How does it feel to sell your company?

I've acquired other companies, but the sale of Mollom to Acquia was the first time I sold a company of my own. Being the seller felt quite different. It's an interesting mixture of satisfaction tinged with loss.

During the negotiation phase, you feel joy and excitement. Then you feel frustration as you go through the due diligence process. It's a lot of work. Eventually, the day you hand over the keys, you feel like you've sold your baby. At the same time, you feel a sense of achievement.

Selling Mollom was a life-changing moment. Not because it was a big financial transaction (it wasn't), but because it proved that I was able to bootstrap and grow a company, steer it to profitability, and successfully exit. It was a great experience, because I know that at some point, I'll have the desire to do that again.