We’ve sold Mumbrella
Mumbrella co-founder Tim Burrowes reveals that Mumbrella has a new owner.
So we’ve sold Mumbrella.
Let’s not use the weasel words you sometimes see used by companies that get bought. I’m not going to use terms like “releasing a strategic stake”. We’ve sold the company. We signed the paperwork this morning.
The new owner of Mumbrella – and our new boss – is a family-owned American company you probably haven’t heard of called Diversified Communications.
It’s a deal that guarantees Mumbrella remains an independent voice and in time, I hope, will give Mumbrella the opportunity to become a global brand.
In the short – and indeed medium – term, very little will change. The same team will still produce Mumbrella, from the same office. No new editorial oversight will be placed over what we publish.
My contract means I’ll be here until beyond the end of the decade, and the same goes for my fellow shareholder in the business, and our CEO, Martin Lane.
And it’s also not one of those deals justified by “synergies”. Nobody will lose their job as a result.
I must confess, when the moment came, I thought I’d feel more reluctance about this deal than I do. I’m glad to say, this feels right, both in timing and in owner.
And while I’ve loved the Mumbrella journey, and still do, being the owner has never really been what it’s about for me. Building stuff and writing about the media industry have always been what has motivated me.
I got as much of a kick – and worked just as hard – when I was launching the Media360 conference (does the name seem familiar?) and relaunching Media Week magazine for Quantum Media in the UK.
Or indeed when I launched the Middle East edition of Campaign magazine for ITP in Dubai. And again with the creation of the B&T Awards as a mass audience event for Reed Business Information.
So owning my own company has never been as important to me as having bosses who will trust me to get on with stuff.
As you might have seen, we’ve been able to do this deal at a time when we’ve had a great deal of financial momentum.
As I mentioned a few days ago in my article on Mumbrella’s ninth birthday, the last financial year saw us break through the million dollar profit, and $7m turnover mark. And we’re on target for further growth this year.
So what led to the sale?
Again, I’m not going to offer the usual spin that it’s only about future growth. It was also about getting a good, fair price. Just as it is for anybody else who sells.
This move into decent profit – after years of breaking even or making small losses – probably helped focus our minds.
In the years we’ve been going, as owners we’d never paid ourselves a real dividend, choosing to always reinvest in growing the company.
Which has been okay for Martin and I – we were also involved in the day-to-day, and getting salaries as employees.
But for our third equal shareholder, Ian Wakeling, who gave Mumbrella an office to launch from, loaned the business money when we needed it and put up a property to guarantee us an overdraft facility – it was a slightly different situation. He wasn’t working in the business, so wasn’t taking a salary.
He’s been a very patient man, but the time had come for him to see a return.
At the same time, having a decently profitable company meant that we were negotiating from a position of strength.
So we began a process. We were open minded about what a deal looked like, including whether Martin and I would keep all or some of our own shares in the business when Ian was bought out.
We ran a competitive process, and created a lengthy information memorandum document. Then Martin and I did management presentations to enough companies that I’ve lost count, from Australia, the US, the UK and Asia.
I’ve learned a lot about how businesses are valued and sold which will be tremendously useful when I wear my my journalist hat to write about mergers and acquisitions in the future. And as we raced to finalise this deal by the end of the year, I’ve learned to be slightly less cynical about those announcements that seemingly get sneaked out on quiet news days. Sometimes you really do go down to the wire.
The three things that we insisted on from the beginning were that our editorial freedom would be guaranteed, that all staff jobs would be safe, and that it would be with a partner who could help Mumbrella grow faster.
A number of potential suitors from the traditional media world dropped out around that point in the process, correctly recognising that if they were to own Mumbrella, the perception (and possibly the reality) of our independence would be harmed.
From there, a number of organisations made us indicative offers, with each offer structured in a different way. Some of those offers were from the events world, recognising not only the success of Mumbrella360 as a flagship event, but the potential to grow it further. Some were bottom feeders and some were serious.
It was good fortune for us that during the process, Mumbrella360 won conference of the year again at the Australian Event Awards. (The next time someone asks me to justify the relevance of entering and winning awards, the importance of third-party credibility will be high on my list of reasons.)
In truth, by the time we entered due diligence a few months ago (this stuff takes a surprisingly long time), Diversified Communications had emerged in our minds as a front runner.
The structure of the deal they offered us was simple, and fair.
