‘Where are they now?’ – Jeremy Harford

February 15, 2024

As part of our ‘Where are they now?’ series, we decided to interview ex-client Jeremy Harford, Founder of MESTEC. In this interview, we chat to Jeremy about why he chose to work with Bluebox, how selling his business changed his life and what he is up to now…

 

Can you give us a brief description about the business and your involvement before selling?

Mestec is a pureplay SaaS (Software As A Service) company providing fully-managed digital process management systems to regulated manufacturing sectors.

I was the original founder of Mestec and was the full-time CEO up until 2 years before selling, when I resigned my executive role in order to a) focus my efforts to ‘groom’ the business for maximum valuation, and b) so that I could make a ‘clean’ 100% exit when the sale completed.

 

What were the highs and lows of the sale process for you?

Highs:

  • Learnt a new skill as I entered and immersed myself in the world of M&A.
  • Finally had the opportunity / ‘bandwidth’ to polish some key aspects of the company that I never had time to do whilst being CEO.
  • Waking-up one morning, looking at my banking app and seeing more money in my bank account than I ever dreamt of!

Lows:

  • The introduction of slightly different objectives and priorities to the rest of the management team when I stepped down from CEO as we entered the pre-sales process. There were moments of mild friction.
  • Following the sale completion, a bit of an identity crisis as my life suddenly changed, but with time I was able to adapt and replace ‘work life’ with other much-needed challenges.

 

What has happened to the business since selling?

It was acquired by an ambitious US private equity firm who heavily invested in its growth. The company’s employees were able to advance in their careers and have been well looked-after which was a major deciding factor in choosing the ‘right’ acquirer. The company’s revenues and headcount have increased dramatically.

 

Why did you choose Bluebox to assist with the sale process and how did we help?

I chose Bluebox because they were the only CFA we considered who were a real ‘solution sales’ organisation rather than a team of accountants and/or ex-bankers! Selling a business is a solution sell and therefore a sell-side CFA requires this skill at its core.

Bluebox were a full solution in every respect. As an example, I never spoke with any of the potential or actual buyers directly. This separation allowed Bluebox to do what they do best which is to sell companies for the best price and on the most favourable terms.

 

How has your life changed since selling the business?

So far I have enjoyed what I believe has been a well-deserved 2 year sabbatical and am slowly learning that ticking 100 boxes per day isn’t necessary to live a happy life!

I live a privileged lifestyle including long luxurious holidays, buying a collection of expensive and very fast supercars and have just bought the house of my dreams!

 

What are you doing now?

Still enjoying the above but have realised that I would also like to help others who have made the decision that it’s time for them to make an exit. I learnt a lot about what you need to do to a business to make it ‘sale-ready’ and would like to provide support to exiting founders and shareholders during the ‘pre-CFA’ phase.

 

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

Enjoying a healthy balance between part-time consultancy work and enjoying the finer things in life!

 

What has been your best memory of MESTEC?

My amazing, talented and loyal management team without whom I would have none of this…

 

If you could give your younger self from 10 years ago one piece of advice, what would it be?

Learn from others who are better than you but allow gut-instinct to be the heaviest influencer of the decisions you make.

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