Lucas Brentjens Sold Yuki: "The Feeling Has to Be Right"
What if a large company is interested in acquiring your business? Do you jump on the opportunity or do you keep control yourself? Entrepreneur Lucas Brentjens faced this dilemma a few years ago with his company Yuki. However, he has remained active as an entrepreneur even after the sale.
Who is Lucas Brentjens?
- Early employee of Exact Software, where he later became CEO
- Co-founder and CEO of Yuki in 2007, which was later acquired by Visma
- Managing partner of CNBB, a Private Equity investor
Why did you sell Yuki?
Lucas Brentjens: "Although we had to adjust our strategy somewhat over the years, Yuki quickly grew into a successful company with 200 employees. We were competing with big players in the Benelux, such as Exact Software. In 2020, we were faced with some tough choices: should we continue independently and take on the market leaders, should we raise capital to grow even faster, or should we join another party? Ultimately, we chose the latter. Visma approached us with an offer to buy our company. It was an enormous opportunity that we couldn't pass up."
Was that a difficult decision?
"Yes, it was. We had actually decided to raise extra capital until Visma approached us. We really had to think it over because we had never explicitly stated that we were open to an offer. It just kind of happened to us, but it fit in very well with Yuki's development at the time, and Visma's strategy aligned closely with ours."
How did the acquisition process eventually go?
"It went relatively quickly and smoothly. After an introductory meeting with Visma, it took only a few months for the deal to be finalised. Emotionally, it was much harder. After all, I co-founded Yuki and invested 15 years of my life in it. But the good rapport with Visma reassured me greatly. I knew it was the right decision."
Is the rapport with a potential buyer important?
"Absolutely! Of course, money plays a significant role in the sale of a company, but it doesn't always have to be the most decisive factor, especially if it's your own company. The feeling has to be right."
Practically speaking, a lot of matters come into play. How did you experience that?
"We were lucky to already have a lot of experience with such matters; however, yes, there's a lot involved. I can only recommend that entrepreneurs seek professional guidance early on from those who can look at your company with a fresh perspective. They can prepare your company, advise you on communicating with employees, go through processes, and so on. For us, everything went well. After the transfer, I stayed on as CEO for a little more than a year and I’m still involved as an advisor. An ideal scenario."
What are you doing now?
"After Yuki, my good friend and longtime business partner and I began investing in other companies from a Private Equity perspective. We are currently focusing primarily on acquiring majority stakes in software companies that we then develop further. We are still entrepreneurs, only we no longer start from scratch but rather buy the foundation and build on that. It's challenging but also very enjoyable to be involved with various enterprises to help them grow."
Have you experienced setbacks in your career?
"Certainly, setbacks are part of the journey. At both Exact and Yuki, we experienced difficult moments where we had to adjust our strategy and make tough decisions. Even now, as investors, we sometimes make wrong choices. It's important to be realistic and sometimes let go of something that doesn't work. I think that's a major lesson."
