[Fan Favorite] Strategic Partnerships and the Art of the Deal, with George & Joshua Robertson

In Good Companies

We wish you a very happy holiday season!

Join us in revisiting a much loved episode from season three. It’s our gift to you to say thank you for being part of our In Good Companies community.

This fan favorite episode asks: Are you thinking about selling a business? Or buying into a venture in the new year? Then you know that when it comes to dealing with the deal, both stakes and emotions are high. So, to help you navigate the opportunities ahead, we dive into the human element of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). What’s it like to sell your business? How do you manage change? What can you do to build trust?

To answer these questions, we speak with two people who have experienced the whole spectrum of M&A transactions. The father and son team George & Joshua Robertson run GrowCo Capital, an investment firm based in Fort Worth, Texas. But before they were in venture capital, they ran their own businesses, including National HME. Hear the story of how George and Josh navigated the strategic partnership and eventual sale of their family business and the lessons they now bring to the buy-side. We’ll explore how to manage your emotions, communicate with employees and set a clear vision so that everyone can win.

Grab some hot cocoa and join us for a season three greatest hit to learn how to “Deal with the Deal.”

Highlights:

• The Robertsons’ family background (2:05)
• Planting the seeds for National HME (4:40)
• National HME: the early years (7:43)
• Why the Robertsons went looking for strategic partners (8:54)
• How they chose partners (10:02)
• Managing emotions (12:06)
• How George and Josh adapted to new partners (14:22)
• The golden nugget (16:41)
• Communicating with employees (18:03)
• Saying goodbye to the company you’ve built (19:23)
• Having values at your core (21:47)
• George and Josh on the buy-side (22:53)
• Using what they’ve learned (23:57)
• Channeling emotion towards a goal (26:13)
• MasVida Health and the future for the Robertsons (28:17)

Links:

• Cadence Bank Website
• Cadence Bank Twitter
• Cadence Bank LinkedIn
• GrowCo Capital
• George Robertson LinkedIn
• Joshua Robertson LinkedIn
• MasVida Health
• Forbes - Emotions Matter When Selling Your Company
• Harvard Business Review - Dealing with the Emotional Fallout of Selling Your Business
• LinkedIn - What CEOs must do to lead successful mergers and acquisitions

Feedback:

If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, [e-mail], [e-mail], or [e-mail].