The Situation

Devin has worked for the same company since graduating from college. The company specializes in providing outsourced software solutions to Fortune 100 companies. He has worked his way up to team lead and has built strong relationships with a handful of the companies he works with. Corporate is shifting its business focus, leaving a few of his key clients underserved. 

Devin has always had that entrepreneurial itch, and a few of his contacts at the companies have asked him what his plans are. He knows that with these few relationships, he could build a profitable company. With some investors and capital to build a team, he could quickly carve out a nice market serving other underserved companies. 

The problem is that he doesn’t know where to start. He is burning the candle at both ends, keeping up with work all day and researching how to create a company and build a team. He still needs to build a pitch and figure out how to attract potential investors.

He knows that for this to work, he needs to move fast. He needs a partner who has done this before.

The Approach

Devin needed someone to help him narrow his choices and make quick high-impact decisions. He needed a team to help with all of the parts of running a business that he had no experience with. He needs someone who can help him navigate the world of VC fundraising and also help him with building his team.

 The Results

Devin heard about the Pleasant Street Wealth Founder’s Roadmap TM process at a networking event in the city In the first few minutes of speaking with their team, he had answers to a few of his questions and knew that their team had the expertise to help his business in all of the areas he needed it. Through the process, they helped Devin by:

• Educating him about entity structure and explaining that if he wanted to raise VC money, he would want to be a C-Corp. If he planned to raise friends and family money, he could get by with an LLC/S-Corp, but if the end goal is to raise outside money, why wait?
  They introduced him to the A Method of hiring and even helped interview his first hire. That employee is still a key member of the company today.
• They introduced him to a great lawyer, CPA, and benefits consulting team.
• As the company grew, they helped create and administer the company retirement plan.

Today Devin’s company has carved out a solid niche market serving 85% of the Fortune 100 companies and is focused on expanding capacity to continue growing the business and winning market share. 

During the first years, things were chaotic and lean. Devin invested everything back into the business. Now as he continues scaling, he is working with the Pleasant Street Team to build his financial foundation. He knows he can count on the Pleasant Street Team; they were in the trenches with him from the beginning.

Note: The above case study is hypothetical and does not involve an actual Pleasant Street Wealth client. No portion of the content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience the same or a certain level of results or satisfaction if Pleasant Street Wealth Advisors is engaged in providing investment advisory services.

The Situation

Anyone who meets Diane can immediately sense her passion for health and wellness. What started as a personal passion project during her 20s working in accounting turned into a regional Health and Beauty empire. Diane’s unique approach to nutrition consulting and fitness resonated with young professionals. As her brand grew, so did her interests. She expanded into eCommerce and opened a brick-and-mortar studio/storefront.    

Diane accomplished everything she could imagine professionally. In fact, she was feeling a little burnt out. She was ready for a vacation, a long one! She and her husband had talked of traveling the world. Her kids were grown off pursuing their passions. She was content with everything she had accomplished and was ready to exit. 

Diane had never done any financial planning. Business was good, and she spent what she earned and wanted for nothing. She had a few houses, some investments, and a healthy retirement account balance but no idea what she needed to sustain her lifestyle. 

She and her husband were also worried about their estate plan. They hoped their children would have kids one day, and they wanted to pass on wealth with as little taxes as possible.

The Approach

For the first time in her life, Diane needed someone to coach her. She built the business and received unsolicited offers to buy her out all the time. She had an idea of the value, but she also knew she needed an expert who could help her on the personal planning and business planning side. She wanted an exit that would set her family up financially for multiple generations and hoped that the brand would continue leaving her legacy of health and wellness.

The Results

Diane found working with the Pleasant Street Wealth Team to be fascinating. She had never learned so much about personal finance, estate planning, and about Private Equity. Through the process, she was able to:

• Clarify her Wealth Gap, the amount of money she needed to receive net of transaction costs to support all of her personal financial goals.
• Connect with an estate attorney who was able to help her position assets pre-transaction in an advantageous way for estate planning. Saving their family millions of dollars in estate taxes.
• Navigate the many exit options to select the one that helped her achieve her exit goals of maximum liquidity and brand consistency.

Diane did a Minority Recap with a Private Equity firm that specializes in the health and wellness industry. She stayed on for a transitional period, and after two years, she sold her remaining equity, getting two bites at the apple to maximize her value. She also helped the Private Equity firm with a few of their other portfolio companies, increasing the pie for everyone. 

Diane and her husband lived their dream of cruising on the Mediterranean, exploring the Pacific Islands, and many other adventures. When she and her husband visited a boutique hotel vineyard in Argentina, it inspired them. Like many founders, she reinvented herself and now runs a boutique hotel and vineyard in Napa Valley.

Note: The above case study is hypothetical and does not involve an actual Pleasant Street Wealth client. No portion of the content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience the same or a certain level of results or satisfaction if Pleasant Street Wealth Advisors is engaged in providing investment advisory services.

The Situation

For 38 years, Fred has been running a specialty manufacturing company he built and grew into a successful business that employs 20 full-time employees. Fred’s son Ben joined the business a few years after college. He spent a few years at another company to gain experience before joining his father’s business.

Ben has worked his way up to Vice President and has the respect of the other employees. He feels that he is ready to run the business and take it to the next level. While Fred is happy to see his son so engaged in the business he built, he isn’t sure he is ready to hand over the keys to the car just yet.  

Fred trusts his son but also feels a sense of responsibility to the 20 employees who are also family to him, he wants to make sure the management team is on-board with any transition plans. Fred thinks Ben will be a capable manager of the business but wants to follow a methodical approach to the transition. 

As much as Fred and his wife love Ben, they also have other children and want to make sure they are securing their retirement and legacy goals with any transition.

The Approach

Any business transition is complex, but when you add in the element of family, things can be even more complicated. Fred is concerned about Ben feeling slighted, the potential of a management exodus, and how to manage expectations with the other family members who are not involved in the business.

The Results

Fred appreciated the concurrent planning processes Pleasant Street implemented to navigate the challenges. The team engaged the family in multi-generational planning while working with the executive team to get management buy-in to the transition process. The processes helped create a successful transition by: 

• Utilizing a multiple share class gifting strategy to gradually transition control to Ben while retaining income rights for Fred and the family.
  Helping management think like owners and buy into the transition strategy and long-term vision for the company.
• Aligning the family’s shared multi-generational goals into a family legacy plan.
• Taking care of the employees who helped the business get to where it was and ensuring they will have secure jobs into the future.

Fred gradually retired from the business while Ben, with the support and mentorship of the other executives, grew into a great leader and steward of the business for future generations. 

Fred still serves on the advisory board but is no longer actively involved in the business. He always enjoys attending the annual company cookout to reconnect with the employees and hear about what is new in their lives.

Note: The above case study is hypothetical and does not involve an actual Pleasant Street Wealth client. No portion of the content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience the same or a certain level of results or satisfaction if Pleasant Street Wealth Advisors is engaged in providing investment advisory services.