474 | The REAL Truth About Taking Your Business Public in 2024

Aug 26

[00:00:00] Chaz Wolfe: As a business owner, have you ever thought about going public to grow your business? You might be thinking, what does it even really take to make that happen? Is your business too small to think about that? Should you even be making a move like that right now with all the uncertainty happening in the United States, political and economic system, this is driven to win the show that helps you, the entrepreneur who wants to win in all areas and isn't afraid to do the work to get there.
[00:00:24] Chaz Wolfe: I'm your host, Chaz Wolfe. My mission on this show is to help driven entrepreneurs learn how to grow and win in all areas. So today, I welcome Peter Goldstein. He's an expert on what it takes to win and taking your business public. He's the CEO of Exchange Listing, and he wrote a book, The Entrepreneur's IPO, which gives a roadmap for small companies who want to go public.
[00:00:45] Chaz Wolfe: He's got 30 years of experience in this space. So he's the perfect person for this conversation. Peter's here to share with us what's really going on with IPOs right now, how to build your business to go public when it makes sense to make a move, how to pitch investors and the mindset you need to win.
[00:01:00] Chaz Wolfe: If you want to learn the real truth about taking your business public in 2024, keep watching.

[00:01:06] Chaz Wolfe: We just. You know, 20 ish days ago, experienced the, uh, attempted assassination of Donald Trump, um, you know, Kamala Harris is now, you know, the presidential candidate for the democratic party.
[00:01:16] Chaz Wolfe: Um, there's a lot of things that have shifted in the last 20 days, economically, politically, and you, you referenced this several times as you have helped, not only have you taken your companies, uh, to a public, uh, perspective, um, and, and, and sold, but you now help other companies do the same thing. Um, and so.
[00:01:33] Chaz Wolfe: You talk about how that landscape can maybe affect businesses. What just given these specific events, or maybe the other ones that maybe I haven't mentioned, what is the current landscape? Like today, August of 2024 look like for, for what you do. Yeah, I could, I could assume that, uh, you care to expand it all.
[00:01:57] Peter Goldstein: Of course, of course. I mean, I'm playing a little bit, but it is really driven by complexity. If you take the geopolitical, you know, we're, we're, we're really in a very unique and challenging perspective and how that affects My world, I think it affects any entrepreneur who's looking at building their business towards an exit.
[00:02:18] Peter Goldstein: And I happen to be, you know, subject matter expert in IPO as an exit, but this could be for M and a trade sale, just growing your business, you know, accessing capital from outside sources. It's a very complex time from the fact and reality that the money is somewhat on the sidelines. For the same reason personally that we would be saying, Hey, this is, there's a lot of uncertainty.
[00:02:42] Peter Goldstein: Right. There's a lot of unknowns. And I think many of us, and by somewhat human nature, we want to see certain things come about, right? You know, inflation, you know, you can look at so many different factors post COVID geopolitical, right? Our own, you know, us, you know, political race and the challenges.
[00:02:59] Peter Goldstein: Thereby, the division amongst people in that way has also put money at risk. On the sidelines. So in my career, um, there's more money in the sidelines than I've ever seen before in every segment, meaning private equity, you know, venture capital and institutional monies, you know, that would go into the public markets and both debt and on the equity side.
[00:03:20] Peter Goldstein: So there's, there, it's been a long winter. This is eight quarters. Now going on nine of a downturn, you know, in my segment of the market, which has affected pretty much everything due to the challenges that we're seeing that really are paralyzing in a sense, you know, the confidence that investors and capital wants.
[00:03:43] Peter Goldstein: So the fact that the money's in the sideline creates this challenge for entrepreneurs who need money to grow. They need money to scale and they need money to drive exits and liquidity campaigns.
[00:03:55] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah. What do you, I mean, I agree with you that there's, um, tons of people sitting on this or money sitting on the side and those different, um, uh, formats that you gave, what do you think is necessary or maybe the catapult or the, the hinge point, the, the factor that flips the script where money starts coming in maybe at a, maybe not a flood, but more than it is now.
[00:04:14] Chaz Wolfe: What, what are we, what are you waiting for?
