How to Build a Billion-Dollar Business

CHAPTER 33IT'S NOT OVER

What many people may not know was that Biostime bought 83 per cent of Swisse for $1.67 billion, with the remaining 17 per cent of the company to be sold three years later. At which point Swisse would be independently valued and the shareholders would vote on whether they would accept the valuation of the business to close out the sale.

This was why it was so important that the executive team stayed on, as we knew that we could assist with the transition, train the new Biostime team, and protect and grow the value of the remaining 17 per cent left in the business for the benefit of everyone. If the value of the company fell, so did our fortunes. Our executive team had 30 per cent of our total remaining shares locked up in Swisse, and amongst this group, I was now a near majority shareholder, just short of Stephen.

I was still CEO of Swisse but clearly Fei Lou, the group's CEO, had his own vision for steering the company. This was fair enough; it was his company now. We worked hard to support them in every area, particularly culture and sales/marketing, as these were two of our key superpowers that elevated us above all the competitors and made us unique. (We chose Biostime over the others because they, like us, recognised the power of their team to deliver on the vision. They also went on to become an employer of choice and win multiple awards for their outstanding culture.) We always placed our retailer relationships at the forefront of our operational ...