But it was also attractive to work for a multi-generation family company that is interested in building for the long term, not cutting to hit the next quarter’s profits. It reminds me a little of Heseltine’s Haymarket in the UK, or even Yaffa’s AdNews in Australia, come to that.
Although these days, Diversified Communications is mainly an exhibition and conferences company – with an ambition, I gather, to widen its offering – its heritage is in media. Nearly 70 year ago, the company began life in the Maine, in the USA, in the radio, and then TV, business.
But Diversified has also been in Australia for the past 17 years, where it’s a player in the business trade shows space. It has offices in Sydney and Melbourne.
As the courting intensified, Martin and I spent more time with Diversified’s bosses in Melbourne and Sydney, David Longman and Kieron Haycock.
It’s always bugged Martin and I that we’ve never really known how to grow the exhibition part of Mumbrella360. Given that there’s no real competitor, it should be much bigger than it is. And thanks to the local brains at Diversified, I’m confident it will be in the future.
This year, by the way, Mumbrella360 generated more than a million dollars in ticket sales and nearly the same again in sponsorship revenue. The Mumbrella business model is these days in large part that of an events company.
And in keeping with our own ambitions for Mumbrella, it’s interesting to note that Diversified is in the US and the UK as well.
One of the slightly disappointing things to you as a reader, I suspect, may be that the terms of the sale are confidential, so I can’t tell you exactly how much we got.
I’d describe it as a good price. But also one that won’t see us wanting to take an early retirement.
At the same time, in the future, I’ll be doing this because I want to, not because I have to.
To have got to this point, we owe a lot of people our thanks.
It’s unfair to pick out any of our existing team in this article, without picking out them all, so I won’t. And of course, I find myself thinking of the many former staff who helped us get there in the first place. Many, many helped us along the way.
We’ve also always been very fortunate that the industry has supported us, through advertising and sponsorship, and equally as important, through reading and commenting. We’ve had a lot of friends along the way.
I’m not bothered about not being my own boss any more. In truth, I never was. Nobody really is. There were always my fellow shareholders – and even more importantly, our audience – to answer to.
But I do recognise a sneaking sense of relief. When you employ 33 people, as we do now, you don’t have the freedom to just walk away without messing up a lot of people’s lives. There were times where that made me feel a little trapped.
And times when running the business made me feel like I was being pulled away from the reasons why I did it in the first place.
So the lifting of that sense of moral obligation is a relief, even if it’s now been replaced by a new one of determination to help ensure the new owners will be glad they invested.
For now though, it’s business as usual. Over the next few months I’ll be flying back and forth between Sydney and Singapore as we prepare for a second Mumbrella360 in Asia. I’ll be working alongside our head of event content Damian Francis as he curates his first Mumbrella 360 here in Australia. Plus, I’ll be spending a little more time with The Source.
Meanwhile, soon we’ll be starting the interview process for an international editor, based in NY or London (drop me a line…).
Selling is certainly not the end, but it is the start of the next stage.
Giddyup…
Tim, congratulations. What a wonderfully candid article and glad you got a good price for the business. Well done on building a great company — you should be proud!
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Tim and Martin, We’re really excited. We can’t wait to work with you and your team. Have a great Christmas
David
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Congratulations Tim – feels right, good on you!
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Congrats to all @ mumbrella. What a great journey this has been so far – Very inspiring.
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Congrats! With all the noise about online sales and communications, it’s still great to hear events and face to face networking has its role to play, and profitably so.
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Tim,
Love the honestly and it’s great to see Mumbrella grow and be given the opportunity to see itself on a global platform.
Having watched you pour your heart and soul into the company I’m really proud of what you have accomplished.
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Onya Tim. Great timing and great result. How long was it to be an overnight success?? Well done for holding on. MP
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Tim, congrats to you and team for a job well done. Diversified is a great company. Good choice.
I understand all the reasons as you have so well laid them out. Diversified will surely help the event side of the business while you and the other journos keep the home fires burning.
Mumbrella is a must read for me, all the way in the New York side of the world. Glad to know you will have a steady hand at keeping the real news coming.
Santa comes to Sydney!
I will pop a cork in recognition of a job well done!
All the best, Glenn
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Congratulations
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Hi Tim and Martin
As someone who has worked with you for many years and been a ‘friend of’ Mumbrella’s work in the travel space, congratulations to you and the team. As noted above, a great piece to tell the news.
Looking forward to seeing Mumbrella go from strength to strength!