[00:04:15] Peter Goldstein: Yeah, it's, it's, it's interesting, right? There's no crystal ball here. If there was, you know, I'd probably be sitting on an Island somewhere and not having this podcast conversation. Um, and, and it really is somewhat of, of more challenging. To answer that, and it has also been in any other time because there are so many compounding factors, right?
[00:04:33] Peter Goldstein: So personally, first and foremost, at least in, in, in our own economic, you know, context of the United States, presidential election and interest rates. Right. So, you know, without getting into politics here, it's just the clarity. Of who's going to be running, right. And, and, and have been voted into office.
[00:04:51] Peter Goldstein: And then the reality also of just economics, you know, the Fed is now talking about September as a timeline to decrease interest. So those are two very important components of being able to open the window. And I think then what will happen, at least in my segment, where I can talk with, with, you know, market intelligence is that investors will start to open up.
[00:05:13] Peter Goldstein: And when companies start to perform well. And give a return on investment. Then I think you're going to go back to the confidence that capital will be provided to companies to provide, to, to support their growth, uh, where investors will be seeing a return on their investment. And, and so that's a period of time.
[00:05:32] Peter Goldstein: I don't believe it's going to happen like a flick of the switch overnight, but when the window opens. Certainly from my perspective, we'll know there are a pipeline of companies that are, it reminds me, you know, I was just traveling, which we'll talk a little bit about, I'm sure. Uh, and I, and while I was internationally, we were at one port and I saw ships, cargo ships stacked up waiting to come in.
[00:05:54] Peter Goldstein: And I feel the same thing about, you know, the IPO market, venture capital and the private equity markets that the companies are stacked up there in the pipeline. And they're just waiting for, you know, the opportunity to come to port and to be able to, you know, either load or unload their goods
[00:06:09] Chaz Wolfe: and I'm glad you said that it was going to be part of my next question and so kind of us jumping to maybe already that answer of that, this kind of like swelling of a pipeline. What, what happens like in your, you know, almost 40 years of experience now, what happens when you have this like kind of stop up or a damning of the pipeline and then all of a sudden it releases, it sounds like an amazing flow of deals and moneymaking.
[00:06:34] Chaz Wolfe: And are there any things that we should be concerned about in that?
[00:06:38] Peter Goldstein: that there are, uh, if you just look at the cycles, so I've been through, you know, it's a series of cycles in my career, uh, and, and learn lots of lessons, uh, and had lots of successes. And what I like to joke about is, you know, I've paid the dummy tax. Uh, I've, I've been caught in those cycles. Um, and that's, uh, you know, all done with a little bit of levity.
[00:06:56] Peter Goldstein: Um, you know, if you look at just the last cycle for me, which was 2021, it was a peak IPO period, the best IPO market we had in 20 years in the middle of pandemic, you know, go figure. You couldn't have called that one. If you try it, then take two and a half years later, we're in the worst market of 30 years.
[00:07:13] Peter Goldstein: So the pendulum tends to swing. Right from a regulatory perspective from the investor sentiment. So I think the next opening of what we should be looking for is that when things do open up, that they come with more fundamentals. And I think this fits for all the entrepreneurs that are listening, that you want to be prepared for when that market opens up.
[00:07:34] Peter Goldstein: And, and have your fundamentals in place, meaning, you know, have your governance in order, have your bookkeeping, your systems, your records, your controls, and whatever assumptions you are using to be able to give investors, if you're seeking capital or your stakeholders, right. Could be your employees, could be your clients, you know, anybody that's really going to be critically component, a critical component of your organization.
[00:08:01] Peter Goldstein: Be prepared to bring the fundamental assumptions that you're using to be able to bring confidence to them that they can participate further. So the glaring one always for me at this point is that when things start to open, you know, and many of us are guilty of this, you start to really kind of drink the Kool Aid of, wow, now things are open.
[00:08:21] Peter Goldstein: Money's going to be flowing. Valuations will be higher. That's what gets us into trouble no matter what, because then we lose sight of the fundamentals. And a lot of the projects that I also worked on in 2021 were overvalued. They're their assumptions were not based on current market intelligence. So I think the smart management teams and the smart entrepreneurs will plan ahead so that when the window opens, they can take advantage of it.
