You sold. You handed over the keys. And now you’re waiting – sometimes imagining the worst.
Two fears come up often with sellers, almost always exaggerated: either the buyer arrives with a prefab plan – headcount cuts, department mergers, everything changes at once – or nothing moves, and you assume they’re quietly dismantling what you built.
The reality with a serious buyer is different. And it shows immediately: the goal is to stabilize, not to reform.
The first hundred days are, above all, a preservation project. I work to reduce founder dependency: identify what will let the business run without the boss who, until now, held every thread. I secure cash flow, key clients (contracts? personal relationships? flight risk?), critical suppliers, decision-making channels. And I observe the team: who stays, who hesitates, who can step up. Are the founder’s values still shared, still relevant, or do they need reworking together?
In parallel, three things are locked in immediately:
- a living cash-flow plan updated weekly
- bank debt service secured as absolute priority
- key contracts and accounts reviewed and protected
Why is founder dependency the number one priority? Three reasons.
- Value: a business that runs independently of one key person can be worth up to 20% more – which mechanically improves bank collateral when financing is involved.
- Debt risk: from the day of signing, debt service depends on continuity, and a business that only runs with its founder is poor collateral.
- The clock: the founder only supports the buyer for a defined period, and the window to transfer relationships and know-how closes a little more each day.
Concretely, from the day after the change of ownership, I work to strengthen revenue predictability, make operations transferable through documented procedures and clear roles, activate middle management, and spot quick wins – targeted pricing adjustments, cash-flow optimization, client follow-up for long-term value.
And above all – this may be the most critical point – I don’t dismantle the team. Its know-how, its client relationships, its culture — not only is all of that very valuable, but I also see it as my role to preserve jobs and enable continuity. Pushing a new way of working too fast creates resistance and destroys that value.
As you can see, the first hundred days are a period of co-building with the team, not cuts: workshops, clarity on what’s changing and what’s still uncertain, and space for natural leaders to emerge.
The message is simple: you’re not under threat, your talent is being rediscovered.
A team used to autonomy, clear roles, and documented work sells for more and is treated better. It inspires confidence immediately.
I aim to hit four objectives by day one hundred: stable and predictable cash flow, key clients secured, a team confident it has a role in what’s coming, and company values revisited with the team, in co-construction.
Everything else – growth, operational improvement, new strategies – comes after.
