This week’s guest on Exit Stories—proudly sponsored by Robinson Bradshaw—is Ben Hartmere. He is the former CEO of Raleigh-based Lytho, which was known as InMotionNow before it acquired and merged with Netherlands-based Lytho in 2021. That came several years after InMotionNow was majority-acquired by New York-based private equity firm Level Equity.
Lytho’s SaaS platform provides resource management software to brand and creative teams. Prompted by Exit Stories host Kevin Mosley, Hartmere shares his sales-driven insights as a non-founder CEO on scaling a sales engine, the investment process and a later exit strategy.
Here are some key takeaways from this week’s episode:
Find the right people who have the experience. It’s overwhelming trying to manage everything as a CEO, especially in areas you’re not qualified in. Hartmere advises taking the time to invest in a team of talent and experience who can build a scalable and reliable pipeline. (11:03, 16:30)
Always look at an exit through the lens of the other person’s needs and career and life expectations. Before considering an exit, Hartmere said he felt he had a responsibility to ensure a viable product for not only the customers but also for the acquiring company. He said to be mindful of jumping the line toward closing a deal until you have a clear strategy and understanding of what each business needs. (30:56)
Think ahead from a product and services perspective. Hartmere said he wished he took time earlier to consider how much growth would be needed to sell his company. It’s always good to try to be great at everything, but you should think ahead about future market share and what to do to make your platform larger. (44:24)
Check out the rest of Hartmere’s interview below, and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Thanks again to this season’s sponsor, Robinson Bradshaw!
