Start-Up To Ferrari In Five Years
Zain Hasan started an insurance agency called National Insurance Consulting Group (NICG), in 2014.
By 2019, Hasan had built NICG to more than $2 million in revenue, earning him a spot on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing companies. Hasan figured his company was worth between 6-8 times Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA). Given the consolidation happening in his industry, he decided it was time to sell.
Hasan received eight offers and agreed to one that paid him 85% of his proceeds in cash and the remaining 15% in shares in his acquirer, Risk Strategies Company. In this candid conversation, Hasan shares:
- How he got comfortable taking 15% of his money in shares in a private company
- Why he would use a 12-month “cliff” in a stock vesting schedule for employees and partners
- How big companies use the magic of accretion to ensure they virtually never lose when making an acquisition
- One surprising way to figure out the right time to sell
- The tasty little pearls that should be in your Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM)