About this episode

Jaclyn Johnson shares her journey of building, losing, and reclaiming her company, Create and Cultivate, while discussing the challenges faced along the way.

Jaclyn Johnson built Create and Cultivate from a blog into a multi-million dollar company, sold it, watched it fall apart under new ownership, and bought it back. In this episode, Create and Cultivate founder Jaclyn Johnson breaks down what it actually costs to build a company: a $75 million acquisition deal that collapsed because of COVID, a private equity sale two years later, a stage zero breast cancer diagnosis, and a marriage that ended along the way. She explains how she negotiated her way back into ownership of the company she started in 2012, why she now runs Cherub to get more women into angel investing, and how resilience carried her through every setback. What you'll learn in this episode: - Why Create and Cultivate didn't turn a profit for five years, and why that was the point - The difference between a strategic acquisition and a private equity buyout - How COVID killed a $75 million deal and forced a pivot to virtual events overnight - What to know before your next mammogram, and how to push for a second opinion - How she negotiated to buy back her own company after the PE firm decided to sell - Why women get 1.9% of VC funding, and how Cherub is closing that gap…

People in this episode

Host: Alexis Contos

Guest: Jaclyn Johnson

Topics covered

• entrepreneurship
• business acquisition
• women in business
• resilience
• angel investing

Keywords

• Create and Cultivate
• Jaclyn Johnson
• business challenges
• angel investing
• women entrepreneurs
• COVID impact
• company acquisition

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Create and Cultivate, Cherub

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