Events

Bay Area business owners are having tough conversations about the future right now. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced thousands of businesses across the country to shut down or to at least consider what their future might look like.

Even outside of the pandemic, the puzzle every entrepreneur faces as they decide to transition out of their business is how to balance preserving their investment, the jobs they provide, their legacy, and their health and well-being.

Transitioning a business (also called succession planning) is the process of bringing a company into its next chapter under new ownership and management. In this webinar we will talk to manufacturers who have moved onto that next chapter about why they made the decisions they did and what they wish they’d known when starting the process, whether that was:

• Selling their business,
• Merging with a competitor,
• Transitioning to an ESOP,
• Becoming a co-op, or
• Declaring bankruptcy and liquidating their assets

We will also hear from service providers and other experts in the field about pitfalls to avoid and how to start the process. Join us for a virtual panel discussion to consider how to plan for your business’s future, whatever it may be.

Panelists:

— Chris Andersen – Assay CS

Chris is a business consultant and SFMade volunteer advisor. He has over 30 years of experience both as an entrepreneur who built six businesses – three of which were sold – and as an executive for many well-known American companies.

— Robin McRoskey Azevedo – McRoskey Mattress

Robin was the CEO of McRoskey Mattress, a 120 year old family mattress business in San Francisco, CA. They merged with another local mattress manufacturer in 2018.

— George Chittenden – Adams and Chittenden Scientific Glass

George was a founder and co-owner of Adams and Chittenden, a 25+ year old scientific glass manufacturer in Berkeley, CA. They became a co-op in 2019, with prior owners George and Tom Adams becoming part of the co-op.

— Gwen Wright – The Wright Consultants

Gwen is a small business consultant with decades of experience with businesses in various stages of development from start up to growth to planned exit. Over her career she has worked with over 2,000 businesses throughout the country

Login information for the Zoom webinar will be sent to all event ticket holders.