Entrepreneurship is often a deeply personal journey. From the first restless feelings of possibility to the realization of a successful business, every step has involved passion and sacrifice. The team at Foundry understands that becoming an entrepreneur is part of your story. When you partner with us, we also ensure it’s part of your future.
“People care about their brands like a child. They have built this thing since it was a baby, or just an idea,” said Foundry Co-Founder and Chief Acquisition Officer Kyle Walker. “It’s become a living entity and a reflection of them; something they’ve added to the world. They come to the realization that they want it to endure.”
If you are considering how to take your business to the next level and secure your legacy, read below to understand how Foundry can help you get there.
Foundry Sees the Person First
Behind every successful brand is a person, one with values, needs, aspirations, challenges and plans. Foundry understands this because many of our team members have created successful brands themselves.
“I’ve been in founders’ shoes, at three o’clock in the morning, staring at the ceiling wondering how I’m going to solve problems like payroll, vendors, financing,” said William Granruth, who works in M&A/Business Development at Foundry. “We’ve been there, and I can empathize and truly relate.”
Foundry works to understand sellers’ priorities and explores how, through a collaborative process, founders can sell their company and still grow their business while focusing on what they love — not what stresses them out. Deep listening and true understanding are hallmarks of Foundry’s due diligence process. We recognize that a founder’s inimitable spark is part of what made the business successful and will play an important role as the company grows.
Foundry Values Long-Term Growth Over Short-Term Cash Plays
We like to say we’re “choosy in a good way.” Here’s what we mean by that. First, we look for founders who are passionate about the purpose of their brand. Second, we seek out “decade-durable” businesses, brands that can scale and remain profitable for years into the future.
“In order to be successful, Foundry wants to buy well, but to grow better,” Granruth said. “We don’t want to just collect businesses; we want to build businesses alongside founders.”
Whether you hope to stay connected after selling a business or begin an entirely new adventure, Foundry is a trusted partner who helps unlock the potential of your online brand while positioning it for success for the long haul through capital, insights and resources.
Foundry Offers a Special “Alchemy” with Founders at the Center
Foundry staff and leadership bring diverse, global expertise gathered from years of growing brands across Amazon Marketplace and the ecommerce and retail industry, and combine that with proprietary data, analytics and technology.
“What makes Foundry unique is that you have 24-plus years of Amazon leadership experience and 30-plus years of ecommerce experience, people who wrote the policies and built the technology that brands are still using today,” Walker says. This experience helps Foundry leaders “see around corners” to identify brands that have future potential.
This insider marketplace knowledge is part of the “alchemy” that helps create a special brand. Foundry combines our insights and expertise with a founder’s unique vision and entrepreneurial spirit. When all of these parts work together, it helps unlock potential and prosperity.
Foundry is Looking for You
With $100 million in debt-free equity funded in March 2021, Foundry has been fast at work helping brands thrive, offering capital and expertise to create long-term success.
“We do so much diligence to understand these businesses before we buy them, there have been very few surprises in terms of how they have performed after we acquired them,” Walker says. “A lot of the things that we have anticipated have come true, and a lot of the things we saw as opportunities are in place and starting to pay off.”
In fact, some brand founders have not only enjoyed greater success, but a home with Foundry, choosing to stay on in a permanent capacity or participate in the company’s innovative “Founder in Residence” program. This is all by design, starting with Foundry leadership’s novel approach to business.
“We think about it more as of a collaboration as opposed to an acquisition,” Walker says.
If you’ve been asking yourself “Should I sell my business?” but aren’t sure where to start, let’s have a conversation.