Life After Exit: From Building a Business to Exploring the World

In 1979, Andrew Scothern co-founded Ibcos, alongside his business partners. After nearly 30 years of growth and success, they decided to sell the business.

12 years after the sale, his decision to retire, and how the exit enabled him to pursue a fulfilling next chapter with travel and family.

Tell us about the early days founding Ibcos.

I got my start in software back in 1977, joining a small firm in Blandford, Dorset. Just three weeks in, the company collapsed when our main investor pulled out. It was my first real taste of how volatile business could be.

From that collapse, we started something new where I became a director and shareholder. The early days were scrappy. I sold our services, designed the software, and even took out the bins every Monday night. We were doing whatever it took to stay afloat.

Eventually, I realized my goals didn’t align with the other shareholders. I was focused on profitability; they were more interested in the technology itself. So, I negotiated a split and took over the Blandford side of the business. That’s when things really got moving.

How did Ibcos find its niche?

Just before the split, I signed a contract with the local Ford tractor dealer with who I became quick friends with.

In those days, software was written one contract at a time. You’d start from scratch, build the solution, and hope to break even. But I started thinking, if we made one truly comprehensive product for equipment dealers, we could sell it multiple times. That idea stuck.

It was hard work driving everywhere, all over the UK to demonstrate our solution. But we were successful which made it very satisfying and enjoyable. It not difficult to work hard when you enjoy what you are doing.

Was there a turning point for the business?

As Ibcos grew its presence in the south, we started running into a northern competitor, PK Computers. The competition put pressure on margins for both sides. Eventually, we decided to merge in 1986 under a new parent company, Ibcos Holdings Ltd. I held 60% of the new entity; Eric and David Clayton from PK held 40%.

That merger kicked off a hectic chapter. A former PK managing director, who had been let go during the transition, took their software and started a competing company backed by a Barclays subsidiary. It took nearly three years of legal action, but we won the case and gained full rights to their software and customers.

After that, the Claytons sold their shares to me and Nigel Sargent. Nigel focused on our agricultural and garden machinery software, and I stepped fully into the founder role with a strong leadership team behind me.

When did you know it was time to exit?

By the time I was 58, the business was thriving, our market position was secure, and our team was fully capable of running things. I’d always said I wanted to retire early, and I meant it. I didn’t want to hang on just because I could.

I had earned the freedom to enjoy the next chapter, and I didn’t take that for granted. So, I decided to step into retirement.

What has life looked like post-exit?

To put it plainly, it’s been everything I hoped for. I’ve spent the last several years doing what I enjoy most: sailing, traveling, and spending quality time with family.

Selling the business gave me something incredibly valuable: time. Time to explore the world without compromise, and to say yes to adventures that once sat on the back burner. Since stepping away, we’ve made our way across six continents and a fair bit beyond. We’ve sailed through the Caribbean, scuba dived in Micronesia, Belize, Zanzibar, the Red Sea, and the South Pacific. We’ve trekked across the European mainland, journeyed through the Azores and South Sea Islands, and ventured into Sub-Saharan Africa, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro not once, but twice.

The polar regions have also called to us. We’ve explored the Arctic landscapes of Svalbard, Arctic Canada, Greenland, and Iceland, and gone deep into the southern latitudes from Argentina and the Falkland Islands to the raw, untouched beauty of South Georgia and Antarctica.

And while international travel has been a highlight, so too have the simpler pleasures like crossing Canada by train, taking in the vastness of the landscape from coast to coast. These are the kinds of experiences I wouldn’t have been able to prioritize if I had stayed in the business too long.

Looking back, I’m proud of what we built. Ibcos gave me the chance to grow something from nothing. But even more than that, it gave me the freedom, later in life, to fully enjoy the rewards of that work.

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