The buyer wants to structure our deal with a high equity rollover and expects us to run their new portfolio company, but our leadership team consists of visionary Quick Starts who hate corporate bureaucracy. How do we use conative assessments to prove our team is suited for rapid growth rather than integration management?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Roll-up buyers often assume that the founders who built the business are the best people to manage the corporate integration post-close. However, if your leadership team is wired for innovation and speed, forcing them into a rigid, bureaucratic integration role is a recipe for disaster. Use conative assessments, like the Kolbe Index, to show the buyer the natural problem-solving styles of your team. If your leadership team has high Quick Start and low Follow Thru scores, they are hardwired to experiment, pivot, and drive growth. They are not built to fill out endless corporate reports or manage slow, administrative processes. Present these conative profiles during your negotiations to restructure the post-close leadership plan. Propose that your team focus exclusively on product innovation and market expansion, while the buyer brings in their own integration specialists to handle the administrative merger. Show how this division of labor aligns with the EOS Accountability Chart, keeping your team in seats where they are highly effective. This approach protects your rolled-over equity by ensuring your team is not set up to fail in roles they are conatively unsuited to perform.