The Såpa partial exit: who do we want to build the next phase with?
A big number is easy to fall in love with. Who will be sitting beside you once the money has changed accounts?
ORIGINAL EPISODE: Vi tackade nej till högsta budet, hela sanningen om delexit i Västerbottenssåpa #103 · · Audio in Swedish
We did not choose the highest offer for Västerbottenssåpa. I wanted to understand who we would build the next phase with, which expertise the company lacked and how the team would keep running the business during due diligence. In episode 103, I discuss that process in spring 2026. Here I develop the experience of choosing a partner and preparing for the deal.
What do you want the company to become after the process?
The plan was not to build a company simply to sell it. In the episode, I divide the journey into phases: the founders’ initial work, the period when PG joined and the next phase with a new ownership partner. Finally completing the process created room to look forward again.
That perspective affected how we viewed the offers. We discussed what was good for the company and for us, in both the short and long term. We wanted to build a brand that could outlast our own time in the business. That made the people and organisation behind the offer important.
We did not choose the highest offer. Price mattered, but the figure needed to sit alongside what we believed the partnership would involve. A new ownership team is also a team you will make difficult decisions with.
Listen at this point · 03:05Explain the weak spots before someone else finds them.
Much of the preparation involved giving a fair picture of the business. We wanted to show the forecasts, the problems we had experienced, those that remained and what we thought was needed to solve them. Missing pieces needed to be on the table too.
Retail is a specific example. It was an important part of the future plan, but we lacked someone responsible for that role in the team. That is a very different discussion from drawing a new sales channel into a presentation and hoping it happens.
That clarity makes the dialogue more useful. Can a prospective partner understand what you need, what the next step requires and what they can actually contribute? Then the conversation concerns a real business. A frictionless story that never mentions a problem says little about how the company will develop.
Listen at this point · 09:20Show what the forecast rests on.
During due diligence, the question returns: what supports the forecast? I describe our work with evidence from stores and analyses of customers and products. There was something more concrete to discuss than future markets listed in a spreadsheet.
Some of the work also improved our understanding of our own range. More detailed cohorts raised questions about which products brought customers in, which brought them back, and how seasons and launches affected the picture. Due diligence can generate useful questions for the operational work.
A small test does not prove that a new market works at scale. Show what you have seen, how you have extrapolated and which resources the next step requires. A buyer can scrutinise the assumption, and you can discover what still lacks support.
Listen at this point · 26:00The next size of business may need different strengths.
As production, stock, leadership and new channels grow, the team needs more capabilities. In the episode, I describe why we sought reinforcement even though the existing group had worked well.
We had hired and continued building the team. Still, we saw value in a partner with relevant expertise and a personal commitment to the company’s development. I think conversations change when you also share risk and upside.
Values mattered too. We wanted to show that reuse could be a viable business, and looked for people who wanted to contribute to its continued development. Choosing a partner involved more than comparing capital. We needed to consider what each party would add when everyday work resumed.
Listen at this point · 34:00Someone must keep running the company while you sell part of it.
A transaction process demands materials, figures, meetings and new answers. Follow-up questions arrive from several directions. If the same people remain fully responsible for sales and execution, there is real competition for their time. Having advisers does not remove it.
In our case, I could take on much of the process while the operational team continued its daily work. My role was strategic and advisory, which let me protect their focus. The team still needed to participate, but did not have to own every incoming question.
I also want to be clear about who did the work in the company. In the episode, I credit Stefania and her marketing and growth team, and Daniel for his work close to the founders and in the process. My public visibility does not make ongoing business development my personal achievement. The people and their collaboration carry it.
Listen at this point · 40:05Prepare a company that stands up to close inspection.
Knowing your figures, inventory and forecasts helps long before someone wants to buy shares. It makes the business easier to understand now. When conditions change, the new picture needs explaining and the evidence needs updating, rather than everyone continuing to discuss an old plan.
We also discuss dependencies: a key person, channel, supplier or part of the technology. What happens if it stops working? In our own journey, stock and delivery problems had affected customer experience and marketing.
Review those dependencies before the process starts. What happens if a key person is away, a supplier is late or a channel stops working? That helps determine both what the company needs to improve and which partner can contribute.
Listen at this point · 48:18This article is based on the conversation and adapted for reading.