[00:08:47] Peter Goldstein: And the best way to leverage that is to come in with a fundamentally strong story, you know, assumptions and metrics that are supportable.
[00:08:54] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, I also heard you say in there like, um, not a delay, but a period of time of kind of recognizing that it's maybe opening up, but maybe not jumping to conclusions that things are now springboarding back to how it was in 2021 or whatever our reference point of normal is. Is that is that what I'm hearing?
[00:09:12] Peter Goldstein: It is. And, and I think that the part two of that is be prepared, right? Be ready. So whether that delay is, you know, short or wide when it's open, that's when you want to be able to move and, and being, being prepared, it's like being game ready. You know, when you, when you get the call and it's time to go, you need to be able to go and you can't start training the day of the game.
[00:09:34] Peter Goldstein: You need to have done all your training, all your prep, and really be ready for, for game day when the time is right
[00:09:40] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, yeah. The Olympic started just a little bit ago and that'd be like showing up to the Paris right now. And Hey, I think I want to jump into the 200 meter, you know?
[00:09:49] Peter Goldstein: in the same, in the same river, which, uh, good luck to that.
[00:09:53] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Um, well you had mentioned in a, in a previous interview, um, you know, that basically starting a business with the exit in mind, I know that you kind of mentioned earlier, you know, that that's what you do now.
[00:10:06] Chaz Wolfe: What do you know now with that in mind, like you start businesses or you help other people start businesses with the exit in mind now, but when you were 24 starting your first business, was that a thing? And what do you know now? Maybe 24 year old didn't know that maybe you would, you would share with the, maybe the 24 year old listening, listening right now.
[00:10:24] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah.
[00:10:30] Peter Goldstein: at 30. And, and so of course, when I started the business at that young age, it was really about, can I sell this product? In other words, is there a product market fit? And that's where I think every entrepreneur should start, right?
[00:10:46] Peter Goldstein: Is there a demonstration? There is a demand and a want and a need. For your product and or service, right? So that's the starting point and to be really humble about that. Not that your ego says that there is, but that you have evidence and proof to be able to demonstrate that. And then from there, what I have learned is to organize and run your business.
[00:11:12] Peter Goldstein: As if you were preparing for an exit, you know, my specialty, of course, is. The IPO segment where I work with small to medium sized companies and taking them through an IPO. And what we do is we reverse engineer what's needed. So it could be 12, 18, 24 months away from a listing. But during that entire time, we're preparing them for the process.
[00:11:35] Peter Goldstein: And that process is the same, whether you're doing an M and a, you know, a trade sale, you know, any form of an exit strategy, which most investors are, excuse me, entrepreneurs are seeking at some point along with their investors. Right. And the approach to that then of having systems and controls and financial reporting will change the way every entrepreneur runs their business.
[00:11:59] Peter Goldstein: Then you can take it up another notch where you're bringing in outside advisors, right? Where you're more transparent about how you choose the decisions that you make. You know, the, the choice is all along the way of how you're building and growing your, your business. And that takes you from a founder driven.
[00:12:16] Peter Goldstein: Kind of entrepreneurial approach to more of a governance approach. And all of these components, I think, add tremendous value to the enterprise. So, you know, whether you're planning an exit today, five years, 10 years, or you're not even knowing what your exit may be, the value to you, to your enterprise, your shareholders, to the stakeholders, the organization.
[00:12:37] Peter Goldstein: Increase significantly by operating with tighter systems, controls and governance.
[00:12:43] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, I think that, um, the governance, the, the systems, even how you gave that example of operating as a founder kind of perspective, or then now having more of a governance, a board or an advisory, um, what that does is at the And the person that's buying when this case it'd be, you know, the, the IPO or the person that's coming in and buying the company, um, what is it that they want and what they don't want is likely to purchase the thing that you have right now, the way that it is in essence is what you're saying.
[00:13:10] Chaz Wolfe: And so we got to get it to what they want so that they'd be willing to buy it in 18 or 20 months or however long we're going to plan to do this, right.
[00:13:18] Peter Goldstein: That's that's that's well said. And I think along with that, then just comes transparency, right? And the ability to demonstrate that the company is well managed, that it delivers on its promises. Right? And those don't have to be over promises. They don't have to be lofty. They just have to be consistently demonstrated over time so that there's a predictability.
