About the Book
Every year, more than fifty thousand deserving entrepreneurs and executives attempt to sell a company they've worked tirelessly to build--yet more than 70 percent fail. Why? Because most deals are derailed by hidden dangers that leave both buyers and sellers blindsided. Broken Handoff: Saving Your Assets is a breakthrough book with rare and remarkably transparent insights into owning, buying, and selling a business. Exposing unexpected pitfalls and revealing hands-on solutions for the mergers and acquisitions process, Broken Handoff delivers tools to beat the odds and broker the deal you want. This definitive guide to business-ownership transactions is required reading for founders, CEOs, venture capitalists, mentors, and moguls.
About the Author :
Michael Gorton is an eleven-time serial entrepreneur and highly accomplished chief executive and board member. His companies span a wide variety of industries, from telecom to healthcare to music and more. As a writer, Michael has published dozens of white papers and articles, and has completed five works of fiction, the latest of which is his award-winning and bestselling Forefathers & Founding Fathers. Throughout his executive career, Michael has founded, led, and negotiated liquidity events for industry-changing companies. His health-care services company Teladoc was named by MIT as one of the Top 50 Smartest Companies in the World in 2015, and has grown through a $5 billion market cap. His company Principal Solar has become one of the thought leaders in the solar industry worldwide, and currently provides four hundred megawatts of sustainable electricity to eighty thousand American homes. Earlier in his career, Michael leveraged his expertise to mentor and consult early and midstage companies, empowering them to raise capital, innovate, and achieve profitability. He led iGlobal from concept to the number-one-ranked internet provider in North Texas through a liquidity event that netted $122 million for shareholders. He has led the creation of more than $6 billion in wealth over the course of his career. Michael holds a JD in law from Texas A&M University School of Law, a BS in engineering from Texas Tech University, and an MS in physics from the University of Texas at Dallas. He has established his status as a thought leader and has served on numerous executive boards, including the boards of Principal Solar, Teladoc, Socrates Medical Services, Internet Global, the Texas Acceleration Group, Cariloop, and Palo Duro Records. Darien George is a thought leader and expert in the talent industry, having spent eighteen years focusing on talent acquisition, talent development, organizational leadership, and organizational change. Darien is the founder of Mackenzie Eason & Associates and has worked with Fortune 50 companies, private equity firms, and top CEOs. He works to fundamentally change the way organizations do business by focusing on building a strong culture around an organization's talent, resulting in unparalleled financial results. Darien is a frequent industry-expert media contributor and speaker. Darien believes in the ability to give back to your community and focuses primarily on nonprofits that work to help underserved children. His success and community contributions earned him recognition as a top 40 Under 40 area executive. Darien holds a bachelor of business administration from the University of Texas at Arlington and graduated from the Talent Management Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Entrepreneurial Studies Executive Course at London Business School, and the Howard University Sherpa Executive Coaching course. Darien still resides in his hometown of Fort Worth, where he enjoys playing soccer, scuba diving, traveling, and donating his time to local nonprofit organizations. Darien is married to his wife, Laurie, with two young boys, Harrison and Merritt, and an adopted daughter, Maddie. Seth Gordon is an entrepreneurial-minded CEO with significant experience building, developing, and running companies in the lower middle market. He has delivered significant growth in each sales and marketing business he has led in a wide variety of industries. Throughout his career, Seth has led and negotiated the development of new business sectors, supplier agreements, customer agreements, acquisitions, and divestitures. He also boasts more than twenty years of executive sales, business-development, strategy, management, and operations experience. Previously Seth has served as board member, president, and CEO of Signature Systems Group, one of the largest suppliers of modular flooring and fencing systems in the world. During his time there, Seth grew the business by more than 20 percent, drove sales to more than $100 million, and increased profitability sevenfold during his tenure. Currently, Seth consults small-business owners on strategy, sales, and business development. He has partnered with numerous private equity sponsors on assessing, sourcing, and targeting acquisitions in the lower middle market. Seth also invests in early-stage startups and works with brokers all over the country to source acquisitions. Seth holds a BS in sports management from the University of Texas in Austin, with postgraduate work in leadership from the University of Michigan, NYU, and the New York School of Finance. He lives with his wife and two small children in Dallas, Texas.
