Inspired by a speech by Apple founder, Steve Jobs, however, his The Big Difference: Other People’s Money 39 dream became to grow the company more. Th is CEO knew that he had the drive but worried about putting so much of his personal money at stake. He could not aff ord to take the risk, nor could he go to the public markets at that stage. To help his company evolve, the CEO sold 75% of the company’s shares to private equity partners. Th ey helped build up the staff , create systems, and identify acquisitions. Ironically, his 25% share ownership ended up giving him more fi nancial return than if he had kept 100% to himself. How incredibly satisfying when the diffi cult course turns out also to be the best! Of course, if you’re following Steve Jobs’ advice you must know the risks to growing. One additional point-Jobs may have lost his spot at Apple for a decade but he says the company made it through that period due to the private equity fi nancial partners in place. Risk is relative. A medical device company wanted to launch a new product. As the owner knew it would cost $5M to bring to market, he weighed the risks. “Right now, I’m profi table. If all goes well, the product will grow my $10M company to $30M, with a cash fl ow of $1M. If it does not go well, I’m in the hole for $5M and it will take me fi ve years to break even and get back to where I am now.” Pass! But private equity partners will be lured to the possibility of growth. Th ey catch a glimpse of the big fi sh in the dark water and appreciate the gleam of its scales; they will pick up the harpoon and take on the struggle, bleeding from holding the line, facing unbelievable adversity to bring home the fi sh others can only admire from the shoreline. Th at medical device company’s CEO settled on admitting to the conservative nature of his personal and fi nancial goals. “I built this business in my garage and now it has to fl y without just me. Let’s get in partners and share the risk.” He got enough cash off the table to cover his retirement and compensate for all the hungry years, but he was still able to stay around to enjoy the new growth with the partners who brought valuable new skills-vision, contacts, and patient capital through the storm. Decrease Ownership but Gain Growth As a business owner, you set your risk by the amount of shares you sell to a private equity fi rm. It is vital to realize that you control the level of eff ort the fund will bring to your revenue growth. 40 CHAPTER 2 You can sell: 100% or 90% and walk away from the company. By selling 90%, you can keep shares and get some upside to the new ownership. 75% and keep some control but benefi t from the skills and Herculean eff ort put in by your new partners. 30% and take on a minority shareholder-you cannot expect these partners to be seriously handson for that amount. Private equity partners will not be motivated to do a great deal of heavy lifting for just 30% of the rewards.