We sat down the other day to discuss what the overall goals for one of our portfolio companies.  As we fundamentally believe in holding on to good assets and extracting value out of them over the long-term, articulating what a ‘good company’ actually looks like is important for shareholders, management and staff.

Here are the x5 values we settled on:

• Sustainability: a company based around a solid business model.

• Longevity: create a company for the long-haul, with good defensibility built into it.

• Low stress: create a well-functionality company and an environment that is low stress for employees.  We’re not talking slides and free beer for all - but more grown up stuff like making sure the company operates properly, is correctly staffed and well-managed.

• Profitable & rewarding: build a company that is profitable, and rewards employees & shareholders well financially.

• Do good sh*t: create a company that ‘does good’ for the world, and does it bit to improve it.

These aren’t earth-shattering statements, however they all add up to what I’d call a ‘good company’, and certainly one I’m happy (in more than one sense) to back.

Randomly these partly link to a painting by a Bristol-based graffiti artist I bought a few years ago which always makes me smirk when I look at it . . .