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Congrats Mumbrella team, it’s a new future as we charter into the new year. And I have heard of Diversified Communications and the pleasure of working with them for some events in Hong Kong.
Look forward to working with the team again in 2018 and beyond.
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Congratulations Tim, well deserved and sounds like a fantastic reward for all your and the team’s hardwork over the years and a fantastic outcome for the local industry – Global domination!
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Tim, Well done to you and the team. Fantastic news and so well deserved. I wish you and the broader team every future success.
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Tim & Martin – congratulations on the realisation of the value which you have built from the ground up. Nothing tastes as sweet as the fruits of your own hard toil – particularly where you’ve taken on the substantial financial, emotional and reputational risk of being a shareholder from the ‘ground up’.
Very few make a success of the business part – let alone then exiting (financially) in a way which is true to character and with a genuine concern for what comes after (for the staff, new owners and the biz). Well done.
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Many congrats, Tim. Awesome outcome for all of you.
The startup world needs good news stories, and cash exits like this one to continue to florish. Excited about seeing you continue this journey.
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Congrats Tim and team!! written with trademark honesty and just in time to celebrate!
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Congratulations to all the team and well said Tim,
Many years of hard work and shared opportunities within your team and also across the industry, helping to connect and support us all to build our industry, brands and teams. You deserve the success you have all worked hard to achieve.
Thoroughly well deserved and we look forward to seeing where you now take the business in 2018 and beyond.
Enjoy the moment and Merry Xmas from the Yakusan team 🙂
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congratulations
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Excellent report Tim. Inspiring to read of a new publishing venture that survives and prospers and meets a collaborative big partner, all before its 10th anniversary.
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Well done Tim, and the Mumbrella team, and Ian Wakeling – wonderful news! A fabulous Australian story of a hard working, talented team. All the best for the next decade!
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Congrats, fellas, that’s a genuinely inspiring tale for everyone in this game.
I’ll take the New York job with the upper westside apartment, thanks heaps.
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Many congratulations!
Top form sneaking this out the Friday afternoon before Christmas.
Look forward to seeing where this takes Mumbrella. World domination must be the logical next step.
Good luck and best wishes to the whole team.
Oh, and you are totes welcs.
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Gotta love a good success story built on vision and hard work. Well done guys! Happy faster growth.
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Congrats Tim on creating something of real value to the industry and to you now. Well done! Trust there’s a good holiday in it for you. Merry Christmas.
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Congratulations Tim and team. I’ve been watching you grow with admiration; sounds like a very positive result.
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Congratulations Tim and Martin,
Its fitting that people who know how to inspire, create, and build such an innovative brand are the people reporting on the industry. Credit too for maintaining such a high degree of professionalism, independence and transparency in our murky world.
It’s been great fun working with you on MSIX, and may you continue to treat my, and everyone else’s career in this industry with wonderful indifference.
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Congratulations. It’s rare to read such a candid, emotionally intelligent statement about this kind of process. Thrilled you’ll all be continuing to raise the bar beyond 2018.
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Congrats Tim
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congratulations Tim and team – you’ve built an excellent product and a good business and I’m happy for you all that you’ve managed to sell for a good price
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Congratulations Tim & Martin! the fact that this worked out nicely for you guys I feel is solid testament to the great product Mumbrella has become 🙂 Kudos to you both and the entire team (past & present), Looking forward to seeing Mumbrella continuing to grow in all aspects.
All the best for 2018 & beyond!
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Congratulations Martin, Tim and Wak! It feels like a lifetime ago since we were crammed into the dingy TNT offices making podcasts on free software and trying to wrangle constant contact for the newsletter!
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Congratulations to you and the team Tim!! Change is always a good opportunity for any business and I wish you all the best. Merry christmas. ?
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Congratulations Tim and Martin and team.
That selling a business business can be quite interesting I seem to remember. But I’m sure you had very good people helping along the path to completing a successful process.
Seasons greeting.
Stig
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Congrats to you Tim and the team. Wonderful achievements and great way to begin a new year. Wish you continued success. Cheers Caroline
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I could have got you a 1,000% better deal…
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Congratulations to the Mumbrella team(s), both present and past. You leave the industry a better place.
And on a personal note Tim, well done old chum.
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Well done guys
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Love it… Top people, top brand, top idea….I’m very humble and Proud of your achievements …..
Any chance you can shout me a lunch…
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Congratulations
A well deserved result and the freedom to spread your wings a bit too .
