{"id":5089,"date":"2021-07-08T04:27:13","date_gmt":"2021-07-07T18:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/the-exit-podcast-sell-buy-back-sell-again-with-pam-theodosakis\/"},"modified":"2021-09-20T13:31:52","modified_gmt":"2021-09-20T03:31:52","slug":"the-exit-podcast-sell-buy-back-sell-again-with-pam-theodosakis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/the-exit-podcast-sell-buy-back-sell-again-with-pam-theodosakis\/","title":{"rendered":"The Exit Podcast &#8211; Sell, Buy Back, Sell Again with Pam Theodosakis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-listen-on-apple-podcasts\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/sell-buy-back-sell-again-with-pam-theodosakis\/id1532346146?i=1000527100340\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Listen on Apple Podcasts (opens in a new tab)\">Listen on Apple Podcasts<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-listen-on-spotify\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/5xXYTnQmF6MIoSqZYY8zAg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Listen on Spotify (opens in a new tab)\">Listen on Spotify<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-listen-on-google-podcasts\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zb3VuZGNsb3VkLmNvbS91c2Vycy9zb3VuZGNsb3VkOnVzZXJzOjg4MjY1MjIyOC9zb3VuZHMucnNz\/episode\/dGFnOnNvdW5kY2xvdWQsMjAxMDp0cmFja3MvMTA3NzE0NDYxNg?sa=X&amp;ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwiQ2MPm0dLxAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQBQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Listen on Google Podcasts (opens in a new tab)\">Listen on Google Podcasts<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/1077144616&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true\"><\/iframe><div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/theexitpodcast\" title=\"The Exit - Presented By Flippa\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Exit &#8211; Presented By Flippa<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/theexitpodcast\/sell-buy-back-sell-again-with-pam-theodosakis\" title=\"Sell, Buy Back, Sell Again with Pam Theodosakis\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sell, Buy Back, Sell Again with Pam Theodosakis<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Today we\u2019re talking to Pam Theodosakis, co-founder of prAna, a sustainable clothing company specializing in activewear.&nbsp; She has a unique perspective as she sold the company, bought it back, and sold it again for $190 million!&nbsp; From finding a need to passing the torch, Pam touches on it all.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-finding-a-need\"><strong>Finding A Need<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Pam says she had a lot of stepping stones that brought her to owning her own company, from professional skier to flight attendant.&nbsp; Growing up, she fell in love with her brother&#8217;s friend, and they got married in 1992.&nbsp; They both had a love for climbing, yoga, and the outdoors, but didn\u2019t love the clothing options available.&nbsp; At this time there was no such thing as yoga clothes as the trend was just taking off.&nbsp; The climbing world was well underway, but the only option for clothing was bright, shiny lycra which wasn\u2019t attractive.&nbsp; So they decided to start prAna.&nbsp; They decided to make clothes that could work for going to the movies or climbing a mountain.&nbsp; Starting out, they offered a unisex line before graduating to a woman\u2019s line, which really took off.&nbsp; Pam says her husband ran marketing, sales, and branding while she did the design, accounting, and shipping.&nbsp; Soon they were able to start hiring employees and built the business around their lives.&nbsp; Pam says it was really a family environment and people loved to work there.&nbsp; It was so easy because there was so much passion and most employees stuck around for 20 years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-hire-for-your-weaknesses\"><strong>Hire For Your Weaknesses<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When it came to hiring employees, Pam says they first looked at their strengths and weaknesses.&nbsp; Her husband really didn\u2019t like the sales side of things, and so their first hire was in sales.&nbsp; Next they hired production employees, followed by warehouse people.&nbsp; Pam says quality control was a big thing in the clothing industry, so that was a necessary hire.&nbsp; Over time, they brought on another sales person and then a designer.&nbsp; After 18 years, Pam was ready to give up the design role and found just the right person for the job.&nbsp; Pam says start with the areas you&#8217;re weakest in and build those up with people you know will carry your core values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-sell-buy-sell\"><strong>Sell, Buy, Sell<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Pam says prAna never had any partners, they had a loan in their names.&nbsp; With a house on the line, two kids, and everything leveraged, Pam&#8217;s husband asked her what she thought about selling.&nbsp; In 2006, they were approached by Liz Claiborne and ended up selling for $34 million.&nbsp; Shortly after the big box stores began to struggle and restructuring resulting in a lot of big brands getting shut down.&nbsp; Pam was given the opportunity instead to buy her company back, which she did in 2008.&nbsp; After that, they focused on growing prAna with great success, it grew from $34 million to $100 million.&nbsp; Pam says they had a partnership with Steel Point Investors which worked well because they were like-minded individuals who didn\u2019t want to come in and change everything.&nbsp; They ended up getting an offer from Columbia Sportswear in 2018 that they couldn\u2019t refuse.&nbsp; They were offered $194 million and it felt like their values wouldn\u2019t be lost through the acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-founder-fear\"><strong>Founder Fear<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The deal was structured strangely when it came to the buyout and there was a change in sentiment, which Pam attributes to founder fear, and so Pam found herself fully bought out.&nbsp; Pam says this happens a lot with exits, and you can\u2019t take it personally, but that transition definitely could\u2019ve gone smoother.&nbsp; In hindsight, Pam says they\u2019re great people; they just do things a little differently to the way she did.&nbsp; Pam says prAna is doing great and growing under Columbia, but she feels like they\u2019re no longer a core group for athletes.&nbsp; For instance, Columbia started using models for marketing, where Pam had always used actual athletes.&nbsp; She says people see right through that stuff and that when you&#8217;re trying to be everything to everyone you usually end up losing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-timing-your-exit\"><strong>Timing Your Exit<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Timing wise for the exit, Pam says all the stars were aligned, and the market was hot, so it just made sense.&nbsp; Once she realized they were heading for an exit, she stopped taking on money and partners and started on an exit strategy.&nbsp; She says your best bet is to grow slowly and intentionally and that when everything seems right people will come to you.&nbsp; Or on the other hand, if things are no longer fun for you, it might be a good time to sell.&nbsp; When you&#8217;re preparing for an exit, don\u2019t forget to prepare mentally.&nbsp; A lot of people get depressed after selling, as their whole life was the business, and then it ends.&nbsp; Pam says the absolute best advice she could give would be to hire people that carry the torch correctly, then you can rest easy at night.&nbsp; It\u2019s important you have people in place that will do the right thing even when you&#8217;re not there.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-knowing-what-you-know-now-what-would-you-tell-yourself-10-years-ago\"><strong>Knowing What You Know Now, What Would You Tell Yourself 10 Years Ago?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Pam says: make sure you have all your pivotal customer touch points clear and feel covered.&nbsp; She thinks they dropped the ball with that a little.&nbsp; Above all else, stay true to your core, hire the right people, and the rest will work itself out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-to-learn-more\"><strong>To Learn More<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To learn more, you can find Pam on LinkedIn.&nbsp; She says they love to do charity work, mentor, and give back.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Google Podcasts The Exit &#8211; Presented By Flippa \u00b7 Sell, Buy Back, Sell Again with Pam Theodosakis Today we\u2019re talking to Pam Theodosakis, co-founder of prAna, a sustainable clothing company specializing in activewear.&nbsp; She has a unique perspective as she sold the company, bought it back, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":6521,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"dipi_cpt_category":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5089"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5089"},{"taxonomy":"dipi_cpt_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flippa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/dipi_cpt_category?post=5089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}