Michael Carter qualified as a chartered accountant in the United Kingdom with KPMG, but became cynical of the audit process and leapt out into commerce at the first opportunity. He has created, developed, bought, and sold businesses and spent most of the last 20 years helping other people’s start-ups and small companies. This is his fifth business book.
Karl Shaikh has a never-ending thirst for learning. He is curious, challenges perspectives, and enjoys identifying new hypotheses to test. At the heart of his curiosity is the question: How can we make any team, and thereby any organization, more successful? He has worked in many large corporations in strategic roles. Like Michael, he has started and grown businesses. He has worked with many entrepreneurs and assisted a number of nonprofit organizations’ boards. Learn more at www.1unknown.com
Michael and Karl came together in 2003 when they cofounded Virtual Directors Limited (VDL), a London-based consultancy. Initially business was slow. But when the pitch became “A consultancy that helps recruiters top line, bottom line and keeping key staff,” VDL found itself retained by five different companies in as many weeks.
Both have travelled extensively, supporting businesses at different times on five continents. They have also become quite adept at selling businesses. They obtained a $1 million plus for a software company where the owner had anticipated liquidation and almost a $1 million more than the asking price for a lighting company where the outgoing owner used the proceeds to create a tennis academy in the south of France.
They hope some of their thoughts, approaches, and methodologies in this book will help you achieve what you aspire to.