How did Emma Solutions get started?
From the age of 10, Alexander was already busy with his computer. Playing games and programming would eventually culminate in a successful entrepreneurial career in IT.
It all started in October 1999. Alexander worked at Paradigit for a year, and even then an entrepreneurial desire arose: "This is what I want to do myself: Sell PCs and parts". There was no Internet yet, so he started connecting modems.
He made flyers, "Home computer service, 24/7, 9 to 9, no cure no pay," in people's mailboxes and now it was wait and see. Pretty soon he made his first purchase order, €50,000 from Tech Data. Before he knew it, the stock was sold and paid off.
Alexander: "Advertising in the Yellow Pages turned out to be a good move and when the customer base kept expanding I switched to the business market. This was possible through a private customer with his own business and before long the switch to the business market was a fact. Sales grew and roughly tripled per system sold. This sales growth gave me the opportunity to broaden the offer to additional services such as programming.
After losing a major client, Alexander suffered burnout and decided to slow down. He was forced to lay off half of staff and the company moved to smaller premises.
Why did the sale of Emma Solutions come up?
After his burnout came a focus on other things: "So I started a flight school and found out that IT was not my passion as it used to be. People felt that and that affected the business. Then Corona came along and that was the straw. I loved the peace that that brought. Then I came to the conclusion that it was time to sell the business. Coincidentally, an interested buyer showed up at that time and I decided to take a professional and broader approach together with Florijnz.
What struck you most during this journey?
"I found the whole M&A process very interesting. Talking about the company and getting back into the depth and history, I was proud of the company that's there now."
How did the sales process go in your eyes?
"I thought it was clever that Florijnz had found several buyers who made an offer in no time. I finally awarded it to the most ambitious guys from BT Group, even though they were not necessarily the most experienced yet. I am very happy with this deal and am taking another direction. For example, I own a game store and a climbing hall and I am going to coach entrepreneurs."
How did you end up working at Florijnz?
Florijnz was a client of Emma Solutions and I heard that Florijnz had overseen the sale of Amacom , a pretty big deal. That's when I decided to get in touch.
How did you experience the cooperation with Florijnz?
The cooperation went very well. We complemented each other well. Florijnz kept me on my toes (strict but fair) and kept me on my toes. I enjoyed the negotiation and how Florijnz guided me in it, especially in the emotional process.
If you were to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
Nothing at all. Everything went well and I don't regret anything.
Connect with us
Recent projects
Sale of The Grabbelton
Sales of Coffee3
