Pauline Rengers: "We are growing fast, the challenge is to find good people, especially ambitious women starting out, often opting for larger corporates"
Jos Schelfhout and Gwen de Vos van Steenwijk of Navigator Network Executive Search recently spoke with Pauline Rengers-Loudon of Relay Corporate Finance, an independent corporate finance consultancy. A conversation about how Relay stands out because its partners have a background as entrepreneurs and can put themselves in their client's shoes. And about the use of storytelling to bring their clients' gems to the surface and thus better market them. Finally, Rengers-Loudon advocates for more diversity in the financial world, which benefits results.
Background Relay Corporate Finance
Relay Corporate Finance was founded seven years ago as Cavim Corporate Finance. The founder, Irik Polman, is still there, but the partners have changed. Since two years, there are a total of five partners. With this fresh start fits a new name, Relay stands for cooperation and passing on. They focus on assisting in the sale and purchase of companies, finding growth financing, valuing companies and fundraising for Private Equity funds. Their target market is medium-sized companies with turnover between €10 million and €100 million. The partners almost all have a background as entrepreneurs in various industries, thanks to their broad network they serve companies mainly in secondment, ICT services, the manufacturing industry and the food sector.You are experiencing rapid growth, what is your ambition?
'We are now with 5 partners and 3 associates , soon a senior associate will join. We are growing fast and eventually want to have 20 people here in a few years. The challenge is to find good people, which is where Navigator Network will help us. I am especially looking for entrepreneurial women, but there are not many of them in the financial world. And the women who are there often choose the big corporates because there is more training and structure there. The nice thing about a small club like ours is that you get to go along to clients straight away. You get a lot of freedom, which is exciting. The people who start here also stay, which says a lot.'
What makes you unique?
'All our partners have an entrepreneurial background. We know from our own experience what it is like to run a business and what it takes to take it to the next stage. Having done that whole process ourselves, we know what everyone goes through. So we act as a kind of coach. Thanks to our personal guidance, we get very good results. Our clients often come back to us for the next step, we have a long-term partnership.'
What is your approach?
'We are of course also into spreadsheets, but that is less of a priority. We look first; what is your company's story? With storytelling, we put a company in the market and the figures support that story. Thanks to storytelling, we uncover what makes a company unique, what their added value is. Often, a company director does not see what gems they have. By talking and asking a lot, we get them to the surface. Last year, we sold a company for three times the value the entrepreneur had in mind beforehand. Thanks to storytelling, we were able to position this company so well and achieve this result. Other companies in this world look more at the financial side and not at the story behind it. This sets us apart in the market.'
Do you also give advice on how they should set up the company, for example with a Supervisory Board (SB)?
'We definitely help think about what a company looks like, business-wise, and for example about the business development side. For instance, we advise hiring a good finance director before they sell the company, so that the company has a firmer profile. Or to set up an Advisory Board or Supervisory Board. A SB often has a controlling function in the financial world, but it can also be a good thinker on growth and a sounding board for the company. I advocate more diversity among SBs. Now, they often choose people who fit in exactly. Whereas it would be a good idea to bring in someone who doesn't exactly fit the bill and brings a different, refreshing view on things and thinks out of the box. More diversity ultimately ensures better results, that has been scientifically proven.'
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