Post by Serena

What does a successful exit look like for a mission-driven company? That's the question Eric Gossart, Partner at Serena, leading our impact fund strategy (racine² entourâge), explored in his contribution to the Exit à Impact guide by Mouvement Impact France. Three takeaways from his contribution: ➡️ Build impact literacy inside the investment team, and make it concrete. For impact to be defended at the moment of exit, it needs to be carried by people with real influence in the fund. Practical recommendation: at least one dedicated session per year with deal teams, built around portfolio companies, which KPIs to track, which risks to anticipate, which topics will surface in due diligence, and which acquirers would or would not be compatible with the mission. ➡️ Turn ESG reporting into a genuine management tool. When investors give founders real feedback (benchmarks against comparable companies, concrete gaps to address, signals that will surface in due diligence) reporting becomes a source of value and a stronger negotiating position at exit. ➡️ Map potential acquirers early, and do it seriously. The right buyer is often the one whose business model benefits directly from the company's mission. Identifying those profiles years before any process begins, understanding their culture and integration track record, is what makes the difference between an aligned exit and a compromised one. Building a better world doesn't stop at the growth stage. Being a long-term partner means partnering with founders all the way through, so that what gets transmitted is as ambitious as what was built.