[00:13:38] Peter Goldstein: To the outcome for the investor, because really, ultimately, the investor was looking for an ROI.
[00:13:43] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, you used it. I thought a great word predictability. Um, and from an investor or someone who's purchasing the company through M and a or whatever they, they want as much certainty as they possibly can get without having the full knowledge because they're, they don't, they're not in it. Um, and so I think you've given some great examples of demonstrating that predictability, but talk to me, why is predictability?
[00:14:04] Chaz Wolfe: Yes, it leads to an ROI, but why is that the important thing? I mean, it seems like that just seems regular and safe where most entrepreneurs are like. I want to go up and to the right, you know, the whole time, which actually is not predictable unless potentially you can predict that, but just give me some context here around the word predictability and your experience.
[00:14:25] Peter Goldstein: Yeah, it's really about execution, right? So it could be hockey stick growth. Uh, we work with plenty of companies that have, you know, 40, 50 percent growth, you know, quarter over quarter, year over year. Uh, but that all comes from the ability to demonstrate a track record of execution.
[00:14:40] Peter Goldstein: The more that you can close the gap and that you can demonstrate that you've been able to execute consistency, regularity, right? And have the outcomes. They don't all have to be 40, 50 percent growth, but the stronger that is. The more consistency that you're providing, the more predictability, the higher the confidence comes for all parties involved.
[00:15:03] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, you had, you'd use the word reverse engineered. Um, I, I love personally reverse engineering things. Um, but I, I find that that's challenging for some, um, to just wrap their minds around. They can maybe see where they want to go, but to actually back it up to be able to create that plan and then eventually the predictability that you're talking about.
[00:15:21] Chaz Wolfe: What's the challenge for most people in that, or maybe what's the easiest part or the easiest way to, to go about reverse engineering, maybe,
[00:15:29] Peter Goldstein: Yeah, it's well, I don't, you know, I mean, let's break it down a little bit. Let's let's unpack it because I think most entrepreneurs have big vision and they can manifest a lot of things and then the execution becomes, you know, kind of critical. I think culture found setting that cultural foundation. It's really important, right?
[00:15:48] Peter Goldstein: So inside of what we're talking about being able for an entrepreneur to be able to say, Hey, here's my vision. Here's where I want to go. This is what I, this is where I see taking the organization to, uh, you've got to be able to have the vision. You got to be able to execute and then thereby you can manifest your goals.
[00:16:04] Peter Goldstein: Right. And so in that execution is part of where this critical kind of knowledge base comes of knowing your industry and relying on the cultural piece of bringing in great people around you. And I would go beyond just the obvious of employees. I would then look at advisors, you know, and I would look at outside board members, you know, in times to go back to earlier discussion of some economic uncertainty. Culture, vision, execution are more important because you have those employees, those stakeholders that have come under your leadership as the entrepreneur to work with you, with the belief that we're all going to be going towards a certain outcome. And if that culture set is strong from the beginning, you can get through the economic challenges.
[00:16:54] Peter Goldstein: You can get through the volatility. You can get through the unpredictability. You know, there are great examples of companies during COVID. That came out stronger, uh, based upon their culture and their vision, right. And what they were able to then execute in that difficult time of uncertainty and adaptability that I think we're all facing in one way or another right now.
[00:17:14] Chaz Wolfe: Anything else that you would add? I mean, entrepreneurs listening right now, they think an IPO or maybe an exit through M& A is inevitable for them. Anything else that they should be thinking about preparing before they even would even talk to someone like you, maybe they want to reach out to you and have you help them, but before they would even do that, what else should they kind of like have ready to roll?
[00:17:34] Peter Goldstein: I think, look, the basic fundamentals where we always start your company story and not the story that you want to tell, but the story that's packaged to the audience outside of those closest to you. So put it on, on a different filter, which is that you're presenting your story and communicating it in such a way that when outsider.
[00:17:52] Peter Goldstein: Right. And then the financial modeling, uh, the assumption. So here's the history. Here's our KPIs. Here's where we're going. If you can get those fundamentals in place, that's your starting point. And then what we do is we go all the way to two years out. Um, and we look at the listing metrics, and those are both quantitative and And qualitative.
