They want to be independent, make a difference, and create something new—while building on existing structures, a history, and a proven business model.
In our experience so far in 2022, more and more well-educated young people with impressive résumés are interested in business succession as an alternative to starting their own company. And for good reason!
Existing companies have a solid track record, robust structures, and a clear advantage when it comes to financing. Especially in turbulent times like these, banks and investors are finding it increasingly difficult to finance new startups. In addition, the founder or current business owner is usually available for a certain period of time to offer advice and guidance—an aspect that particularly benefits this generation of successors.
These successors have different expectations; they are less likely to come from entrepreneurial families and are less familiar with the ups and downs of entrepreneurial life. They come from the security of a successful career and are now venturing into the uncertain world of entrepreneurship for the first time. That is why they value the security of an existing company, onto whose solid foundation they can step in order to gradually bring their visions to life.
Based on the inquiries and cases we’ve handled, it’s often not that important to these potential successors—or it’s not yet clear to them—which industry the company should be in. They’re more interested in a certain level of maturity or type of business and are surprisingly flexible when it comes to industry and business model. This, in turn, demonstrates just how self-assured and well-educated these successors are, and how much they trust in their own visions and abilities.
To arrive at a concrete company profile, we have developed the Successor Profiling method.
With great success, we have been able to work with interested successors to develop a company profile tailored to their needs, which they can use to select the right company to take over.
When these new successors connect with the right companies, a new era begins for those businesses—one in which innovation is combined with tradition and existing companies are transformed for the future. This is an ideal match, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.
