My Exit Strategy - Think Positive

The exit strategy that I intend to take is selling my product to a car manufacturer for a decent sum of money. My original goal is still intact which is to get as any people as possible to purchase and use this device. By selling this device to a manufacturing company; the device can be modified to be installed into newer vehicles coming out in the future. For instance, all of the newer technology provided in vehicles for 2015/16 makes and models includes functions to help you reverse the vehicle and show what is behind you or customize settings. I believe selling my product to manufacturers will ensure the product to be hidden and work properly as well as being seen as a bonus feature in a new car.

I chose this exit strategy because production, profit and the product itself can only go so far as a small business. My biggest fear in the first five year plan I laid out in a prior assignment is not developing the device and having enough revenue to make a significant profit as a business owner. With having partnerships with possibly an insurance company and select hearing specialist offices, the product can only go so far. I would not have the money to hire numerous people to spread the word of HereWheel in different regions and would not be willing to take out a business loan. By building the product as best I can with the resources I have; the first five years will be the most pivotal and having my name attached to that will be a large responsibility but I would be accredited for the invention and beginning stages of the product. By handing off my product it will gain the attention it deserves and will have manufacturers’ mindset to further develop and perfect the invention.

I think that my exit strategy has helped how I view my opportunity and opportunities to come in the future. These opportunities may not have to be business related but setting a realistic timeline is important. By thinking ahead to the point of an exit strategy it will further allow someone to pin point milestones that one would like to set and accomplish in a certain time frame. I think there have been times when an opportunity has slipped away because there was not a realist timeline set with an end goal or exit strategy in mind. This tends to lead to stalling the beginning steps or not starting a concept at all because there was no push to do so. My exit strategy has certainly influenced my growth intentions as it will limit my success with limited resources. I do think that I can only go so far because if I go to a bigger company and present my elevator pitch, I would not have the numbers to back my idea. I would predict having minimum customers and not continuous profit which would make it difficult to continue moving forward. Therefore, I do think my growth is limited unless I sell to a manufacturer or bring in larger companies (which would cost more money than I would gain). My exit strategy does feed into resources as I would want my resources to know the plan so there would not be any surprises in the future to throw anyone off. I think that by including everyone on the plan would ensure everyone is certain of our progress and can prepare for the future as best they can, not only for our company but for themselves. I also think by including everyone on the "bigger picture" that it shows good entrepreneurship qualities on my behalf that can reflect well when it comes time to sell the product to a larger manufacturer. In my mind, a manufacturer who may be interested may interview employees I have hired to see how I treated and ran my company. By keeping everyone in the loop there would be no secrets and productive management on my behalf. I find this would be a win/win/win situation for everyone involved! 

My car, it fits the product. Valerie the bug!