How much to advertise wife's involvement during the search?

searcher profile

November 19, 2024

by a searcher from INSEAD in Kirkland, WA, USA

I'm kicking off a search and am debating how much to advertise my wife's involvement (e.g., whether to put her on the website and tear sheet, raise her in introductory emails). I'm debating purely around perceptions from the sellers and brokers. I don't plan to raise equity outside of friends and family, so investors are not a concern.

For context, I have an investment banking and corporate background and I will be leading the search and running the acquired business, if we're successful in finding one. I will be the one sourcing, doing the analyses, and negotiating. My wife has been a stay-at-home mother since the birth of our first 10 years ago, and had no business experience prior to that (worked mostly in education). During the search, she'll be helping with a lot of the behind-the-scenes busy work (e.g., chasing down leads, researching local companies for proprietary outreach). I expect her to help with the business if acquired as well, with role dependent on type of business and what needs to be done.

Why I'm thinking of including her up front:
- She'll be working on it!
- I don't want the seller / broker to be confused when she's joining diligence calls to take notes
- On the small chance that the seller cares about selling to a family to "continue their legacy", it could help (I'm under no illusion that vast majority of sellers don't really care)

Why I'm thinking of staying more silent:

- She has no business experience and I don't want to strain credibility right off the bat, either from a buying perspective or an operational perspective

- Don't want to trigger any preconceived notions of husband/wife not working together, relationship introducing weird dynamics, etc.


Any thoughts?

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commentor profile
Reply by a professional
in Ormond Beach, FL, USA
Just be transparent. If you believe she adds value, have her involved and tell people she’s involved. If you think your relationship or her lack of experience is an actual risk, then maybe it’s not the best idea to have her involved. You should make the call, and work with people who can support your call.
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Reply by a searcher
in Frankfurt am Main, Deutschland
Purely private opinion: My perception (having grown up in an entrepreneurial family and having several entrepreneurs in my circle of friends) is that family involvement tends to be perceived positively. After all, most privately held companies were started as family businesses.
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