Startup exit: What do founders do when a buyer calls?

Julian Riedlbauer actually only needed money for computer games when he founded his own company in 1991 – he was still a student at the time. Seven years later, he employed 130 people. His “Connect Service Riedlbauer” imported Internet modems and sold them to German companies that were going online for the first time. In the 1990s, this was a booming business. Riedlbauer even briefly dreamed of going public – together with a larger company that would buy the “Connect Service”. The deal, however, was a mistake: his buyer, in whom he took shares and joined the board, did not make the jump to the stock market. Looking back, Riedlbauer says, he should have sold “for cash”.

He has startup exits and financing rounds

He should know: 25 years later, the Düsseldorf native is a sought-after M&A expert. In his career, he has advised on over 80 transactions. The largest to date – in keeping with the student founder’s passion for computer games – was the sale of Innogames, the makers of Forge of Empires: the company was valued at around 260 million euros at the time. Riedlbauer advises startups on both exits and investments – for example, he negotiated Neura Robotics’ 50 million round. Riedlbauer told us how founders recognize the perfect time for a startup exit, what they say when a buyer has expressed interest, how they drive up the price and whether they prefer to conduct the negotiations alone rather than with an advisor.

Julian Riedlbauer will be a speaker at our exclusive CFO dinner on September 12th. There are still a few tickets available: apply here and ask the expert your questions in person. In this article, we already talked to Julian Riedlbauer about which KPIs investors want to see right now – because Riedlbauer also advises on investor rounds.

Julian, when should I sell my startup?

Timing is crucial. If your company grows well and becomes a relevant, large and profitable provider without requiring additional capital, you can successfully sell to private equity investors at any time in the future, regardless of the market, find strategic buyers or even go public if you are large enough. But that requires staying power and the ability to maintain the company’s technological lead in the long term.