On the 29th of January, we spent an afternoon organised by Agency Hackers at the British Library with 100+ agency leaders, all with different perspectives on growing an agency business. Each talk brought something new to the table, from Simon Penson talking M&A deals and the red flags that can derail them, to Gareth Hoyle on how to build a successful lifestyle business.
The human side of acquisitions
It was Becky Simms' session – Inside the Deal: The Human First Acquisition – that really got us thinking.
Becky's story was about buying a business and carefully integrating the two teams together. It was honest, warm, and refreshingly human. But there was an uncomfortable truth running through it – in many acquisitions, the original team don't fare so well. Buyers are often only interested in purchasing your book of business, they're not necessarily keen on keeping your people. Why would they need two finance managers? Two creative directors? Two of anyone?
The binary choice
This is the tension agency owners live with. What feels like a binary choice:
- Prioritise your team, keep things steady, and watch the business plateau.
- Build for scale, chase growth, aiming to sell. Knowing that sale likely means some of your people become someone else's redundancy problem.
"It was clear from the event that many agency founders genuinely care about their people," says Chris Maslin, Go EO’s founder. "They're not just building businesses – they're building teams, cultures, careers. The idea of a business sale where those people get absorbed or let go doesn't sit right with them. But they also can't run the business forever."
Exploring the options
Of course, there are a range of exit routes for agency founders. Trade sales, MBOs, private equity, and EOTs. All have their pros and cons.
Simon Penson stressed how important it is to read the very small print in the terms and conditions of any deal you make in his talk about the ‘Anatomy of a Deal’. Adam Hill, founder of Designate, explained how every buyer that approached him wanted to move the office from Brighton, which would have meant disbanding his team. In the end, it was something he just couldn't do. Designate chose to stay proudly independent.
I gained an impression from the summit that agency founders use quite a lot of headspace thinking about what happens next to their agency and their team.
“I really believe that an EOT should be in that headspace, amongst the other options,” says Chris.
EOTs for agencies
At Go EO, we've helped quite a few agencies, like Coda and A Thousand Monkeys, sell to an EOT.
Let’s be clear. This exit route is not without trade-offs. You probably won't get the headline price a trade sale might offer. The business still needs to perform. And it's not the right fit for every business and founder.
But for agencies – where success depends almost entirely on the people doing the work – there's something appealing about handing the business to the team who built it with you. With no lengthy due diligence or drawn out negotiations, it’s the easiest/most collaborative way to exit your business. Plus, no ethical concerns of selling to a stranger who sees your people as a cost to cut.
"It's one option among many," says Chris. "But for founders who've built something around their team and culture, it's worth knowing it exists."
For agency owners stuck between plateauing and selling out, an EOT might just be the third way.
If you're curious whether an EOT could work for your agency, get in touch.