering an exit, my advice is simple: know yourself, understand your motivations, and make the choice that aligns with where you truly want to be.

The entrepreneurial journey never really ends – it simply evolves.

The post Waving Goodbye to Your Business: From Startup to Exit appeared first on Real Business.

With Mental Health Week upon us, it is a timely moment to think about the way in which your business supports employees with mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. This is particularly the case in the light of recent changes that many have seen to their working model following COVID-19 and the growth in remote working.

Whilst the benefits of the flexibility offered by working from home have been seized upon by many, others point to the rising rate of loneliness among employees as being one of the major impacts of the pandemic on the workplace. The move to hybrid working has meant fewer in-person interactions with colleagues, and it seems people are finding it hard to replace the social element of the office. Research has shown that as many as 72% of employees have reported feeling lonely at work at least monthly, and 55% at least weekly.  This is one reason that the Mental Health Foundation has made loneliness the theme of this year’s Mental Health Week.

The reality though is that loneliness is caused not just by the absence of people, but the absence of connection. Loneliness was an issue before COVID-19, and it would not simply disappear should everyone return to the office. Someone can be in a crowded office and experience loneliness if they are disconnected from their team or the work culture, and equally a remote worker can be fully engaged in their work and not feel lonely. It can lead to health problems, reduced productivity, and higher turnover of staff, which is why businesses need to look more broadly at how to strengthen connections between colleagues and work to create a sense of community.

It is crucial that business leaders do not assume that close and supportive working relationships will automatically be created. Rather than they recognise, in order to encourage them to develop, structures and practices can be put in place to enable these high-quality connections and maintain a productive work culture. One solution that, at PushFar, we have seen more and more companies turning to is an effective mentoring programme, with studies showcasing the benefits it can have on both professional and personal development.

One of the better recognised advantages of a mentoring relationship is the impact it can have on career progression. But for the same reason that it can help an individual with developing skills for their career, and offering guidance on their professional progression, it can be a huge source of support to those struggling with mental health issues. Structure and routine, as well as making and working towards long-term goals, are often beneficial for mental health, as often people are suffering from anxiety and fear for the future, making it challenging to plan ahead. A mentor can empower an employee to make a clear actionable plan for the future, with long-term goals they are held accountable for and supported in achieving.

A mentoring programme can be a particularly useful way in a remote working environment to ensure there is a support system in place so an employee does not feel alone in the workplace, in the knowledge that there is always someone to trust and turn to in the face of any obstacles. It also offers a way to build an internal network across the business and connect with individuals on a personal level who would perhaps not normally interact on a day-to-day basis.

Where people are in an office environment, there are many other routes to fostering stronger social connections between colleagues, and a culture of support and empathy. This might include encouraging people to have lunch together, through a “no eating at your desk” policy, which is a great way to get employees to take a break and chat with each other in a more informal setting. Companies could look to rethink team and work structures to incorporate more interdependence among colleagues. This might be as simple as regularly scheduled meetings for all staff to attend so that there is always a set time when the whole team has a chance to interact. Obviously with remote working teams, the same goes for virtual team meetings, allowing opportunities for the sharing of ideas.

The benefits of a strong, supportive community in the workplace are numerous, both for individuals’ mental health and the productiveness of the business. It is vital though that employers recognise the role that the business can play in building and encouraging these relationships. With effective leadership and thoughtful HR programmes, loneliness in the workplace can be stopped in its tracks.

The post How To Beat Loneliness In The Workplace appeared first on Real Business.