Dans les commentaires de ma note du 2 février (Levée de fonds : faut-il favoriser un peu plus de cash-out aux fondateurs pour pousser à vendre plus cher plus tard ?) un ami entrepreneur, français et basé dans la Valley depuis plus de 20 ans, a fait un commentaire qui résume parfaitement le sujet. Ce commentaire vaut une note :
Pascal, Good post. The main objective of the cash-out should be to re-align the exit horizon of the new investors with that of the existing investors and founders. A new investor may have, for example, a 5 years horizon-to-exit for an investment. If the existing founders have been at it for 5 years, it may be hard for them to wait another 5 to cash out and would be tempted to take an exit offer at a lower price than the new investor (who may prefer wait until hitting big). By cashing out a bit, the founders can be a bit more comfortable and wait as long as the new investors need to.
C'est clair. Il précise : For an early stage company where the existing founders and investors have not vested much, I am not sure cashing out is a good idea.
Agree.