Reflections on Life Post Acquisition

In September of 2022, LBB the company I founded & led (still lead) was acquired by Nykaa. You can read more about my decision making framework here.

Life post acquisition is different for different founders- depending not only on the deal construct, but also ones own motivations and priorities. It’s been over a year since our acquisition; and through the course of the past year, I’ve been actively working on and thinking through three things:

i. unpacking learnings from building LBB and what I would do differently if/when I start-up again

ii. spending time on getting to know myself & my patterns better- what do I carry forward, and what patterns do i consciously work towards breaking out of

iii. warming up to corporate life! A few months after our acquisition, I was offered/asked to also take on the role of leading Nykaa’s content and brand marketing. I’ve been a founder for most of my working life; and it took a whole lot of self-work, patience and an executive coach to rewire myself to corp life

Given the dust has settled, I thought I’d share a few takeaways across i, ii, iii. In random order, here are 13 reflections on life, company building and more, post acquisition.

1. Most breakout companies have 3 things going for them: A. Timing, B. Large Markets, C. Luck. An above average founder, building in a large market is when the magic happens.
2. Positioning is where a company’s business moat overlaps with its customer moat. For example:

• Amazon’s operational and delivery excellence is its business moat (ie, its differentiator from its competitors).
• Customers value fast delivery for essentials.

These are two independent statements. That Amazon’s customers value what its business intrinsically does better, is where its moat comes from.

If you’re a founder and can’t define all 3 of these- customer moat, business moat, overlap- you’ve got a problem.

3. Product Market Fit is a highly overrated and bastardised way of defining or measuring business success. Markets are dynamic; customers change what they value; technologies compound fast. (Where, How, Cost of) Demand <> (Where, How, Cost of) Supply as first principles beats PMF any day.

4. Founders build and sell companies for different reasons. Some build for the love of the problem statement, some for wealth creation, some for legacy. Figure out your reason for building before you embark on what could be decades of work.

5. Everyone should define and articulate their relationship with money. The start-up bubble we’ve seen burst in between 2021–24 is a consequence of investors, founders, employees having a transitional and vapid relationship with money.

6. How I was as a founder/CEO vs an employee of a large corporate managing a 250+ member team are two very different leadership styles. I don’t think my values have changed one bit- they continue to be a. authentic & transparent, b. insatiably curious, c. steadfast in outcomes malleable in means. But as they say- when in Rome! Know when you’re the biggest fish in your pond vs when you’re in someone else's ocean.

7. One of my mentors/advisors told me to make a list of all of my patterns, and consciously break out of those which are destructive. History doesn’t repeat, it rhymes.

8. You’re not as amazing as you think you are. Get coaches for everything. Your coach could be your mom, your partner, a friend, an app, or a professional coach/expert. Get a coach for your health, your wealth, your mind & your baggage. Deal with your shit proactively.

9. Figure out what brings out the best in you- in life and at work. For me, I love a good sparring buddy. I love working with people who challenge me, call out my bullshit, give me a fresh perspective, help me see my own blindspots. It’s what helps me grow. Tough love may not be your style of learning; but figure out what it is and seek it.

10. “Founder” is a mentality, not a designation. It’s a way of living, working and problem solving. You don’t have to have your own company to be a founder.

11. You can do serious work and be a serious person; you can be both while being joyful, and a joy to work with.

12. It’s totally ok to have your identity come from and shaped primarily by your work. Your job is not your work.

13. In life and at work, people love people who make them win/feel like winners.

Fin.