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From growth to succession: anticipating the key stages in a company’s life cycle
The life of an entrepreneur is marked by decisions that go far beyond day-to-day operations. Financing growth, carrying out an acquisition, managing surplus liquidity, preparing for a sale, or organising a family succession – each of these key stages affects not only the future of the company, but also that of the wealth its owner has built up over the years.
Because they are so closely interconnected, these decisions are best considered from a broader perspective. Choices made today in terms of financing, governance, or wealth structuring can, several years later, influence the conditions of a succession, a sale, or the preservation of family assets.
At a meeting held at Lombard Odier’s new global headquarters in Bellevue, entrepreneurs and Bank specialists shared their experiences of the major milestones that shape a company’s life. Moderated by Patrice Gras, Head of Swiss Clients in Geneva, the discussion brought together Maxime Dubouloz, Director of Corporate Advisory, Samuel Meylan, Head of Wealth Planning for Switzerland at LO Patrimonia, and Benoît Ricou, Private Banker. Together, they highlighted the main challenges faced by SME leaders, from growth to succession, including the structuring of entrepreneurial wealth.
Sustainable growth cannot be reduced to an increase in turnover
Business growth: expanding while retaining control
For an SME, growth is often both stimulating and demanding. Whether driven by entry into new markets, innovation, the recruitment of new talent, or accelerated through acquisition, growth requires a company to adapt its organisational structure as quickly as its commercial activity.
According to Maxime Dubouloz, sustainable growth cannot be reduced to an increase in turnover. It requires preserving the many balances that enable the business to continue creating value. Attracting and retaining talent, maintaining innovation efforts, structuring decision-making processes, and equipping the business with appropriate management tools all become critical factors. Without these conditions, a company may quickly find its complexity increasing faster than its ability to manage it.
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External growth also provides an additional lever to accelerate development, but it demands rigorous preparation. Even before identifying a target, a company must clearly define what it is seeking, whether that’s new capabilities, a growth driver in a key market, technological development, or stronger geographical presence. This strategic reflection is often the first prerequisite for success.
The transaction itself, however, is only one stage – value creation then depends on the ability to integrate teams, bring corporate cultures together, and harmonise working methods. The most successful acquisitions are rarely those completed in the shortest time, but rather those whose integration has been prepared with the greatest care.
Legal and tax considerations complete this reflection. As Samuel Meylan pointed out, the consequences of an acquisition can vary significantly depending on whether it concerns the shares of a company or its assets. These factors should be anticipated without becoming the primary driver of the decision, and choices should be structured in a way that serves the company’s development strategy.
In this context, the banker’s role extends well beyond financing a transaction. It involves supporting the entrepreneur in a comprehensive approach that reconciles growth needs, liquidity management, and the owner’s wealth objectives. This global perspective makes it possible to prepare future stages well before they become pressing.
The transaction itself, however, is only one stage – value creation then depends on the ability to integrate teams, bring corporate cultures together, and harmonise working methods
Structuring the business to support sustainable growth
As a company develops, new issues emerge. Growth is no longer measured solely by revenue, but also by the organisation’s ability to mature. Governance, business continuity, liquidity management, and wealth structuring gradually become value-creation levers in their own right.
For Maxime Dubouloz, one lever still underused by Swiss SMEs lies in establishing appropriate governance. A strengthened board of directors, a steering committee, or an advisory board allows the owner to test decisions against external perspectives, enrich strategic thinking, and prepare the business for its next stages of development. Diversity of experience and the ability to challenge assumptions are often key sources of resilience.
This evolution also raises a fundamental question: could the business continue operating if its leader were suddenly absent? In many SMEs, key decisions, client relationships, and certain areas of expertise remain concentrated in the founder’s hands. Reducing this dependency involves, in particular, gradually delegating responsibilities, formalising processes more effectively, and introducing protective mechanisms, such as mandates in case of incapacity.
Growth also generates excess cash, which calls for new decisions. Retaining liquidity within the company, distributing it, or reinvesting it is never purely a financial choice. Each option has implications for taxation, future investment capacity, and the owner’s wealth position.
As emphasised by Samuel Meylan, paying dividends or salaries is not always the most appropriate solution. Depending on the objectives pursued, pension arrangements, tax optimisation strategies, or employee retention schemes may offer more suitable alternatives.