[00:18:14] Peter Goldstein: So there's plenty of information out there. You can go study it, or you can bring on advisors. You can bring on board members, you can bring on outsiders, but the ability to look at the deficiencies. So here's where the radical kind of humility, uh, that I would say, I think is critical to answer your question about the entrepreneurs.
[00:18:31] Peter Goldstein: Get really humble with yourself. And be honest about what's missing and then start to put things into place to fill those. So you can look at those deficiencies. You know, we'll take one. Let's just say you don't have good quarterly reporting or good financial reporting. Let's be real about it. Okay, well, then what do I need to put into place human controlled systems?
[00:18:54] Peter Goldstein: No, that's one of X number of things that you would have to put into place. But if you can be radically humble about, Hey, here's where my organization is weak and start to come up with solutions and then implement those, you're well on your way, a
[00:19:09] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, I agree with that. There's, I find a gap in, you know, most, I would say probably just beginning entrepreneurs, they've started for a particular reason, usually a little bit of a chip on their shoulder to like hone that into Uh, is a little bit of a, like a journey, I think for some, would you agree with that?
[00:19:29] Peter Goldstein: hundred percent. No doubt
[00:19:32] Chaz Wolfe: I had an experience this past week. One of our members, um, has developed a software and he had his first pitch, uh, with a VC firm. And I'm sure you've been through many of these with the IPO companies and, and, uh, M& A's folks that you've worked with. What do you think is the, the, the biggest mistake that entrepreneurs make in that setting where they're, they're trying to get the money, maybe even in this environment where the money's kind of tough to get.
[00:19:56] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, what would you say?
[00:19:58] Peter Goldstein: Yeah, I love this question. So I'm also an investor. I have a fund called Ms. Capital. Uh, Ms is Hebrew for the truth. Uh, so it's, it's a unique bridge fund that is for pre IPO investments. So I get pitched all the time. I got pitched yesterday. Uh, they had 36 slides and I had, we had 30 minutes.
[00:20:15] Chaz Wolfe: it. Oof.
[00:20:16] Peter Goldstein: They couldn't, they couldn't get past the fourth slide in 20 minutes on their own.
[00:20:20] Peter Goldstein: Um, so why was that? They were just talking.
[00:20:24] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah.
[00:20:25] Peter Goldstein: So the biggest advice I can give to the entrepreneurs who are pitching, talk less, listen more.
[00:20:31] Chaz Wolfe: Mm mm.
[00:20:32] Peter Goldstein: I have no opportunity to really contribute to them. And, you know, 20 minutes in, we hadn't even gotten to what would be important to me as an investor. So start off with the understanding that you have an audience, uh, and it's a dialogue.
[00:20:47] Peter Goldstein: This isn't a monologue, right? And you want to be able to engage the investor and really about what's important to the investor, not what you think is important about your company. Right. So listen, and then be able to look at providing the answers and solutions from this important perspective of the investor.
[00:21:10] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah. You know, I've, I've trained sales and salespeople and sales process for almost two decades. And, um, you know, I call it the discovery phase and, you know, most untrained salespeople, what do they do? They just pitch like, here's the thing. Do you want it? You know, but when, when we, when we think about our own experiences, our bad experiences of sales, that's typically how it goes is like, they were just trying to cram their thing down our throat and we, you know, Kind of, we were curious, but we didn't, we weren't sure if we wanted it yet.
[00:21:36] Chaz Wolfe: Cause we didn't even know what it was going to do or whatever the salesperson then thinks, well, let me tell you more about it. And then you'll know what it will do for you. And then, and then you'll buy it, which is everything you just said is like, they just came with 36 slides to cram in, in 30 minutes, talk all about the features and benefits and no understanding of who they were talking to.
[00:21:54] Chaz Wolfe: That's so interesting. I'm glad you said that because not only does that true in sales to think about that in an investor perspective, like. What is important for you as the investor in this case? What should that person have asked? Is it just straight up what's important for you or is it what type of returns are you looking for?
[00:22:11] Chaz Wolfe: Is it what type of company culture product, what type of upside, like what types of questions would have been good for that person to ask?
