Exit Guide

These figures are encouraging: they prove the solidity of the Tech financing model by VCs - which is based on the principle of sale - and encourage them to fund start-ups even more widely. They also show that, in a world whose digitalization has accelerated with the pandemic, start-ups have become, thanks to their capacity for innovation, undisputed drivers of growth.

But these exciting figures should not hide another reality: beyond the flamboyant mythology of exit in the Tech ecosystem, successfully completing a sale remains a difficult and demanding exercise, and a major challenge.

For the founder of the transferred company, The sale of his business crystallizes years of work and commitment and can radically change one's personal and professional perspectives.

For shareholders then, because it allows them to make their investment and validate the confidence they placed several years ago in the growth prospects of a small start-up.

PFor the purchaser of course, which will enable it to accelerate its growth. Moreover, sales are not only the business of large groups. See more and more scale-ups buying small businesses with the declared ambition to become a leader in their sector is an exciting sign of the vitality and growing maturity of the French Tech ecosystem.

Finally, the transfer is of course a crucial issue for the company itself and its teams, which it is thus part of a new growth dynamic. Selling your business is not only the culmination of an entrepreneurial adventure: it is also the start of a new chapter. Moreover, integration with the purchaser remains a strategic issue, and it is the responsibility of the entrepreneur to also succeed in this stage.

What is at stake with the success of start-up divestitures is the sustainability of the story told by French Tech : its ability to create global giants, capable of serving innovation and defining the standards of tomorrow's world.

For all these challenges, and because The mission of Galion is to support founders at all stages of their entrepreneurial lives, we chose to make it a guide based on the experience of Galleon members and on the expertise of our partner Edmond de Rothschild. We hope that it will help those who wish to embark on this path.

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¹ Datasite report produced in partnership with Mergermarket in December 2021,

² Global M&A in 2021 set to be biggest ever year | Refinitiv Perspectives