So why exactly is Hale a member of Evolve? "Because of Bruce and Dave," he says. "They convinced me I should think about getting out before I die. That was a rude awakening. It had never occurred to me that someday I won't be able to do this. I guess I must be thick in the head. But I've learned it's easier to start a business than to exit one."
And does his partner have as much trouble with the idea of selling as Hale has? "No," he admits. "So we're considering all the possibilities. The group helps me think about it. They force me to focus on things I find extremely distasteful and would rather not have to deal with."
Altschul is another story altogether. Whereas Hale doesn't want to think about exiting, Altschul doesn't need to. He has already had about as good an exit as you can imagine. These days, he plays golf, advises not-for-profits, practices the flute, attends writing workshops, hikes and exercises, writes essays and poetry, watches movies, and hangs out with his grandchildren -- when he is not traveling, that is. He has just returned from his annual weeklong sail with his three brothers, this one around the San Juan Islands, north of Puget Sound. His main problem at the moment is that he and his wife have found their three homes to be one too many. So they have put their condo in Evanston, just north of Chicago, up for sale and will henceforth spend most of their time in Santa Barbara and at the family vacation home in southern Michigan.
Even more important from an exit standpoint: Altschul can look back with pride on his career as a business owner. His company produced educational audio-visual materials, which it distributed to schools. It had been started by his father, Gilbert, in 1954; it was known as the Altschul Group and later changed its name to United Learning. Joel, the second of four sons, went to work for the company in 1973 and is the only one of the four who stayed. He took the helm in 1990 and steered the company for the next 13 years, during which time it won numerous awards and annual revenue increased from about $6 million to $14 million.
Altschul admits that the decision to sell was not an easy one. He had hoped that his management team -- including his son and brother-in-law -- could someday run the company without him. "That way, we wouldn't have to sell," he says. He realized, however, that he needed help to think through his options, and so in 2000 he became a member of TEC International (later renamed Vistage International), joining a peer group that included, among others, Bruce Leech, Jack Altschuler, Michael Le Monier, and Jean Moran. There his plan to keep the business in the family was met with considerable skepticism. Altschul agonized over the decision for a couple of years and finally concluded that he would indeed have to sell to a third party. In early 2003, he contacted five potential strategic acquirers. One of them, Discovery Communications, came back with an offer he couldn't refuse. Not only was the price right, but Altschul was able to make sure that the management team would be well taken care of. The only negative, from his perspective, was that he had to stay on for a year.
But by the fall of 2004, he was out for good and didn't look back, though he did go through a period he describes as "drifting." He admits that he felt lost at times. "Our mantra in the business was, Doing well by doing good," he says. "It's hard to move from something as gratifying as that to something else." It was even harder because he didn't know what the something else might be. Months went by, and he was no closer to an answer. He tried consulting and didn't like it. No other opportunity interested him. So he filled his time with hobbies, travel, and family -- and continued to drift.
To some extent, he is still drifting. He has just grown more accustomed to it and comfortable with it. He says he doesn't regret selling and never has. On the contrary, he takes satisfaction in seeing how well his former managers and the company have done since he left. He is also happy to have shed the cloak he wore for many years as the head of a family business, particularly because that business was his mother's sole means of support. The sale ensured she would be taken care of for life. "It was a heavy burden," he says. "I didn't know how heavy it was until I took it off. I'd say things have turned out well for me, although it's still a work in progress. What's unfinished? I haven't found anything I'm as passionate about as I was about the company. I enjoy golf, writing, hiking. But none of them are as consuming as the business was, nor am I as good at any of them as I was at business. That's the part I haven't come to terms with. Maybe the next thing is out there, and I just haven't found it."
He shrugs. "But, you know," he continues, "I'm 62, financially secure, and in good health. In the end, I've been blessed. I stayed with the business and was rewarded for it. If we'd waited, we would have sold for a lot less. So more people have benefited from the sale than would otherwise have been the case. I'm sure my dad would have been pleased."
I still don't understand, however, why Altschul stays in Evolve. Granted, he wants to support his friends Bruce Leech and Dave Jackson. But that doesn't explain why he has gone out of his way to be at every meeting. What exactly is in it for him? The other members can't offer him much guidance in his situation. He, on the other hand, has learned a lot that can be of use to them. Is this his way of filling the need to be needed that so many entrepreneurs seem to miss when they leave their businesses?
"That's a good point," he says. "I would say that's accurate. But there's another piece that I think is more important. Remember, most of those people have been with me since I joined TEC in 2000. There's a certain bond between us that I don't have with anyone else. Unlike my family or my friends, they've seen me through this whole roller coaster. They alone really know what I've gone through, and I know what they've gone through. When you're lucky enough to have something like that, you don't ever want to give it up."
So that's it: the opportunity to be understood by people who have shared a type of experience most others will never have. No wonder they all keep coming back.
Inc. editor-at-large Bo Burlingham is working on a book about the challenges entrepreneurs face in selling and leaving their companies.