[00:22:20] Peter Goldstein: And there are, there are different stages for the different questions, right? So, you know, the first one is to, you know, to really understand that there's a clear engagement about the business itself, right? The fundamentals of the business. And then it's. What's important as an, what are you looking for?
[00:22:34] Peter Goldstein: What's your investment profile, you know, what stage do you invest in? What's your profile, you know, where do you fit in the cycle? Right. So those are all unique, I think, to the individual investor,
[00:22:45] Peter Goldstein: I'm driven by how can I add value when I'm in front of any entrepreneur and not looking to get paid for that, just looking to engage and be able to give back. So if you come into, to, you know, any investor conversation, it's about getting the right profile of the investor, understanding what their wants and needs are, and then being able to, right.
[00:23:06] Peter Goldstein: You know, this is whether it's sales or it's pitching one on one human nature. People, including investors, they want to help, but you got to make the right ask.
[00:23:16] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, I think that's a mindset shift, you know, cause you know, uh, they're not thinking that you're trying to help and they're just trying to impress you. That's where the talking comes from. Right. But if, if they see it as a collaboration and if we're a team, um, and if we are going to work on this project together, but they probably never phrased it like that in their minds, would you agree with, with most folks pitching like that?
[00:23:38] Peter Goldstein: I certainly would agree. Mindset comes, you know, in any, in any one of these situations, right. Um, understanding your audience. And then I think it's just so simple for help with specifically what it is that you are looking for. And then listen, Peter, if it's not a fit for you, it's not a fit for you. Do you know anybody else that could help me?
[00:23:57] Peter Goldstein: Here's what I'm up to. Here's what I'm committed to. Here's where I want to go and you can possibly open up X or Y or Z. Um, you know, and I hope all of us do that in our personal lives as well. Right. It's just people are hesitant to ask with clarity.
[00:24:11] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah.
[00:24:12] Peter Goldstein: And I think the flip side is that humans want to help. We want to be of service to each other. I know I do. Right. So I love when people come with a clear ask. Because then I can engage, right? And then you can decide, or how can I? And if not, here's what I would recommend.
[00:24:29] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah. I'm gonna switch gears on you just a smidge. Um, you know, someone comes in and, and crushes the pitch. They get the investment. Um, how does that entrepreneur maintain control? Um, there's maybe a fear of, well, if I take on outside investment, then I now have bosses. Um, and maybe not in that exact language, but what would you say to that entrepreneur who's maybe concerned about that or wants to take on outside investment is unsure how to manage those relationships?
[00:24:54] Peter Goldstein: I think it's transition of growth from one stage. Of entrepreneurship to another. Uh, and, and some of that is based on fear, right? And fear of the unknown or the uncertainty and, or about operating or want to operate a certain way. So there's always risk and reward. There's always a give and take, you know, there are legal mechanisms you can put in place to maintain control, but I don't think that's what we're really talking about.
[00:25:16] Peter Goldstein: It's, it goes back to the ability to know that in order to grow and scale your business to a certain level you're going to want to bring in outside people. There's very few, you know, individuals who can run all that gamut on their own inside of a control environment. Uh, and a lot of those don't end up being sustainable.
[00:25:35] Peter Goldstein: So I'm more on the other side of it, which is, you know, so be careful about who you let in. And do your vetting and do your homework and do your selection criteria. You know, it's like the Fox and the hen hound, you know, they're going to get in somehow. You can't keep it, you know, perfectly pure and clean.
[00:25:52] Peter Goldstein: If you're going to expose yourself, you're going to put yourself at risk, but that's a trade off. That's a, you know, do you want to. Bring in outside capital. Do you want to bring in outside advisors? And if you're not going to listen to them, you're not going to take value of who they are and what they're bringing you.
[00:26:09] Peter Goldstein: You're better off perhaps not going down that.
