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Episode 195

Strategic Spin-Outs: Donald Thompson’s Series of Successful Exits

This week on The Exit: Donald Thompson, founder and CEO of The Diversity Movement, shares insights from his numerous successful business exits, starting from his role in iCubed, which was acquired by Adobe, to leading multiple spin-outs and acquisitions.

Donald recounts how his team at iCubed, post-acquisition, bought back the company, grew it, and later sold it again. This became a foundational strategy over his career and led to multiple large-scale exits.

He attributes his success in these endeavors to cohesive entrepreneurial-minded teams and emphasizes the value of delayed gratification by taking equity over only a salary.

For those looking to exit, while it’s important to be prepared to answer questions about your business for due diligence, deeply understanding the buyer’s growth strategy and how your business fits into that can significantly enhance negotiation outcomes.

For more details and insights from his entrepreneurial journey, listen to the full episode of The Exit.

Personal Bio: 

Donald Thompson has built an extraordinary career spanning diverse industries from tech sales and IT leadership, to digital marketing and pioneering DEI programming while serving on more than a dozen advisory boards. Through unparalleled experience particularly in creating companies, leading startups and growing them to over a $1 million revenue milestone. Donald has positioned himself as a sought-after executive coach and advisor.

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/donaldthompsonjr/

The Inclusive Leadership Handbook – https://thediversitymovement.com/product/the-inclusive-leadership-handbook/

For a Free Flippa Business Valuation: https://flippa.com/exit

The Exit—Presented By Flippa: A 30-minute podcast featuring expert entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. The Exit talks to operators who have bought and sold a business. You’ll learn how they did it, why they did it, and get exposure to the world of exits, a world occupied by a small few, but accessible to many. To listen to the podcast or get daily listing updates, click on flippa.com/the-exit-podcast/

YOUR HOST

Steve McGarry

An entrepreneur, content creator, and investor based in sunny Tampa, Florida. In 2015, while living in San Francisco, Steve sold his first fintech startup LendLayer to Max Levchin’s (founder of PayPal) consumer finance company Affirm.

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