Oliver

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

 I am the CEO of a consulting company 

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Digital marketing agency

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Barney, Inc to accomplish?

• understand M&A landscape
• put together purchase docs for selling company
• navigate terms of sale

SOLUTION

How did you find Barney, Inc?

Online Search

Why did you select Barney, Inc over others?

Referred to me

How many teammates from Barney, Inc were assigned to this project?

1 Employee

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Barney was supposed to provide M&A advisory services, including but not limited to drafting purchase docs, advisory of valuation, and general guidance around data rooms and legal. They delivered none of this and only worked for 4 days out of the 1 full month of work we paid for.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

It's sad I even have to waste time leaving this review but Barney has been utterly disappointing to work with and owes me at least $8,700 (they did 4 days of work when we paid them for a full month to start). They are dishonest, they did not perform the work, and after promising to discuss a credit or refund, they completed ghosted me. Then they showed up again (Clara and Amanda) asking me to "remove a review" on Clutch, linking to another review which I did not leave. Upon read that review it was clear they've done this to another agency. I attempted again for peaceful resolution and despite agreeing they owe us a credit or refund, Amanda and Clara ghosted again. This is just not right and I cannot believe they conduct business this way.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

They did not deliver what they promised, nothing. I may be taking this to court to recoup the refund owed to me as I prepaid.

What was your primary form of communication with Barney, Inc?

Virtual Meeting

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Nothing. They are clearly good at sales but not good at delivering what they state. They've pissed off a lot of customers including myself and I recently heard from another agency friend that they jipped him too (he didn't even know I also had been taken advantage of).

Are there any areas for improvement or something Barney, Inc could have done differently?

Be honest Barney - you should learn how to conduct honest business and what that means. Pretty shady that you have to go around taking money from people and not doing the work.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the CEO of a brand storytelling studio.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Barney, Inc?

We were exploring a merger.

SOLUTION

How did you select this firm and what were the deciding factors?

We considered a few firms but Amanda made a strong pitch, was very passionate and aggressive --and incredibly confident. She put forth a great first impression, which quickly changed after we signed the agreement. Despite having a contract, she immediately increased the monthly price 3x (blaming an administrative error on her team's side) and failed to deliver on any of her promises.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

This is the first time in my 20+ years running our firm that I felt we were defrauded.  Amanda and her entire team made promises we paid for, which they failed to deliver. There was poor organization, they dropped frequently in the middle of zoom calls or had "technical difficulties," they introduced us to people who were not qualified or had low integrity, and they published and shared confidential information about our firm multiple times, which distracted and confused our hard working team. In short, it was a mess.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Amanda was supposed to be leading our engagement (part of our requirement in hiring them). She did attend the first few meetings but then reassigned us to a junior person --who then left the company, and we were reassigned to someone brand new who never spoke at any meeting beyond introducing herself. It was awkward and embarrassing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the engagement that demonstrate progress or success?

This is the first time in my 20+ years running our firm that I felt we were 100% misled. Amanda and her entire team made promises that we paid for and which they flat out failed to deliver. There was poor organization, they dropped *frequently* in the middle of zoom calls blaming "technical difficulties," they introduced us to people who were not qualified or had low integrity, and her team published and shared confidential information about our firm multiple times, which materially hurt our business. In short, it was a mess.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Horrendous. She responded quickly, but usually made excuses or just apologized without explanation.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their marketing, ahead of hiring them. I still am in awe of the massive gap between how professionally they present themselves (which is amazing) and the actual service quality (very poor).

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Invest in service quality and in the relationships with your customers with honest, direct and consistent communication.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an executive at a B2B demand generation and marketing agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Barney, Inc.?

We were trying to sell our business at a price that made sense for everyone.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

At first, they interviewed me and the business. After that, they market our business anonymously to a pool of prospective buyers and then went into the NDA process, qualifying or disqualifying prospects based on fit, funds, and all that upfront work. Once they found interested buyers, they’d set up calls between myself and the potential buyers.