[00:26:12] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, I think the, the mindset shift that we just kind of referenced, um, it kind of dovetailed right into the answer there that you just gave, which is, you know, if you're not, if you're not actually seeing it as a collaboration, like, oh my gosh, I get these guys on my team now, uh, or gals, then, then it's probably not the right fit just to begin with, you know,
[00:26:32] Peter Goldstein: It starts off with just like anything else. What's the level of your commitment? What are you truly committed to? And why
[00:26:39] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, I love that question. I love asking myself that question often, um, actually. Um, during the Great Recession, um, all within three years, in a previous interview you stated that you went through a divorce, almost died three times, And also lost a ton of money. You kind of hinted at this a minute ago, but what were your thoughts?
[00:26:56] Chaz Wolfe: Um, at that time, like what was in your mind? We talked a lot about mindset here today. That was like a lot happening all in one little compression. Who was Peter in that time? What was, what was going on up here?
[00:27:07] Peter Goldstein: parts of it really not proud of, right? Like I, I, I was somewhat in shame of having lost everything. And I was very proud as what I had built as a self, you know, kind of made entrepreneur and I had hedged my bet prior to the great recession where putting money into real estate and in the capital markets and never in my lifetime that both of those imploded all at once.
[00:27:31] Peter Goldstein: And so it was just a series of downfalls. Uh, and, and that led to the amount of stress, uh, put, you know, me into a point where I had a 90 percent blockage, uh, my lower left ventricle and was hours away from, you know, not being here today. So, you know, this kind of combination of a series of events and reaching, uh, then the lowest point for me was just then back to, okay, I've done this before where I've had to pick myself up or create myself.
[00:28:01] Peter Goldstein: From, you know, really my drive internally, my desire, my ambition. And this was the most daunting task I was in my late forties, you know, children, you know, marriage falling apart, business is gone, real estate gone. Uh, but the one knowing was that when I'm ready, I know I can repeat my success to a certain degree.
[00:28:25] Peter Goldstein: And I wasn't proud. I was actually quite, quite ashamed of having lost everything. You know, I'm now proud that I can sit here and talk to you about it because I've recreated myself and I've overcome the hardship and the lessons learned in that are, are, you know, a lifetime's worth of wisdom that I would be thrilled to impart to anybody.
[00:28:43] Peter Goldstein: And the first one is that you don't need to hit rock bottom. You don't need to potentially lose all your money, lose your marriage, right? Lose your health and your wellbeing. To be able to realize that you need to make some radical changes in your life. At that point I was forced to, and even then there was a choice.
[00:29:01] Peter Goldstein: I could play small or I could go back to rebuilding myself and it took quite some time, you know, not only did I, I lose everything I had, you know, tax deficits. I had some very significant challenges along with what's most important is our physicality. And so now I'm, I'm, you know, kind of the, the polar opposite where I've really focused on, you know, the integration of self care, you know, what's important in the way of family and relationships and spirituality and, you know, in faith and my belief and knowing that, you know, I have the ability to get back to a level of, you know, success, you know, of contribution and of value.
[00:29:41] Peter Goldstein: Um, but I, I gotta tell you, those were, those were tests. Uh, that I wouldn't wish on anybody and, and, you know, proud to be able to say I've overcome those, uh, and then to be able to take all those lessons learned, not just to basically impart and deploy those for myself and for the people of now that I'm organizations that I'm working with entrepreneurs and their organizations, and it really came back to what am I committed to and what's my purpose?
[00:30:06] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah, the entrepreneur that's listening right now that heard you say, I don't that they don't have to hit rock bottom. What is the ticket to hearing you say it's possible to win in all areas as we say it, but without having that like smack in the face of now I have to win in all areas. Like you had what's the what's the gap for them right now today.
[00:30:28] Peter Goldstein: Self awareness on the one side,
[00:30:32] Chaz Wolfe: I agree
[00:30:32] Peter Goldstein: take an inventory, take a real inventory. Where are you in the different areas and then look at where you're spending your time. So this is the ultimate test for me is where are you spending your time? What are you doing? Look at your calendar, be a student of your calendar.
[00:30:51] Peter Goldstein: Go back the last week, two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, study where you've spent your time and you'll get the answer, what you're committed to. So if you're really aware of that, you really take an inventory. You see where you're spending your time versus, Hey, this is what I really want. This is what I want to create and manifest in my life.
[00:31:09] Peter Goldstein: And then thereby I'm going to organize my actions, my emotions, and my awareness of those towards driving the personal and professional goals that I want.
