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$ELL MY BUSINESS

PODCAST

Successful Post-Exit Entrepreneur A.J. Wasserstein On How To Optimize Your Life For Happiness After Your Liquidity Event

"The movie and story in Entrepreneur Land always end with the exit, but there's an epilogue. Life goes on and finding your epilogue and figuring out how you create a new structure, meaning, and identity is what it's all about." - A.J. Wasserstein

A. J. Wasserstein is the Eugene F. Williams, Jr. Lecturer in the Practice of Management at the Yale School of Management.

Additionally, A.J. is a private investor with a long-term orientation, interested in lower middle-market businesses and philanthropic organizations, where he can be positively impactful by using his experiences, time, and capital.

Mr. Wasserstein was the President of Onesource Water, the third-largest bottleless water service business in the U.S. Onesource Water was sold to Water Logic, a U.K. based strategic acquirer, in 2016.

Previously, A.J. was the founder and CEO of ArchivesOne, the third largest records management company in the U.S. ArchivesOne was sold to Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) after 17 years of operation.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has recognized A. J. as the Small Business Person of the Year in Connecticut.

A. J. wrote a book on young adulthood that was a gift to his three children. The book’s title is What Matters Most: A Young Adult’s Roadmap to Life.

The Sell My Business Podcast is brought to you by Deep Wealth.

The Deep Wealth Experience has you learn the 9-steps of preparation in 90-days. At the end of the 90-days, you have a blueprint to optimize the value of your business. You also enjoy the certainty that you capture the maximum value.

SHOW NOTES

  • How A.J. Started in business
  • The opportunity institutional capital provided for A.J. to grow his business
  • How saying "no" to an unsolicited offer opens up a new opportunity for A.J.
  • Why an unsolicited offer is not the best offer
  • How the right investment banker makes the difference for your liquidity event
  • The brilliance of A.J.'s strategy of reaching out to competitors on a regular basis to talk and learn
  • Why the right size of investment bank makes all the difference for a liquidity event
  • Why you must figure out how to be the best client ever for your investment banker
  • A.J.'s advice on dealing with fees for investment bankers and how to create a win-win
  • The power of an M&A lawyer who is a problem solver and not a deal inhibitor
  • Why every business owner must take charge of the deal book that investment bankers write
  • A.J. talks about why a liquidity event is like a victory lap and bow after the performance
  • What nobody talks about for life after a liquidity event
  • The emotional roller coaster a business goes through after a liquidity event
  • How structure, meaning, and identify are disrupted after a liquidity event
  • What a business owner can do ahead of time to minimize the life disruption after a liquidity event
  • How business owners can easily lose their identities after a liquidity event
  • A.J. talks about the challenges and opportunities of a PExE (post-exit entrepreneur)
  • Why A.J. wrote the case note "What’s Next: The Entrepreneur’s Epilogue and the Paradox of Success"
  • Understanding the "PROT" framework which is comprised of Pause, Reflect, Operationalize, and Think
  • How most business owners fail to pause, and the consequences the result
  • A.J.'s advice on what to do immediately after a liquidity event and how the answer may surprise you
  • What you can do during the Reflect stage to ensure a happy life after your liquidity event
  • How to approach the Operationalize phase as you plan out life after your liquidity event
  • The benefits you gain from going through The Centenarian Exercise
  • The power and insights from the What's Next Matrix
  • A.J. discusses his journey of going through the What's Next Matrix
  • Why the What's Next Matrix is not about wealth management
  • How the Think stage ties everything together to help you find fulfillment and joy
  • A.J. discusses how time changes in key areas of your life and the impact if you don't prepare in advance
  • Why it's important to have deliberate "white space" in your life
  • A.J. Discusses the five common post-exit archetypes
  • The importance of knowing which of the five post-exit archetypes you are and how to plan your life
  • How most PExEs have a combination of archetypes and the importance to identify to top ones
  • Why your life should be focused on what you do with your time and what gives joy and fulfillment
  • The gift that A.J. gave his kids by writing the book What's Next: The Young Adults Roadmap to Life

This podcast is brought to you by Deep Wealth. Are you thinking about a liquidity event? You have one chance to get it right and you better make it count. The 90-day Deep Wealth Experience gives you the certainty to capture your maximum value. You'll master the 9-steps of preparation we created for our 9-figure exit. Click here to book your free exploratory call.

 

SELECTED LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE

A.J. Wasserstein at the Yale School of Management

A.J.'s case note: What’s Next: The Entrepreneur’s Epilogue and the Paradox of Success

A.J.'s book that he wrote for you children: What Matters Most: A Young Adult's Roadmap For Life

The Deep Wealth Experience

Book Your FREE Deep Wealth Exit Call

This podcast is brought to you by the Deep Wealth Experience. In the world of mergers and acquisitions, 90% of deals fail. Of the successful deals, business owners leave millions of dollars on the deal table.

Who are we and how do we know? We're the 9-figure exit guys. We said "no" to a 7-figure offer based on 3-times, EBITDA. Two years later, we said "yes" to a 9-figure offer based on 13-times EBITDA. In the process, we increased the value of our company by 10X.

During our liquidity event journey, we created a 9-step preparation process. It's the quality and depth of your preparation that increases your business value.

After our 9-figure exit, we committed ourselves to level the playing field. The Deep Wealth Experience helps you create a launch plan in 90-days. Our solution is resilient, relentless, and gets results. Enjoy the certainty that you'll capture the maximum value on your liquidity event.

Click here to book your free exploratory call.

‍The movie and story in Entrepreneur Land always end with the exit, but there's an epilogue. Life goes on and finding your epilogue and figuring out how you create a new structure, meaning, and identity is what it's all about. Learn key strategies that help you optimize your life for daily happiness and success.


This podcast is brought to you by the Deep Wealth Experience. In the world of mergers and acquisitions, 90% of deals fail. Of the successful deals, business owners leave millions of dollars on the deal table.

Who are we and how do we know? We're the 9-figure exit guys. We said "no" to a 7-figure offer and "yes" to a 9-figure offer two years later.  In the process we increased the value of our company 10X.

During our liquidity event journey, we created a 9-step preparation process. It's the quality and depth of your preparation that increases your business value.

After our 9-figure exit we committed ourselves to leveling the playing field. The Deep Wealth Experience helps you create a launch plan in 90-days. Our solution is resilient, relentless, and gets results. Enjoy the certainty that you'll capture the maximum value on your liquidity event.

More Episodes (From Newest To Oldest)

The list below has the most recent episodes of The Sell My Business Podcast. Click on any title to find the show notes, transcripts, and additional resources.
EBITDA
Liquidity
Liquidity Event
Sell My Business
Growth
Post-Exit
Yale School of Management
Deep Wealth
Exit Planning
Exit Strategy
M&A