They also helped us with accounting matters and offered financial services in terms of valuation and making sure our books were correct. Consequently, some companies sent us proposals and we ended up taking one of those offers. We went through the due diligence process that took a couple of months, but Barney was there every step of the way through, working with me but also with the buyer to facilitate the deal.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Nick (Broker), Jay (Founder), and Tom (CFO).

How did you come to work with Barney, Inc.?

They reached out to us; we were approached by a handful of buyers off-market. We spoke to Barney and they went through the whole process and explained to us what they could do and said they only focus on digital agencies, which is what got us interested. They proved to us that they knew their stuff, we liked them, and we gave them a shot.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $75,000 with them. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We met in June 2020, our company was bought in December of that same year, and the deal closed in April 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

It’s tough to put it in a statistical amount but they got and structured the deal for us providing financial resources.

How did Barney, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

We had scheduled frequent calls on a weekly basis as well as ad hoc calls. They gave us the freedom to do what we needed. At the same time, when we needed anything, we’d give Barney several unscheduled calls, and they were responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understood our business well. They captured the size of our company and they treated us like so. We never felt pressured to make a decision so I’d say they cared about us and you rarely get that feeling from other brokers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’d be interesting to see an anonymized database with the different deals they’ve done in the past in terms of consulting so you can get a better expectation of their work.

Any advice for potential customers?

Dedicate at least three months to selling your business and, if you have a business partner, focus one person on doing the deal and one person on running the company. I was doing both and that was a lot of work. Also, listen to them and their expertise.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a principal at San Juan Bay Capital. Most recently, I became the CEO of a company called Patients4you, and it’s a digital marketing agency that generates patient referrals for dentists and independent dental offices. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Barney, Inc?

We hired Barney, Inc to help us acquire Patients4you. I was working with San Juan Big Capital, and my sole purpose was to find a business that I could operate as my professional career after completing the acquisition. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In September 2020, I came across Barney, Inc’s listing on BizBuySell, and they were promoting a business and representing the sellers of a business that seemed to fit the criteria of what I was looking for in a company. I was highly interested in the lead generation business, so I reached out to them, and a call was arranged. 

After signing an NDA, the team showed me a video interview they prepared where the sellers answered detailed questions about their business. That also provided an accurate idea if I wanted to learn more about Patients4you. In the end, I found out that Patients4you was being run by two brothers located in Arizona, and the business could be managed remotely. 

After that, I was convinced and we agreed on an offer. Barney worked through the acquisition process until February 2021. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with two people from Barney, Inc’s team.

How did you come to work with Barney, Inc?

I found Barney through a portal online called BizBuySell where a lot of business owners put their companies up for sale. Many brokers post their listings there, so I subscribed to email alerts. After that, I saw an interesting listing from Barney, Inc, and the rest was history.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent approximately $470,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2020–February 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Anecdotally, the company was very professional throughout the process. Before meeting Barney, I probably dealt with 50–100 brokers last year. I highly appreciated that they were familiar with many aspects of the inner workings of the Patients4you company.

Above all, they were honest in their representations which I found to be impressive since they shared all the good and not-so-good things about the business.  

How did Barney, Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

I was pleasantly surprised with their organizational skills and commitment to the job, especially Nick (M&A Advisor) who was on every call and helped facilitate everything. Furthermore, Barney stayed within what I considered good market practices as compared to other brokers who require things such as bonds before they disclose basic information about a business. 

In the end, I only needed to sign an NDA to get things moving. Overall, the weekly calls we had were an integral part of the successful partnership. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their integrity was commendable, and we liked that they were focused on a specific niche — which was digital marketing agencies. Moreover, they were transparent, and they valued me as a buyer. I appreciated that they didn’t treat me as a commodity and that they cared about me. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could do a better job at setting and managing some seller expectations around difficult subjects or topics such as seller financing and working capital.

