Partners in Life and Work: Finding Success Through a Partner Business

Description

Providing candid advice on the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, this book interweaves the world of tech start-ups, the American immigrant experience, and the realities of running a business with your life partner. Across two decades as entrepreneurs, Elma and Dov Levy faced economic recessions, government shutdowns, work-life balance issues, leadership conflicts, and the emotions of letting go of their company Dovel Technologies – a technology consulting firm that they grew from a space in their attic to a multimillion-dollar operation with major government contracts. In this conversational and practical book they share insights on How next-generation entrepreneurs can develop business relationships and networking skills, and maintain a high level of risk tolerance and manage risks strategically, including how and when to scale the business. How to stay true to guiding principles as co-owner spouses and woman-owned business entrepreneurs. What trends and opportunities to watch out for in a post-COVID-19 world. Aspiring entrepreneurs, growth-focused founders, family business owners, and government and technology professionals will especially value the Levys’ business and personal success stories, with guidance on how to manage a marriage and business simultaneously, creating boundaries with a home office, and showing mutual respect in the boardroom. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Introduction Acknowledgments Part I: Prologue 1 The Dov and Elma Story Dov Before Elma Elma Before Dov Dov’s Intro to the U.S. Elma’s Intro to the U.S. January 1982–May 1983 1983–2000 Before Integrated Data Corporation/Dovel Information Systems Incorporated Access Engineering Corporation CompuMark U.S. SCOPE Incorporated Elma 2 Dovel Is Born Dov Late 1980s Electronic Data Gathering and Retrieval System A Door Opens. . . DTS Elma Part II: Lessons Learned 3 Building the Corporate Infrastructure Elma 2000–2005: THE START-UP PHASE Mission Statement How We Got Our First Prime Contract 2005–2010: THE GROWTH PHASE Office Space From QB to MS Navision JIRA Software BD During the Growth Phase Project Management Reviews CMMI Personal Challenges Advisory Board 2010–2012: MATURITY PHASE, GROWTH SLOWDOWN OR NO GROWTH 2012–2018: RENEWAL OR DEATH 2019–2021: REVIVAL AND CLOSURE Summary 4 Bagels on Fridays Elma 5 Should Married Couples Run a Business Together? Dov Elma Relationship Roles and Responsibilities Respect In Summary 6 Dov’s Tech Tales – The Only Constant Is Change Dov Online Trademark Research System EDGAR American Red Cross Defense Travel System “The Cloud” GrantSolutions.gov 7 Tolerating Risk Dov Office Lease Government Contracting Calculating Risk of Investment Elma Dov Hiring the CEO Summary 8 The Business Development Challenge and Chasing Rabbits Dov Maintaining Focus With Your Business Development Efforts Growing to the Left and Right of Your Core Expertise “Yes, We Can Do That” Competencies and Business Stages What We’ve Learned Dov Growth Phase Maturity and Renewal Phase Don’t Chase Rabbits A Major BD Challenge: Hiring Business Developers 9 Letting Go Letting Go to Move Forward Parenting and Learning How Much to Let Go Starting a Company Means Becoming a Parent All Over Again The Exchange: Letting Go of One Career to Start Another Bringing on Our First Employees and Specialists Bringing Executives to Our Team: What We Learned When Letting Go Got Tougher: The New CEO Elma’s Challenges Dov’s Challenges Embracing Our New Life Our Lesson on Trusting 10 Preparing for Exit PREPARING YOUR COMPANY FOR EXIT Elma Strategic Acquisition PE Acquisition Why Is It Important to Know What Kind of Transaction You Are Looking At When and Why Is a Valuation Important? Take Care of Your Team: The Equity Bonus Plan Dov Establishing a Target Sale Price The Transaction Process The Transaction Day The Post-Transaction Company Non-competes and All That Jazz Legal Representation A Second Bite of the Apple PREPARING YOUR PERSONAL ESTATE FOR AN EXIT Trusts Donor-Advised Fund In Summary 11 Entrepreneurship Advice for All: From College Students to Experienced Founders Elma Know Your Strengths! Dov 12 Why Travel Adventures? Part III: Epilogue 13 The Final Chapter 14 The World Post-COVID-19: Trends We’re Following Dov COVID-Related Transformation of the Workplace Remote Knowledge Worker Vacant Commercial Real Estate Technologies Health Care Security 15 Our Travel Adventures 2008: The Grand Canyon Summiting the Kilimanjaro 16 Conclusion Elma About the Authors Index