Multimedia personality Carel Pedre recently shared the screenshot of an email of an unnamed entity inquiring about the sale of his website Plezi Kanaval, which prompted the question: would he sell? Plezi Kanaval bills itself as the Number One web destination for Haiti’s carnival. According to the web metrics site Alexa, 84.35% of the site’s visitors arrive on the site by direct search. Though most active during Haiti’s carnival in February, the site still manages to claim a ranking in the mid-200K on Alexa, and registered a 431% spike in traffic ranking this year.
So, should he part with his site? Well, maybe. This would depend on his goals for the site, and his long-term intentions.
Being Kreyolicious, you know I love to do analysis and research. Tee hee.
So, yeah, back to the aforementioned matter.
Let’s look at the different categories and different scenarios—also known as options.
1. SELL PLEZI KANAVAL
Sell, but for the right price.
Pro: Use the capital earned on the sale for other endeavors.
Cons: Emotional attachment to Plezi Kanaval.
Side Note: What if the new owners of Plezi Kanaval steer away from the founder’s original vision?
2. SELL PLEZI KANAVAL BUT REMAIN AS CEO
Pro: Sell, but stay on as a key decision-maker, and not a figurehead.
Examples we’ve seen: Ariana Huffington sold The Huffington Post to AOL, and the site is still associated with her.
This scenario might work best. It’s sort of a The Best of Both Worlds. You [Biggie voice] “get money”, and still yield some sort of influence and say. And the Plezi Kanaval founder could even use the money from the sale to pursue another endeavor(s), while holding the reins as headmaster-in-charge. Use the newly found capital to hire additional staff, equipment to amplify the Plezi Kanaval Vision.
Con: But arrangements like this have been known to go awry. Ever read about founders who sell portions in the stake of their companies, only to be ousted by the stockholders?
Side Note: Everything would depend on the conditions and clauses in the sale contract.
3. SELL AND TURN AROUND AND CREATE ANOTHER PLEZI KANAVAL
…with a different name of course…but using the same business and structural model…Looking at multimedia history, this happens a lot. The founder of XOJane, Jane Pratt once had a print magazine called Jane. Once that endeavor folded, she created XOJane.
Side Note: Again…this would all depend on contractual terms. If the new would-be buyers of Plezi Kanaval stipulate that the founder cannot launch a similar website for X-amount of years, then it wouldn’t be possible to create another carnival website immediately.
4. ENTERTAIN OFFERS, BUT DON’T SELL PLEZI KANAVAL
Entertain offers to see what the tangible value of the site, but refuse to sell. Use the existing revenue from the Plezi Kanaval site to continue growing it alone, with occasional partnerships and sponsorships.
Pro: Maintain indefinite control.
Con: Expansion possibilities that would be made possible with either wholly selling or selling a stake in Plezi Kanaval…thrown out of the window. And this would mean saying goodbye to potential money that would accelerate the site’s growth, creating more features and offerings.
Side Note: But on the other hand, if maintaining sole and whole ownership is the primary goal, this is the way to go…
When an entrepreneur has money waved at him (or her) for sale of a business venture, it’s not easy to say a resounding “Yes”, but it isn’t difficult to refuse either. Whether Carel Pedre decides to sell Plezi Kanaval or hold on to it, will be contingent on factors like end-goals, intentions, and perhaps other variables.
This is your girl Kreyolicious signing off…until next time, dear readers.
[Main photo: via subject’s IG. Second pic Credit: Dream Promo]
CAREL PEDRE ON TWITTER | CAREL PEDRE ON INSTAGRAM | PLEZI KANAVAL’S WEBSITE
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