Your Exit Strategy

1. Identify the exit strategy you plan to make.
  • I plan to stay with Plantiful and lead the team in the day-to-day running of the business for at least 5 years. I want to do everything I can to ensure that we are successful in serving healthy, delicious, sustainably sourced food to students on UF's campus. The idea of being a part of the making of the menu and interacting with customers sounds really fun to me. But, I wouldn't want to be doing that for more than 10 years. During that time I would like to see the business grow and then I'd like to sell it to an individual or company that shares my vision and will continue making a difference in student's lives through healthy eating and sustainability. Depending on how successful we are at UF, I would also consider franchising the business so that people can open Plantiful restaurants all over the country. 

2. Why have you selected this particular exit strategy?
  • I chose this exit strategy because I'm super passionate about the business and it's always been a dream of mine to open my own restaurant where I would serve people my favorite nourishing healthy recipes. The main reason I don't foresee myself staying with it for more than 10 years is because I imagine that ten years from now I will be entering a whole new phase in my life, one in which I probably will not have as much time. At that point, I probably won't be able to devote as much of myself to running the restaurant and putting in the long hours. I want to see the business be successful, but I don't think that's what I want to be doing for the rest of my life. 

3. How do you think your exit strategy has influenced the other decisions you've made in your concept? 
  •  Knowing that I will eventually end up leaving the business has influenced my decision making in that it has forced me to think through the long-term goals of the business, as well as the overall identity. Most of my ideas have been made in the interest of specifically serving the Gainesville/UF community. I've focused a lot on college students in particular. But, I have kept the idea of franchising in the back of my mind from the beginning. I would love to see the business grow to where it can serve different markets all over the country because I think the need for healthy vegan fast food options is present everywhere. However, as I made the decision to focus on sustainability, I knew that would impact the ability to franchise the business because working with local farmers gets more difficult as the business grows and moves into new markets. 

Comments

  1. Madylin McConnellApril 17, 2020 at 11:19 AM

    Hi Grace,
    I think you did a good job of identifying your exit strategy because you were realistic with yourself. You easily could have made the assignment easier and said you were going to stick with the venture forever. However, similar to what I did, you identified you saw yourself doing something else in the future. I think you have a good idea of franchising because you could market to college campuses.
    ~Mady

    ReplyDelete
  2. WilliamolApril 20, 2020 at 2:25 AM

    this is a very insightful exit strategy! I feel like 10 years is a perfect amount of time for you to start your business, gain valuable experience and monetary gains, and then you can sell it once you are ready to move onto another venture. I agree that it would make sense to try yourself in something else..I think you will be successful and profitable. I admire your ambition and strategy and if you stick to this plan, you could go really far with it. Great post!

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