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Congratulations! A great Christmas present. And good to hear the same team in charge, and your thoughtfulness for your partner, and lack of ego, even though you deserve a lot of high fives for what you and your biz have achieved. Nice to see that hard work pays off. ??
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Congrats Tim, Martin, and team! Thanks for sharing in such an authentic, honest post. Wishing you all a very merry Christmas.
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Congrats mate and thanks for keeping it real all this time. Looking forward to Mumbrella’s future.
Re: Exhibitions –> may inspire –> how about an always on exhibitions on VR platforms for 2019. Ritson may fume but there will be some paying businesses by then (if done properly.) Ok, maybe 2020 🙂
Cheers
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Very happy to hear this. All your hard work has been rewarded. Well deserved.
You mentioned a week or so ago in an article that you realised you are now an events company. Which resonates now more than it did then.
My concern, among such ripping news, is that Mumbrella.com.au remains a portal for the most insightful and thoughtful marketing, media and advertising news. Has Diversified bought the company for the events only? What is their commitment to being a media outlet? I really, really don’t want to have to go back to reading Campaign Brief again.
And secondly… I hope you are ok with the culture at Diversified. I’ve worked with them as a client at two agencies, 10 years apart, and have found them to be a tricky one. I really hope you guys fit in there.
Thanks again. Viva Mumbrella.
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Congratulations Tim!
And a big thank you also for the inspiring articles, including this one!
As a self publishing magazine owner, I know all too well how company founders often reduce their own income to keep feeding the growth of the business operations. I comment your vision and attitude in sticking at it to achieve such sales growth and then to sell to such a unique buyer who is committed to the brand. In terms of media reporting, I find Mumbrella a great resource and a fascinating read, now daily. Keep up the good work, and make sure you buy yourself a decent Christmas gift this year! Cheers Jamie Durrant, editor Essentials Magazine Australia
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Tim says “I can’t tell you exactly how much we got”, but the Australian says $8mil – or was that just Dr Mumbo’s fee?
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Congrats Tim.
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Congratulations Tim .. exciting times ahead!
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Most impressive that it didn’t leak beforehand. Congrats
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Wowsers! Diversified have bought a peach and its o ly going to get riper. Congrats!
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Congratulations. And best wishes for the road ahead.
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Congratulations, Tim.
I remembered your entree into the Australian ad media scene – a press lunch for something or other where your trademark nose for hard news was immediately apparent to all. That nose and an equally pointed business nous has served you and the industry well. Good job and good luck. May Mumbrella keep going up and up.
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Oh kudos to you Tim – great news, and brilliant change comms to go with it. All the best with the transition
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Huge news and massive congrats! It takes so much hard work to get this far and it must be very satisfying to create something of value out of nothing. Enjoy the celebration Tim and team!
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Biggara!
Just as I was getting ready to buy the company and sack the lot of you!!!
Oh well, I suppose congratulations are in order.
That’d be the classy thing to say…
Probably.
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Tim, Martin and the whole Mumbrella crew; Loved Mumbrella from day one and inspired by what you’ve created. Looking forward to working with you.
Happy New Year indeed. See you on the other side!
Kieron
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Congratulations! Well-deserved Tim, Martin and team (past and present).
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Well done to all involved…Great news.
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Congrats Tim and Martin, well deserved and a great way to end the year. Looking forward to seeing the conference growth in 2018, Kieron and the team at Diversified are some of the best in the field.
Mat
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That’s really cool. Very happy for you and the team Tim. Clever analysis and independent reporting. And a lot of hard work!
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Well done Tim. So well deserved! What a way to end a brilliant year.
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Dear Mumbrella,
Being a new Sydneysider, you are the first website I have surfed to read stuff around media , communications and marketing. Hope the great information flow continues…
Wish you the best!
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Heard o you guys. Never used your services. But read about your background for the SALE. Impressive, That’s quite some company you have there.
Nice work!!
Sincerely
Graeme Orr
(CEO Australian Saes & Marketing Institute
&
CEO http://www.gowordsmith.com)
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You built something useful and different, from scratch – and then sold it just before Christmas. Perfect. Congratulations.
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Congrats Tim. You kept that under your brolly. Well done.
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Well done Tim. Many congratulations.
Love from Aunty Hazel
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Congrats Tim and team! Mumbrella launched when I was fresh to the industry and it’s been entertaining seeing the brand grow. Hopefully the quality of reporting and the tone continue as they are.
