How a Sales Guy Bought Out His PhD Co-Founder and Sold for $190M
“Garren Hilow co-founded a company called Abveris, and after eight years bought out his partner,” shares Sam Thompson a Minneapolis business broker and the president of M&A firm Transitions In Business. “In this episode you’ll hear how to buy-out a majority partner without cash, avoid common mistakes with an earn-out, and deal with burnout after an exit.”
When Garren Hilow helped start Abveris, he didn’t have much—just a background in sales, a co-founder with a Harvard PhD, and a stock option representing 16% of the company.
Eight years later, he bought out his co-founder, bootstrapped the company with bank debt (collateralized by his house), and sold it in a stock deal that peaked at $190 million.
You’ll discover how to:
- Buy out a majority owner without cash.
- Reposition a custom service as a product.
- Run a sales process with 12 offers and drive up the price.
- Avoid common mistakes during an earn-out.
- Spot the difference between dumb money and VC.
- Deal with burnout after an exit.
- Lose a $20M earn-out and still come out ahead.
This is an Exit Story episode of Built to Sell Radio, the podcast designed to help you punch above your weight in a negotiation to sell your business.