In our case, there weren’t too many differences around the working capital, but there were some negotiation delays regarding seller financing. If they set up more expectations from the beginning, things could’ve gone a little bit smoother. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very forthright with Barney, Inc. In addition, be quick and professional in your communications with them. That way, negotiations can be seamless.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and a co-owner of Weblux, Inc. The company was incorporated in January 2021.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Barney, Inc?

We collaborated with them, but the seller of the company hired them. Barney, Inc was the seller’s broker, and we had worked with them for a while.

My co-owner has been in digital marketing for 5-6 years, and she’s worked with mobile startups, and so forth, so we had some experience in the field, but not in terms of running an agency.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

This was our first time buying a digital marketing agency. Barney, Inc had a lot of experience with marketing and web development agencies. They helped us evaluate the industry and the available deals to see if this was a good one and the key factors.

Barney, Inc was the middle person involved in the communication between the seller and us initially. They helped mediate the conversation and gave guidance on what topics we should discuss in our calls and prioritize.

They shared best practices with us regarding what other people do in such transactions, like setting up a new QuickBooks account, for example.

Their main role was to facilitate the discussion between us. It started with an evaluation of the business and a letter of intent. The due diligence process went on for 2-3 months, covering different aspects of the business.

Barney set up meetings, supplied materials to us, and helped us understand it. They also conveyed our concerns to the seller in terms of wanting more information. Lastly, they made a review of the purchase agreement.

What is the team composition?

We only worked with Amanda (Co-Founder).

How did you come to work with Barney, Inc?

We looked through websites listing businesses in Dubai, and I believe we found them on BizBuySell.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2020, and the collaboration wrapped in January 2021 when we completed the transaction.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

One of the areas of concern was understanding the risk factors in evaluating the business. Barney, Inc is a broker, and they’ve seen a lot of deals like this come through. They gave us a perspective on the key things to consider.

Secondly, it was the best practices feed. They did the due diligence and gave us a checklist of the important things to consider, like financials, technology, employee retention, and so forth.

Lastly, we had some conversations with them about how we would run the business in order to increase value. Barney, Inc consulted us on the things to consider once we became owners.

How did Barney, Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

We had no problems with the project management piece. We wanted to get it done quickly, but there were some holidays during this period.

We had 60–90-minute sessions twice a week between ourselves, the seller, and Amanda. We used email for follow-up questions.

What did you find most impressive about them?

From the conversations we’ve had, it seems that they have a lot of experience dealing with such businesses in the creative agency space.

They have a lot of deals listed on their website. We felt we were dealing with a broker with experience in the industry, and the information we got was relevant.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Initially, we couldn’t connect with Barney, Inc for 2-3 weeks. Either they were busy or late to the bid, but we felt that the response was slow.

Once we engaged with them and signed a letter of intent, it wasn’t an issue anymore.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

There are no guarantees in the digital marketing world because of how competitive the market is. Barney, Inc has seen many of those businesses, so they can tell when one has good business processes in place. I advise getting this discussion going early on in terms of how revenue can be maintained.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of a digital design agency.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Barney, Inc?

We recently sold the company and they helped us broker the deal.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They started the process of selling the investment partnership project and then were with us the whole time. They found the right investor for us, walked us through due diligence and financing, then handled the finance part of the process. They held our hand through everything.

What is the team composition?

I primarily worked with Jay (Acquisitions Manager). They’re a pretty small team, so he brokered the whole thing himself.

How did you come to work with Barney, Inc?

He reached out to us a year and a half ago, and we just started talking. It was interesting, the idea of a potential sale. We stayed in touch, and when I looked to actually sell the company I reached out to him.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent $80,000 — a commission of the investment price.

What is the status of this engagement?

They worked with us from October 2020 to January 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

They were the authority on the process. I knew nothing about how this worked. They helped me get a great deal.

How did Barney, Inc perform from a project management standpoint?

They were excellent, incredibly buttoned up, and communicative.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very personable and trustworthy. I found them very honest. They have great expertise.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were awesome, I can’t say anything.