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BCBusiness + Cube Business Media How can you increase the proceeds of an acquisition? What are your liquidity options? What do buyers of businesses look for? These are a few of many issues about business transition that are discussed at the Business Transitions Forums (BTF) by entrepreneurs who have experienced them first hand.
How can you increase the proceeds of an acquisition? What are your liquidity options? What do buyers of businesses look for?
These are a few of many issues about business transition that are discussed at the Business Transitions Forums (BTF) by entrepreneurs who have experienced them first hand. The fifth annual BTF Vancouver takes place November 6-7, 2019, in downtown Vancouver.
In a relatively short time, the BTFs (which also take place annually in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Atlantic Canada) have become coveted as events where a wide variety of business people discuss in detail what led them to transition their businesses, what form the transitions took, and how they were accomplished. Challenges along with achievements are dissected, giving delegates unusual insight into a process that eventually all entrepreneurs must undertake.
The BTFs, which are produced by Cube Business Media Inc., are also augmented by a host of speakers and advisers, and in Vancouver they will include representatives from First West Capital, BDC and Grant Thornton., along with business owners such as Charles Chang (former CEO and founder of Vega, which sold for US$550 million cash to White Wave Foods), among many others.
Mark Stephenson, president and co-founder of Cube Business Media, says, “The Business Transitions Forum is now in its fifth year in Vancouver and it came about when we realized no one in Canada offered a large-scale conference on this very important topic.”
Stephenson adds, “With the aging baby-boomer generation causing massive changes in the business world by being faced with selling their companies or passing them over to colleagues or family, our timing couldn’t have been better.” Being prepared for that tap on the shoulder and understanding what your business is worth can make the difference in maximizing marketability.
Business people of all ages attend BTFs, for the simple reason that while a planned transition may be years or even decades away, other factors such as in-bound acquisition interest, consolidation, family or health considerations are just some of the issues that could affect a business even in the early stages.
Business owners at all levels come away from BTFs with practical insights from people who have had to tackle every possible form of transition imaginable. “It might even be that you have no intention of selling your company and merely want to increase its value,” says Stephenson. “Experts at the conference are on hand to discuss this too.”
Stephenson, who spent 25 years in the conference business and 10 years ago undertook a transition, says not only do BTF delegates learn how to build a transition roadmap, “They enjoy tremendous networking opportunities. We’re very excited by this year’s program in Vancouver, and we look forward to hearing more stories about transition and how to avoid the many pitfalls associated with the process.”