Shareholders Alignment Workshop

(Level 1 –
Value Clarification)

What misalignment could cost you?

What would you do if you were approached by a strategic player in your sector or a PE-backed growth opportunity?

Most businesses have more than one shareholder, including the founders – often in director positions – and in our experience they haven’t applied much planning to be ready for and to lead such a process, which should be one of the most significant transactions in their lives. Nor have they optimised their business value ahead of such an event.

Uncertain about what it means for them and unaligned about what they should aim for the business, these opportunities create dissention, where people start chasing different financial and strategic objectives, ultimately resulting in failed transactions, bitterness and resentment. Further, time kills deals, and money divides.

Therefore it is essential to preemptively address these potential issues. Through our shareholder strategy process, we interview the Founders personally and run a custom-agenda that we create together with you over a one day workshop, that will result in a breakthrough, achieve Shareholder alignment, and empower your leadership to move forward as one with clarity, conviction and speed.

Successful Relationships

Matt guided us through all of this with empathy, insight, wisdom, charisma, tact

“IIMBE engaged with Matt and Invigour during a pivotal time in our growth. Due to a rapidly expanding client base and all the stresses and strains that brings, as we went from start up mode to an established, mature business.

Matt guided us through all of this with empathy, insight, wisdom, charisma, tact and challenged us to move forward with confidence.

Matt supported IIMBE with not only direction but he brought invaluable processes and tools to support the development of a concise, staged implementation path that was perfect for our stage of growth.

I would highly recommend Matt to any organisation seeking to go to the next level. We will continue to work with Matt over the coming years and value his advice enormously.”

Matt was incredible in his approach to achieve so much in only two workshops

“We needed to (re)align on our purpose, commit to a revised organisational structure to help us lead a path to growth and investment, and gain an understanding where the shareholders should invest their time and energy to be more ‘founder inspired; not founder led’.

Matt was incredible in his approach to achieve all the above in only two workshops over a limited time. He was able to get to the heart of our anchors that held us back, help setting the business up for future success, and based on our personality types and capabilities – where the shareholders needed to play to their strengths. We developed a bespoke governance model, a new operating blueprint enabling more efficient decisions making, and a clearer accountability framework built for scale.

I can’t thank Matt enough for his wealth of experience, tenacity in driving the right outcomes, and emotional intelligence to get the shareholders to have tough but respectful conversations and get us united for the future of our business at scale.”

Workshop Overview

Avoid dissension surging at critical moments like deal negotiation and ensure shareholders agree on a common end goal to maximise their chances of achieving (and even exceeding) it with this powerful yet challenging 1-day workshop.

Participants undergo a solid workshop preparation, including a thorough analysis of your business and, for each partner, completing an individual questionnaire to reflect on their achievements to date, their situation and expectations, coupled with a one-on-one meeting with Matt.

Leveraging these insights and his expertise, Matt engages and challenges the workshop participants to resolve existing issues, proactively address potential sources of conflict,  and create alignment behind a shared ‘endgame’ vision and lay the critical foundations for a capital event.

Workshop Key Steps

1

The company lead completes an extensive Business Questionnaire to share essential information on the company with Matt, and also names the other shareholders/founders that will participate in the workshop.

2

Each shareholder/founder named in the Business Questionnaire has to complete an individual questionnaire to share with Matt (and only him) their personal views and expectations around the business. Then, Matt has a 1:1 Call with each of the founders prior to the workshop.

3

Shareholders Alignment Workshop with typical agenda items such as:

  • Shareholder Clarity and Alignment
  • Liquidity ROI Targets (Quantum, Structure and Timing)
  • Culture, Team Issues and Succession
  • Board Governance and structure, and approach to Decision Making
  • Approach to Strategy, Execution and Planning
  • Scaling Up Goals and Challenges
  • Financial optimisation
  • Deal Readiness
  • Inorganic growth / M&A Planning for the Future

Workshop Outcomes

Outcomes of this workshop can include:
  • Creating a new paradigm strategy and direction that renders current major obstacles redundant.
  • Developing an immediate forward action plan.
  • Achieving shareholder or management alignment on the future of the business.
  • Understanding the steps to get Deal Ready for a future investment round, exit or inorganic strategy.

What Founders say about Matt

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