Hear what it’s like to bring in a partner, straight from the horse’s mouth. 

We’re sitting down with our clients to chat about the sale of their business from an owner’s perspective. Their experience and insights are invaluable to help other sellers better prepare. This time, Andrew Allred, FourBridges Vice President, met with Hannes De Wet, founder of Tree Worx and fellow Chattanoogan, to talk about his tree care business and his new partnership with North Branch Capital. 

Listen to Hannes and Andrew’s conversation here, or read our recap. 

Chattanooga Roots 

While he was born in South Africa, Hannes De Wet has now become an integral part of the Chattanooga business community. 

He attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, graduating from the entrepreneurship program in 2011. During his studies, he worked for a small local tree company to learn the ropes, doing the “grunt work” while dreaming up a business of his own. “I always wanted to own my own business,” he says. “And I always seemed to gravitate towards people who lived life on their own terms.” 

After graduating, Hannes saw an entrepreneurial opportunity to provide Chattanooga with a professional tree service company, which would be a far cry from the “good ole boys with chainsaws” that ran the local market at the time. His focus would be on conscientious care for the city’s urban canopy, making Chattanooga shadier, more lush, and a better place to live. 

That same year, he founded Tree Worx, working only part-time on weekends to build his client list and solidify his financials before taking the leap into full entrepreneurship. Over the course of a decade, Hannes built Tree Worx into a reputable, full-service tree care company — which became very enticing to investors. 

Tree Worx Branches Out

As a business owner, Hannes is most proud of developing a more expansive, holistic tree care program and providing a safe work environment for his employees. Thanks to the success of his business, he was able to invest in heavy equipment to make tree disassembly more efficient and much safer.

But major capital investments like this can be a huge risk for sole-ownership businesses. Knowing he would want to continue growing the business, Hannes knew bringing in a strategic partner would open up opportunities to further invest, bring in new talent, and take Tree Worx to the next level. 

“Finance always felt like an uphill battle to me. I knew if I found the right person there they could help take our company to the next level and set us up for future growth,” said Hannes. “But there’s obviously fear associated with partnering with anyone, whether that’s a business partner or an equity partner. It’s uncharted waters.”

As he weighed the pros and cons of bringing on a partner, Hannes felt unsure about relinquishing some control or potentially changing the company culture that he worked so hard to curate. He also worried that his relationship with customers could change as a result of bringing in an equity partner.

He knew the right move — he just needed the right team to help him find a partner that suited his goals for the future. 

Teaming Up with FourBridges

Tree Worx caught the attention of North Branch Capital, which already had partnered with Boutte Tree in Atlanta, and they made an offer to invest in the business. While Hannes was excited by a strong offer on the table, he was overwhelmed by the process involved. 

Like many business owners, Hannes didn’t consider the amount of data and work that the partnership would entail — all while he was trying to keep his business running as usual. 

“Thank goodness that I hired you guys to help us through this process. I probably would have walked away from the situation…” said Hannes. “There’s no way I could have made it through the quality of earnings alive without your perspective, help and advice.”

The FourBridges team stepped in to take some of the burden off of Hannes’s shoulders, and served as key translators between Hannes and the North Branch team. With their intimate understanding of Tree Worx as a business, the FourBridges team was able to negotiate a deal that suited the company’s unique quirks and needs. 

Tree Worx and North Branch

As Hannes puts it, “the service industry is hot.” He was frequently getting calls from interested investors, but one stood out from the crowd. 

His goal in seeking a partner wasn’t just to inject capital into the business, but to also bring in someone like-minded who he could trust with the company’s best interests. His key focus is always safety, and he wanted to make sure his partner would also value investments in Tree Worx’s safety and training culture. With North Branch, he’s truly found that. 

In the few months since they began their partnership, Hannes feels like they’ve upgraded their systems from a nice, reliable car to the supercharged Ferrari. He’s already seeing better marketing opportunities and ways to streamline their operations to make Tree Worx even stronger. 

For Hannes, he’s now able to bring on team members to handle the many tasks that he was personally managing. With more sales teams, marketing managers, and even a healthcare manager, he’s finally able to delegate and focus on the work that he’s most passionate about. 

Are you interested in bringing in an equity partner? Or making an exit? FourBridges is here to help. Reach out to us to learn more.