Today is my last day at Paper Leaf. For those who don’t know, PL is the digital shop I started back in 2009 with Andy, my cofounder, who I then bought out in 2018. In 2021, I sold Paper Leaf to ZGM, and today is the last day of my 3-year transition period post-acquisition. As I step away, I wanted to put a bow on everything in a post, and share some interesting facts, data, and insights.
Some Macro Agency Data
Let’s start with some interesting numbers gleaned over the nearly 15 years of starting & running the shop:
- We’ve had 64 employees total, and 32 right now. I’m happy with what that says about responsible growth and being a good place to work.
- Our average year-over-year revenue growth was 46%; average year-over-year personnel growth was 28%; and average year-over-year EBITDA growth was 210% (boosted by some non-existent EBITDA in the first few years).
- On average, the shop ran at about 15% margin; in the last 5 years that’s been more like 26%.
- In year 1, we did $40,000 in revenue. In this last calendar year, we’ll be at $4M.
- In 15 years, we never let a single person go because we didn’t have enough work. That one, I’m most proud of.
A Few Thoughts on Acquisition
Often, acquisitions result in layoffs, departures, risks and headaches. Sometimes, the value of the acquired business actually declines. None of that has happened since ZGM bought PL; in fact, everything from average salaries to sales to EBITDA to client and employee satisfaction has improved either a little or a lot. That credit goes to the ZGM partners and everyone at PL for buying in, believing in the plan and the why, and continuing to execute at a high level. You should all be proud of your role in that.
Since the acquisition, we’ve grown our team 60%, our revenues nearly 100%, and our EBITDA 15% while maintaining turnover way below industry standard.
Executing on Succession
There is a common story when the founder of a small business wants to move on: the business fizzles out or just closes up shop. Avoiding that whole scenario was one of my primary objectives when it came to my exit. I wanted to ensure the shop could run as well or better without me there; that it could continue to grow, put great work out in the world, and help our people continue to live good lives.
Now that we’re at the end of my transition, I can comfortably say: I am incredibly satisfied with how the succession of my role has been handled by everyone. In typical Paper Leaf fashion, we planned thoroughly and executed well. The team, from sales, design, dev, PM, and strategy all the way up through partners bought in, and PL has never been in a stronger position. Kayla Baretta, PL’s new Managing Director, has been running PL for the last 6 months with two highly profitable quarters under her belt and a forecast that looks much the same. It is so much easier to step aside when the shop has already proven it is highly effective without me. Kudos, team.
Leaving, and Things That Are Weird
Part of the succession means unwinding the remaining parts of me, the person, from PL the business. The meaningful parts of that had been done for a while now; this is more about the less-important stragglers. Files, email forwards, things like that.
Here are a few things I’ve noted as interesting or weird:
- The sheer volume of clients over 15 years. Hundreds and hundreds of them.
- And some of them were real weird. The things you say yes to when times are slow.
- How hilariously terrible some of the early work was. Good thing we charged about what it was worth.
- Erasing myself from things like email drip campaign signatures
- I wrote 314 posts on the Paper Leaf blog since it started
- Watching the team easily, completely take over 100% of operations without me involved at all
- The slow realization that many of the things that brought me incredible stress over the last decade and a half were basically meaningless
- How little email I get now that everything has been delegated and I’ve been removed from group emails
- PL is just as profitable with me completely phasing out over the last 6 months
- Watching my weekly to-do list go from 30+ items to 0
- Watching my weekly calendar go from 20+ meetings to 2
The big learning from that? I could have delegated and dialled my input and stress way down a while ago, and the shop probably would have still been just fine.
What’s Next
As I’ve been slowly backing away, Homer-style, I’ve had a variety of friends, acquaintances, and industry peers ask me: what’s next?
The short answer is: skiing. And riding my bike. And being in the woods and on top of mountains and enjoying home in Kimberley, BC, with my dog and my friends.
The longer answer, to the unstated “what about work” part of the question, is: I don’t know. I have been full-on for almost 15 years, with no sabbaticals and the occasional 2 week vacation on top of the unique stresses that come with entrepreneurship. I am going to take the time to unwind, and then see where my motivations take me. I still have passion for and value to provide in business/entrepreneurship, organizational systems & process, operations & finance, leadership & management, design & tech, and a whole swath of areas beneath those banners. Maybe that means consulting. Maybe that means speaking. Maybe that means I write a book. Maybe that means all, or none, of those things.
Moreover, I’m going to focus first on what I want my days to be like, the people who are important to me, and the things that make me happy. I’m going to avoid the regrets of the dying as best I can. Whatever work looks like in the future, it will need to fit into that approach, and you’ll hear about it here or on LinkedIn. I also imagine I’ll write a bit more about my time, experience, and what I’ve learned along the way – if you want to read those ramblings, you can subscribe via email here.
It’s been a wild ride, and I cannot overstate how much more successful PL turned out to be than I ever could have imagined. My original goal was to replace my previous salary, which was a whopping $36,000 in 2009. Well, that happened, and so much more, and I’m incredibly thankful for everyone who helped PL get to where it is now, and allow me to step aside while the shop keeps rolling onwards & upwards. None of this would have been possible without all of you.
Photo by Tareq Ajalyakin on Unsplash