In mid-October, I led the group that purchased MEI, the company I’ve been running for 2 years, from the private equity guys that owned it. Why did I do it? Because to really move a company forward, the investors and the Board of Directors all have to be rowing in the same direction.
It’s a pure joke when major investors make up the majority of the Board, because while each one of them is supposed to be operating in the best interests of the Company, there is no way that will ever happen. At the end of the day, they get paid to look after the fund they work for – and will operate that way. It’s no ones fault – that’s just the way it is.
Now that I own the company, along with a single Venture Capital player, represented by a smart, level-headed portfolio manager, along with 10 members of my management team, we can staff the Board positions with industry players and independents who can really help drive this company forward. Regardless of the previous Boards varying objectives, we were moving it ahead anyways. Now, with a new Board about to be put in place that will row in the same direction as management, I can only imagine how much quicker it will be to achieve our objectives.
That’s why I did the buyout.