In a challenging economic climate, selling an ecommerce business might not be the best strategic move. This episode introduces South Col, an accelerator program designed to enhance the value of retail businesses during downturns, ensuring founders can achieve a more favorable exit when market conditions improve. It emphasizes a proactive approach to growth and diligence rather than a hasty sale.
On today’s episode, Kunle is joined by Chris Shipferling, Co-Founder of both South Col, an accelerator program that incubates retail business, and Global Wired Advisors, an eCommerce M&A firm that helps business owners sell their businesses. With the pandemic and recession happening hand-in-hand, Chris and his founding partners at Global Wired started to notice changes and slowdowns in the macro and micro-economic trends. Escala, a Tel-Aviv-based business consulting firm, presented the idea of incubating businesses to which later on, they created a joint venture and started South Col. With its name taken from Mt. Everest’s final base camp and known to be a No Man’s Land, South Col stands for the journey and hardships that businesses face, especially during a time of pandemic and recession. South Col provides that nudge to finally be at the top. With Escala’s systematization and South Col’s planning and strategics, retail businesses are “car-washed” to raise their value and create a better exit for its owners. It’s an enlightening episode as you’d hear Kunle and Chris talk more about South Col’s brand diligence, growth strategy, investment criteria, channel expansion, macro, and micro-economic trends, as well as different perspectives on the state of businesses during the pandemic and through a recession. ----------- SPONSORS: This episode is brought to you by: Klaviyo This episode is brought to you by Klaviyo – a growth marketing platform that powers over 25,000 online businesses. Direct-to-Consumer brands like ColourPop, Huckberry, and Custom Ink rely on Klaviyo. Klaviyo helps you own customer experience and grow high-value customer relationships right from a shopper’s first