“No one teaches Bankruptcy. The only way to learn about Bankruptcy is to experience it.” — Turnaround CEO
No ever expects their company to file for Bankruptcy. When it happens, it can be both shocking and expected at the same time. While Bankruptcy is a well-known term, it is not well understood by the masses.
You see headlines of companies filing for Chapter 11 or Chapter 7. You hear about how student debt is leading to Personal Bankruptcy. However, as I recently learned, you never understand the minutiae until you go through it. In full disclosure, I recently went through the process leading up to Bankruptcy and the initial filing. I didn’t go through the emergence of the company after Bankruptcy, as I chose to leave. So my opinions here will only cover what I experienced.
When you are considering joining a private equity-backed company, and one in a turnaround phase, make sure you have a detailed review of the business’s financials. Explore how the company makes money, what the cash cycle looks like, how much money is available for reinvestment, who the critical debt holders are, how much debt is outstanding, when it matures and, the annual obligations to serve that debt. You can then determine how much profit the company is producing and how much is…