[00:31:19] Chaz Wolfe: Yeah. Um, I don't know if I could have said it better. That was pretty eloquent. Um, I've got one last question here for you. What would you do or what did you do? You kind of gave a little bit of a tactical there in that down moment, but you know, entrepreneurs listening right now and they're down. Maybe they're at that rock bottom point.
[00:31:37] Chaz Wolfe: Maybe they just feel down. What do you do to pick yourself back up?
[00:31:42] Peter Goldstein: Yeah, it's really a great question because I think just as entrepreneur in general, whether you're down or not, you know, it's, it's difficult to pull yourself up day after day and generate that level of drive and ambition and execution and performance, right? So when you're down, then it's even harder. So I go back to some very, very basic things.
[00:32:03] Peter Goldstein: Start with purpose, and I named it a little bit earlier. If you can get present to why am I doing whatever that is that you're doing? Purpose driven, I think, can automatically start to get you back towards, you know, out of coming from a low point if you're in one or just back towards, you know, Hey, this is really what I love.
[00:32:22] Peter Goldstein: This is why I'm doing what I do. And I'm passionate about it that creates energy and excitement, not just for yourself, but it's contagious for others. And then I go back to some other basics, self care, right? Like I've been a big advocate now of if I'm not hitting on all silver firing and all cylinders.
[00:32:39] Peter Goldstein: What do I need to do to take care of myself? That could be the diet could be, you know, my sleep could be my exercise regime. You know, it could be, I need to take some time away. I need to go back up to the balcony and overlook things for awhile. So self care becomes, I would say to me, right. Line in line with, you know, getting clear about your purpose,
[00:32:58] Peter Goldstein: Um, you know, the only other thing that I found, uh, that's probably most effective there is having a support structure, right. And not waiting until you're, you're in some kind of distress. Bring the support structure in, bring the people in that, you know, and you like, and you trust. So that when you are down, you are challenged or where you are struggling for whatever reasons, because we all do as entrepreneurs, uh, some varying degree that we can bring in the community and the support system, uh, to add value and then to contribute,
All right, that's it for today's episode, Peter absolutely crushed it and gave you guys the exact tools on how to build and structure your business to launch a successful IPO, and to learn even more about taking your business public, please message Peter on LinkedIn. He'll give you a free copy of his book, the entrepreneurs IPO.
And if you enjoyed this episode, subscribe and follow to get even more stories and insights from successful business owners on how to win in all areas, all the links are in the show notes, right down below,
[00:33:57] Chaz Wolfe: Thank you for listening to driven to win. I hope that you were able to pull out a few nuggets to go apply into your business right away. More importantly, though, I hope that you're realizing that it takes more to be successful than just being by yourself, doing it all on your own, carrying the weight all by yourself.
[00:34:15] Chaz Wolfe: What I have realized, not only in my own journey from multiple businesses and multiple different industries, and now interviewing over two or 300. Other very successful seven, eight and nine figure business owners is that it's tough to do it alone. And so gathering the Kings exists to bring together successful entrepreneurs.
[00:34:33] Chaz Wolfe: In fact, we are putting together 1000 Kings specifically who are grateful, but not done. We're intentionally assembling Kings who fight tooth and nail for their business, family, and communities. And here's what we believe that in the pursuit of excellence in those areas. That it ignites within us, the responsibility to govern power and forge a lasting legacy.
[00:34:56] Chaz Wolfe: So if that relates and resonates with you, and you know, that you need people around you, sharp, qualified, other very successful business owners. I want you to go to gatheringthekings. com. I want you to take a look at what we're doing and see if it makes sense for you to be part of our pursuit to 1000 Kings talk soon.

Chaz Wolfe and Peter Goldstein discuss the complex landscape of August 2024, highlighted by recent events such as the attempted assassination of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris becoming the democratic presidential candidate. Learn from an IPO expert who has guided several companies to public success, as he discusses the economic and political shifts affecting businesses today. Discover actionable advice for maintaining investor trust, developing strong governance, and preparing for sudden market opportunities. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or an established business leader, this episode offers strategies for navigating uncertain times and achieving sustainable growth.

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