Building enduring businesses
What permanent ownership actually changes
Removing the exit date changes which decisions look sensible inside a business.
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A fund holding a company for five years is rational to prioritise anything that shows up within five years. That is not cynicism, it is arithmetic.
Remove the exit date and the arithmetic changes.
Replacing machinery, training an apprentice, or keeping a long-standing customer on sensible terms all become straightforwardly good decisions rather than costs that spoil a sale process.
Owners notice this quickly after completion. The questions asked are about the next decade, because that is the period the owner intends to be there for.