This reflection naturally extends to pension assets. Increasingly, entrepreneurs wish to integrate them into a comprehensive wealth strategy, in order to ensure greater coherence between their private assets, their business, and their long-term objectives.
At this stage of a company’s development, the boundary between business strategy and wealth strategy becomes increasingly blurred. Decisions taken within the company now have effects that go beyond its immediate scope and, even at this early stage, begin to shape the conditions for a future transfer or potential sale.
Succession and sale: revealing the value built over time
For many entrepreneurs, transferring or selling their company represents the culmination of decades of commitment. Yet preparation for this stage does not begin at the moment the decision is made to sell. It results from groundwork carried out well in advance, often several years earlier, while the business is still growing.
Whatever the chosen route – sale to an investor, management buyout, acquisition by an industrial player, or transfer within the family – the quality of preparation directly influences the entrepreneur’s room for manoeuvre.
Moreover, an attractive company is not defined solely by its financial performance. Acquirers also pay close attention to the strength of its organisation, the quality of its contracts, the diversification of its client base, the robustness of its governance, and its ability to operate without the founder’s daily involvement. All of these elements are built progressively, long before negotiations begin.
As Maxime Dubouloz noted, a company’s value and the price a buyer is willing to pay are not the same. Financial data provides an essential foundation, but risk perception, growth potential, and organisational quality are equally influential in discussions. In other words, value is calculated, whereas price is negotiated.
Preparation is not limited to operational aspects. Legal, tax, and wealth implications must also be anticipated. Samuel Meylan highlighted the risks certain transactions may entail, particularly in the case of an indirect partial liquidation. Early planning helps preserve available options and avoid unexpected tax consequences.
When succession takes place within the family, the challenges take on a different nature. Financial considerations remain important, but are accompanied by human, relational, and inheritance dynamics that are often more decisive. Preparing the next generation involves not only organising the transfer of ownership, but also defining future governance, clarifying roles, and maintaining balance among family members.
In this context, communication is one of the main success factors. The earlier that expectations are expressed, the more calmly decisions can be made. Successful family succession rarely rests on a single legal action, such as the signing of a contract; rather, it is the result of a gradual process built over time.
Ultimately, succession does not simply mark the end of an entrepreneurial cycle – it reveals the quality of the decisions made throughout the company’s life. Governance, organisation, wealth vision, and the ability to prepare the next generation become the true legacies left by the entrepreneur.
The more these decisions are anticipated, the greater the entrepreneur’s freedom to shape the future of their business, their wealth, and their family
Beyond the transaction: preparing the next chapter
The sale or transfer of a business does not merely mark the end of an entrepreneurial journey – it opens a new phase in which priorities evolve significantly. After devoting many years – often decades – to developing their company, many business owners are led to redefine their priorities, their role, and their future plans.
This transition goes far beyond the financial dimension alone. Preserving the capital generated by the sale, organising its transfer to future generations, generating sustainable income, or supporting new entrepreneurial ventures are now part of a comprehensive wealth strategy. The decisions taken at this stage will, in turn, shape family wealth and the opportunities available to future generations.
For Benoît Ricou, this support consists precisely in helping entrepreneurs navigate this new phase with the same long-term vision that guided the development of their business. Defining an investment strategy, planning succession, and organising future gifts all form part of a single objective: safeguarding the value created over the long term.
Throughout the discussion, one conviction emerged clearly: the major decisions that mark a company’s life cannot be considered in isolation. Growth, governance, liquidity management, succession, and wealth structuring all form part of a holistic approach in which each decision influences the next.
Ultimately, the success of a succession is not determined solely at the moment ownership changes hands. It is built much earlier, through the strategic choices that support the company’s development, governance, and ability to create lasting value. The more these decisions are anticipated, the greater the entrepreneur’s freedom to shape the future of their business, their wealth, and their family.
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This is a marketing communication issued by Bank Lombard Odier & Co Ltd (hereinafter “Lombard Odier”).
It is not intended for distribution, publication, or use in any jurisdiction where such distribution, publication, or use would be unlawful, nor is it aimed at any person or entity to whom it would be unlawful to address such a marketing communication.
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