I sold my company. These are the 10 things I learned.
In October of 2013, while working a full-time job, I soft launched the Paper Tube Co. out of my garage. Over the next decade, through tens of thousands of hours of wins, losses, trials, adjustments, frustrations, breakthroughs, and hard work, my team and I grew the company to a 26,000 sq ft, 25-person market leader in premium, sustainable, niche packaging. We had two patents, Fortune 1000 clients, and employees on two continents.
Two Fridays ago, in October of 2024, I sold my shares of the company to my partner and stepped down. Somewhere in the late stages of growth, I lost my purpose. At a certain point, far removed from the depths of any one particular role, I found myself pointlessly staring at a computer screen. It was my company, but it felt like another dead-end job. I was no longer having fun.
As I said in our last town hall, this wasn’t the end. This was the next stage. In the words of Sigmund Freud, "The good mother necessarily fails". I was the mother, and the company was ready for the real world. So instead of playing out the pathology, it was time to let go. The town hall could have been a eulogy (or perhaps this), but instead I read the ten lessons I learned during my time at Paper Tube Co. And so here they are:
The best time to do something was years ago. The second best time is today. Know that it's never too late to make a change. The last thing you want is to look back at your life and wonder “what if”. With that said, the sooner you do it the less painful it is.
Be the type of person you yourself would want to depend on. What kind of relationships do you want? Genuine or transactional? Can you distinguish between the behaviors that lead to one and the other? Good. Now you know what to do.
If you have to cut off the cat's tail, do it in one motion. Obviously, this is a metaphor. Practice showed me that the best way to deliver bad news is in one sitting, in as concise a manner as possible, using proper words and tone. People would rather have the full story so they can plan accordingly, than try to make decisions on partial information. Make the cut. Deal with the consequences.
If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room. But you're likely not the smartest person in any room. If you’re even remotely intelligent, it’s easy to think (and show) that you’re better than everyone else. In the most pragmatic sense, that viewpoint is shortsighted and only creates enemies. And what you really want is for others to help you in the achievement of your goals (or at least not get in the way). Plus you miss out on the opportunity to see things from another perspective, even if you think you already know it.
Success is not a one-person achievement. I used to think that because I was the one making all the decisions, all the wins were the result of my own efforts. That’s a naive and a fairly conceited worldview (see #4 above). All the teachers, partners, friends and those that believed in you and invested their time, effort, and confidence share in your success. Without them, who knows how far, or near, you’d come.
Have faith that things will work out and be grateful no matter what comes your way. You don't know what kind of worse luck your bad luck saved you from. Most times we can only see and act on what’s right in front of us. Believe in the greater plan. You’re given what you need, when you need it. Have faith.
Overcommunicate. People do better when they know where they’re going. As managers and leaders, you’ll achieve better results if you keep things transparent instead of cloudy, secretive, and on-the-need-to-know basis.
Discipline will set you free. People think of discipline as limiting. The claim is, it puts constraints on creativity and freedom of expression. On the contrary. If you laser focus on your priorities, you’ll achieve greater long-term freedom. I personally found that boundaries and limits forced you to be more creative with your approach.
Recognize the miracles when they appear. When you live and die by the numbers, you take all the divinity out of operations, and business is as much luck as it is skill. And so when something extraordinary happens, it gets written off as an inevitable result of data-driven decision making. Your first sale is a miracle. Your first repeat customer is a miracle. Your acumen to achieve both of those things is also a miracle. Recognize and celebrate them.
The best things in life are free. The second best are the most expensive. The Swiss watch you buy with your commission check is expensive. Calling your loved ones to tell them you closed the deal is free, and priceless. When you look back, chances are you’ll remember the feelings you had rather than the things you acquired.
Huge thank you to everyone I met on this path. I couldn’t have done it without you. On to the next adventure
