Publications

Planning For The Unexpected Return: Lessons From Grubhub’s Founder

Planning For The Unexpected Return: Lessons From Grubhub’s Founder

Why Do Founders Buy Back Their Businesses?Selling a company doesn't always mean closing the door for good. In some cases, owners find themselves wanting, or even needing, to regain control of the very businesses they once let go. From a planning perspective, it's critical to understand why owners might want to reclaim their former enterprises. While it may seem counterintuitive to want to buy back a company that was sold for a significant profit, there are many reasons why this occurs.

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Don’t Blame Venture Capitalists For SVB's Collapse
Estate Planning, Entrepreneur Matthew Erskine Estate Planning, Entrepreneur Matthew Erskine

Don’t Blame Venture Capitalists For SVB's Collapse

Better decision-making processes, not railing against venture capitalists, are some of the lessons that should come out of the Silicon Valley Bank's collapse. From an estate planning perspective, the issue is not so much what the venture capitalists did, as much as how they came to the decision they did to advise their portfolio companies to withdraw funds from the bank. This is most likely because most venture capitalists who are controlling the funds are, at their core, entrepreneurs and use an action-based decision-making process.

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Estate Planning For Foxes, Entrepreneurs And People With ADHD
ADHD, Entrepreneur, Small Business, Neurodiverse Matthew Erskine ADHD, Entrepreneur, Small Business, Neurodiverse Matthew Erskine

Estate Planning For Foxes, Entrepreneurs And People With ADHD

So, here are some helpful tips for you, if you are an entrepreneur or a person with ADHD and need to do some estate planning (or any type of decision making for that matter):

• Write it down: Writing your goal and your scenario down requires you to think through the process. Remember, if it is not in writing, it does not exist (at least as far as the probate court is concerned).

• Make snap decisions: In times of crisis, it is better to do something, even if it not the optimal thing, than to do nothing.

• Have a dictator: Find someone to whom you declare your goals and objectives. Give them the right to impose firm standards from the outside.

• Record what you have learned: When you do get something done, record it and learn from it, good or bad.

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