How to Handle Partner Conflict When Selling Your Business

About the Episode

What happens when you and your partner have different ideas of your business’s future? What if that business partner is also a family member? In this episode, we talk with Chris Younger, an investment banker, about the challenges and potential solutions when selling a company due to partner conflict.

“You’ve got to get into a room and have a productive conversation, because if you can’t even get alignment around the different solutions, the odds of you having a successful transaction are pretty low.”

Chris Younger

What You’ll Learn

• How to Handle Partner Conflicts: Consider solutions like buyouts, uncovering the fundamental causes of disagreements, or selling to a third party. You may also need to engage a professional mediator to help reach an agreement between partners.
• When Business Partners Are Also Family: Family businesses face unique challenges where family dynamics influence business operations. You will need clearly defined core values and a deliberate approach to navigating transitions within the family and the business.
• Minority Partners and Legal Strategies: Prioritize open communication and understanding the motivations of minority partners before jumping to legal actions to avoid unnecessary emotional and financial burdens.
• Communication and Trust in Business Partnerships: Similar to marriages, successful business partnerships require consistent communication and shared understanding; cultivating vulnerability and openness is key to fostering productive and strong working relationships.

Topics Covered

Want More? Related Resources: 

• M&A Basics | Why Do Business Owners Sell Their Business?
• Family Offices and Management Buyouts – What You Need to Know
• Navigating Partnership Disputes: Lessons from a Valuation Expert

Meet Our Guest

Chris Younger

Managing Director and Owner, Class VI Partners | Denver, CO

Chris co-founded Class VI in 2005 with a mission of empowering the entrepreneurial spirit. Sharing a passion for what entrepreneurs mean to our community, Chris and his business partner, David Tolson, felt they could do a better job for business owners and have had a great time helping clients ever since, consistent with Class VI’s values of Hustle, Humility, and Relationships.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-younger/