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Tim & team,
You’ve made such a massive contribution to the industry in such a short time. Thank you and congratulations on the evolution of Mumbrella.
Well done on delivering a brave vision and very exciting to know you’re just getting started.
An inspiring story for all.
JT
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Huge congratulations. You’ve built something awesome – can’t wait to see it go even bigger in future.
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Well done. Well deserved.
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Great news and I’m sure will lead to some great things
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Wow guys!!
The dream has been realised.
Feel honoured to have played a small part in this. Onya guys x
Ps. Hit me up if you need sales in London!
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Hi Tim, and Congrats on the sucessful sale but more importantly, from my POV, for sharing the background of the events: a learning moment.
Glad to read that the success of the Mumbrella360 event was a major catalyst for the sale. Been following that event from a distance and look forward to participating in the future.
Continued good fortune in 2018.
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Fantastic result for you and Martin, Tim. What a nice Christmas gift! Sounds like you’ve really ticked all the boxes that any business owner would desire on their wishlist, so well done.
Hope it also helps your work-life balance.
All the best for a huge future.
Charles
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You played a massive part Bec, thank you. Have a great Christmas.
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Congratulations on your sale and growing your brand.
Merry Christmas
Petra
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Congratulations to all. You’ll make a formidable team.
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Atomic212 founded Mumbrella and sold advertising publication and events business for 8b in the only unicorn exit of a content business ever in the history of grand slam exits.
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Nice one! No Xmas miracle – but a very just reward for all your (collective) hard work. Congrats ?
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Congratulations Tim, nice exit and earner. Enjoy
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Congratulations Martin and Tim – delighted for you both!
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One of those rare occasions when the word “SALE” didn’t make the marketer in me cringe. Congratulations, Tim and team for creating value, nurturing it, growing it and now monetising it! Good luck in all your future endeavours including keeping mumbrella focussed on what it does best while Diversified enables you to widen your perspective.
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Nice one Tim,
Thanks for keeping the ‘M’ in Media interesting and honest. Our local industry is going to need leaders in 2018 like never before and if this sale gives your more leverage then all power to you.
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Congratulations Tim, and team!
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Still best job I ever had!
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Tim, I remember you launching at the same time that I joined the projects* and share much of your sentiment around doing the work that you love and the responsibility that you have to your team – we have exactly 33 people in Sydney so have mirrored your journey:)
I have always admired you and continue to do so with this wonderfully candid article, a lesson to us all.
Many congratulations and I look forward to seeing your work in 2018.
Cheers Carrie x
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Congrats Tim and the Mumbrella team.
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Nice work, well done you should be so proud on what you have achieved so far. Zoyee
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congrats Team Mumbrella – great work and a great Christmas present!
Well done
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Above all it’s great to see a publishing business achieve success. Find the correct model and it can work. It’s not all doom and gloom!
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Having gone through this ritual twice in my life, I understand the reluctance to sell (am I right?) and the relief it brings when the dotted line has been signed. Your frankness is fresh air in a world of choking new-speak. Enjoy what comes next.
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All the best for the next chapter of Mumbrella. It sounds exciting for all concerned. I’m super glad to hear the independent voice will be preserved.
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Tim heartiest of congratulations. I know how it feels, and share the sentiments. You are a very positive force, cheery and inquisitive. Looks like all these qualities and more will be with us for a while.Steve
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Congrats Tim and the Mumbrella team.
I too appreciate the candid nature of your article telling us about the sale, it’s a lot more information than we get on most trade sales in this industry. I look forward to seeing how it all unfolds for you guys. Well done on building a business of value and something worth selling, it’s not easy to do!! All the best.
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Congratulations & thanks for sharing so frankly! Onward & upward in 2018!
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Congrats to you and the team Tim. It’s always exciting to see entrepreneurs win out in the end and unfortunately the result is too often the opposite. You built a great business that delivers value for its customers and it’s exciting to see that value recognised. Well done!
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Congratulations to you and your team Tim.
Mumbrella is a great resource and its really good to see a “media independent” success story
Russell
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Congrats to Tim & co.. I’ve dealt with Diversified in the past in the event/exhibition world and find them good operators.
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Congratulations Tim and team! Looking forward to seeing where this takes Mumbrella next.
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Always loved the Mumbrella ethos : work harder and be more open and honest than the competition. Your Comments option has allowed me to do some wonderfully therapeutic venting over the years. Glad you made some money
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