When co-founder David Broom exited financial services firm River Birch Newman, he expected to feel a mixture of relief and fulfilment. In a frank interview with Northern Insight, the Tyneside-based entrepreneur admits the reality was very different.
What were the short-term goals when you launched River Birch Newman?
We hoped to open up doors for ordinary people to meet with financial advisers and to gain the same benefits that people with a £5m investment pot would enjoy. One of the greatest things you can do is remove stress from someone. It’s not necessarily all about wealth generation and accumulation of money – sometimes it’s about reduction of stress and anxiety brought about by financial insecurity. That was important to me.
Why did you decide to exit River Birch Newman following such a successful post-launch period?
Things move fast in the financial services world and risk happens fast. My other businesses – Fintegrate and B7 – are growing fast and I realised that I couldn’t continue to juggle so many balls. RBN deserved full-time attention from everyone involved. We opened up discussions with potential buyers and, in the spring of this year, we had offers on the table. As an entrepreneur, I became very excited at the prospect of freeing up time so that I could focus on the growth of B7 and Fintegrate. But what happened between that point and the sale was completely unexpected. What I thought would be a rich learning experience was brutal.
Looking back, do you feel you were a little naïve?
Maybe. But when you see people announcing that they’ve sold their business, it’s always good news. There are smiling faces and handshakes and, to all intents and purposes, it’s a positive story. It should be but, quite frankly, that’s rubbish because all those pictures actually show are the tip of the iceberg. It’s like you only watch the handing out of the trophy in the World Cup final – you don’t see the extra time and the penalties and the blood, the sweat, the tears, the training, the time away from family, the pain it took to get there and all the trials and tribulations behind the scenes. You just see the trophy being handed out. That’s nonsense. The reason you celebrate the trophy is because of everything you go through. What I didn’t want to be was that guy who said ‘we’ve just sold a business, look how amazing we are’.
How were you affected in the weeks leading up to the sale?
There were numerous occasions – particularly in the last four weeks – in the run-up to exit where I would sit in the car and I just couldn’t bring myself to go into the office. There were times when my business partner at B7, Phil, had to come into the car and sit with me because I was in tears.
Crying in front of your team is not something that you tend to do easily. I’ve never done that and there were times where I just couldn’t stop crying.
Was it impacting upon your day-to-day life at work and at home?
I had to put on a brave face in front of customers, in front of clients, in front of the team and in front of my family. I was bottling it up. It was the most horrible experience. Selling a business ordinarily means you earn some money and I thought, heading into the exit, that that would be one of the biggest wins. It’s been nice to bring money back into my other entities and to bring money into my household but I bought a bottle of champagne on October 8 – when the deal completed – and I went home and I put it in the fridge. It’s still there now, four weeks on, because I’ve just not felt like celebrating.
Will you emerge stronger from the experience?
First of all, it’s very unlikely that any future exits I may be involved in will be anywhere near as complex as the RBN sale. I know the whole experience will make me stronger but when it was happening I only ever felt weaker. Now, I’m much more present again, I’m starting to sleep better and it feels like there’s light at the end of the tunnel. I’m beginning to feel less anxious when my phone starts to vibrate – during the sale I convinced myself that every text and every call would be the bad news my brain had told me to expect. I was so exhausted that I couldn’t imagine a positive outcome.
Why have you decided to give such an honest appraisal of a career-defining experience?
I’ve had no end of people texting me and phoning me and every time I speak to someone they’re saying ‘well done’ and ‘congratulations’. But I can’t be that fraud that sits here as a businessman and says ‘yes I’m going to take all those plaudits’ because it’s nonsense.
If I sit here and say that I’m an entrepreneur who built a business and exited – and wear that as a badge of honour – then I’m doing myself a massive injustice. I just can’t ignore the pain, the hurt and the problems that I’ve had to face up to over the last six months. I want people in the same position to know that I support them and that I understand.
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