Investing in Obsession: The Inside Story
#55 Angelinvesting.it - From idea to Series A - Weekly Newsletter
Dear reader,
Often, the most challenging times in our lives, turn out to be the most significant and formative. This is how I reflect on the period between 2010 and 2013.
In November 2010, at the age of twenty-eight, I was appointed as the sole administrator of my family's holding company. I lacked the traditional qualifications or seniority for the role, but at that time, I was seemingly the only viable option.
Our holding company was on the brink of financial collapse. We were burdened with 13 million in debt, 7 million of which were overdue (and we would later discover an additional 2 million overdue), and we were experiencing negative monthly cash flows of 300,000 euros.
The bank that had extended us the most credit had reported us to the central risk database because we were no longer able to meet the agreed repayment plan. A "family friend" offered a rescue deal, but it undervalued our holding company significantly.
When in November 2010 I accepted the role, I did so wholeheartedly, yet with the knowledge that there was a path forward. Despite our cash flow issues, our holding company possessed a multitude of assets, some were draining our resources and some with high potential.
Looking back, the restructuring process seems almost straightforward.
I made a clear distinction between strategic assets and those less crucial.
I quickly, yet astutely, sold off the non-strategic assets.
I negotiated a patient yet generous repayment plan with our creditors, taking into account the realistic timeframe needed for the sales.
However, the emotional aspect was far from straightforward. It involved hundreds of hours of relentless work, week after week, month after month, year after year. More challenging still was managing relationships with family members, acting in their best interest while often facing their criticism and negative judgments.
In February 2012, we listed our most significant holding on the Seoul Stock Exchange. That moment felt like releasing pressure from a pressure cooker. Our financial troubles began to ease, first gradually and then all at once.
I look back on those three years as the most pivotal of my life. I was thrust into deep waters and proved to myself that not only could I swim, but I could swim exceptionally well.
The intensity of motivation I felt then, when everything our family had built over 40 years was at stake, ignited a level of determination in me that I have never experienced so profoundly in any other professional context.
I seldom see that kind of obsessive dedication in entrepreneurs, but when I do, that's where I want to invest.
Have a great weekend,
Simone
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