Timo Armoo: The art of exit planning

Social media. Influencers. Gen Z. There are many businesses and their leaders who still don’t fully grasp the importance and scope of these influential terms. One young entrepreneur was on the ground floor of the social media revolution and built and sold a company worth tens of millions of pounds.

Timo Armoo is a name you should get to know. We met with him at Servcorp’s beautiful office at The Leadenhall Building in London to discuss building his company Fanbytes, the importance of baking IP into a business, what it’s like when money hits your bank after an acquisition and much more.

Here's what we discussed:

• Could you give us an overview of your career? (02:04)
• How did you feel selling your first business at 17 for six figures? (06:14)
• You started Fanbytes as social media was on the rise. Do you think you would have been successful in another period of time? (11:30)
• Could you tell us about the growth you achieved with Fanbytes? (13:34)
• What made you choose angel investors over Venture Capitalists, is this something that was premeditated or was this something that developed over time? (17:29)
• When did you decide to exit the business: did you build an exit strategy to the business, or was there a lightbulb moment during your journey? (20:42)
• How did you settle on Brainlabs being the company that you were going to sell to? (24:28)
• What were the craziest moments from the acquisition? (27:43)
• How important was developing a personal brand to you? (34:00)
• Why did you find that creating your own technology and systems was so important? (38:21)
• As someone who started their business at a young age, how were you received in rooms filled with people that were more experienced than yourself? (39:42)
• Is there any part of you, now that you’ve exited, that would try and improve the VC landscape? (41:59)
• Where do you see the tech valuation bubble ending up? (44:02)
• What technology is intriguing you at the moment? (45:14)
• Are you putting pressure on yourself for what to do next? (47:08)
• The Good News Postcard: What is your favourite characteristic and why? (49:42)
• What makes a great business leader? (50:26)

Thanks to Grace from the Jill Dando News for bringing us The Good News Postcard this week. Get your dose of positive news by visiting The Good News Post, a website collated by hundreds of young people aged 8 to 18 in the UK. They've written real-life “news that’s good for you”, covering people, animals, stories to cheer people up, and tips to make lives better.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and the Business Leader YouTube channel for more interviews with some of the world’s leading business figures.

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