Chapter 73: No guarantee

Damian had a problem.

For the first time since the System had entered his life, money wasn’t the problem.

He had enough to buy Brightpath Systems if the price was reasonable. He could also afford to continue negotiating with Meridian Software, provided the legal and technical issues didn’t turn the acquisition into a financial sinkhole.

The problem was deciding whether either company deserved his money.

He sat at his desk with Daniel Price’s preliminary technical report open on his laptop. Maya had sent it the previous evening, along with a note warning him that the figures were estimates rather than a final budget.

Damian had read it twice already.

He was reading it for the third time when his phone rang.

“Morning, Damian,” Maya said.

“Morning. Did you get the revised customer figures?”

“Yes. Oliver’s operations manager sent them this morning. The cancellation numbers have been reconciled with the subscription records.”

“And?”

“We have a clearer picture now. Brightpath is losing some customers because of missing features, but others leave for reasons unrelated to the product. The company also has a group of customers who have stayed for years and appear unlikely to leave without a compelling reason.”

“That’s good, right?”

“It’s encouraging. It doesn’t mean we should assume those customers will stay forever.”

Damian smiled.

“You really don’t like making things sound easy.”

“I like making things sound accurate.”

“Fair enough.”

Maya continued.

“There’s another development. Oliver has asked whether you’re ready to discuss a purchase price.”

Damian sat up.

“Already?”

“He says he has another interested party and would like to understand where you stand before deciding what to do next.”

Damian glanced at his notes.

He’d known another buyer was circling Brightpath, but he hadn’t expected Oliver to bring up the price so soon.

“Did he give you an asking price?”

“Not yet. He wants to hear your initial thoughts first.”

“That’s convenient for him.”

“Yes, it is.”

Damian leaned back in his chair.

“All right. Set up a meeting. But tell him I’m not making an offer until we’ve agreed on what information still needs to be reviewed.”

“I’ll arrange it.”

After the call, Damian opened the Brightpath folder again.

He had a meeting with Oliver in the afternoon. Before then, he wanted to understand the business well enough to avoid getting carried away by its potential.

The preliminary technical report was straightforward.

Brightpath didn’t need to be rebuilt from scratch. That was the biggest positive.

Its existing platform could continue serving customers while a new owner worked on improvements. The core scheduling and invoicing functions were stable, and the development team had enough knowledge to maintain the current product.

However, the software had accumulated technical debt.

Some components were difficult to modify safely. Automated testing was limited, documentation was incomplete, and several requested features would require changes to the underlying data structure.

Daniel recommended three initial priorities.

First, improve testing and deployment procedures so future updates wouldn’t put existing customers at risk.

Second, document the system properly and reduce the company’s dependence on Oliver’s personal knowledge.

Third, focus development on the features customers repeatedly requested, beginning with improvements that offered clear value without requiring a complete redesign.

Damian liked the approach.

It was practical. There was no promise that Brightpath would become a market leader in six months, and nobody was pretending that hiring three developers would magically solve everything.

The report also warned that the cost of modernization couldn’t be estimated confidently until a more detailed technical review was complete.

That meant Damian needed to account for uncertainty in any offer.

He opened a blank document and typed:

Reasons to acquire Brightpath

Established recurring revenue.Hundreds of paying business customers.Existing product with a clear purpose.Opportunity to improve retention and expand functionality.Potential to grow through better integrations and customer support.

He paused, then created a second list.

Reasons to be cautious

Growth had slowed.Newer customers were less likely to remain.The product needed technical improvements.The business depended heavily on Oliver.Development spending would increase after acquisition.The asking price was unknown.Another buyer was interested.

He stared at the two lists.

Brightpath had potential.

But potential was only valuable if the cost of realizing it made sense.

Damian saved the document and left for his meeting.

Oliver had chosen a quiet restaurant near his office.

When Damian arrived, the founder was already seated at a table near the window, reviewing something on his tablet.

He looked up and smiled.

“Damian. Thanks for coming.”

“No problem.”

They ordered lunch before getting down to business.

Oliver didn’t waste time.

“I understand you’ve completed the initial customer interviews and technical review.”

“Preliminary review,” Damian corrected. “There’s still more work to do.”

“Of course.”

“The product has real strengths. Your customers find it useful, and the business has been profitable. But there are some issues we need to account for.”

Oliver nodded.

“Such as?”

“Customer retention, the development backlog, and how much work is required to modernize the platform. I also need a clearer plan for transferring your responsibilities to someone else.”

Oliver folded his hands on the table.

“That’s reasonable. I won’t pretend Brightpath is perfect.”

“Good. Because I’m not looking for a perfect company. I’m looking for one I can improve without spending more than it’s worth.”

Oliver considered that.

“What would you need to see before making an offer?”

Damian listed the outstanding items.

A detailed technical assessment.

Verified financial statements.

A breakdown of customer acquisition and retention costs.

A clear transition plan.

And confirmation that the business owned or properly licensed all the software and other intellectual property necessary to operate.

Oliver listened carefully.

“I can arrange most of that,” he said. “The technical assessment will take time, and I’ll need my accountant to prepare the financial records.”

“That’s fine. I’d rather wait for accurate information.”

Oliver nodded.

“There’s something else we should discuss. I have another interested party. They’ve expressed interest in acquiring Brightpath, although we haven’t agreed on a price.”

“Do you know what they’re offering?”

“They haven’t made a formal offer yet.”

“Then we’re in the same position.”

Oliver laughed.

“You’re difficult to negotiate with.”

“I’m trying to be careful.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Their food arrived, and they took a few minutes to eat.

Then Oliver set down his fork.

“I’ll be honest with you. I’m ready to sell. I’ve spent five years building this company, and I’m tired of being responsible for every major decision. I want to move on to something else.”

Damian listened.

“That doesn’t mean I’ll accept the first offer I receive,” Oliver continued. “I need to make sure my employees are treated fairly, and I want the business to have a future after I leave.”

“I understand. I’d want the same thing in your position.”

“Would you keep the team?”

“Assuming the due diligence doesn’t reveal something unexpected, yes. I wouldn’t buy Brightpath just to shut it down. The employees know the product and the customers. Replacing everyone would be expensive and stupid.”

Oliver smiled.

“That’s good to hear.”

“I’d also want you to stay during the transition. We can agree on a reasonable period and define exactly what you’d be responsible for.”

“That sounds workable.”

Damian took a drink of water.

“Before we talk numbers, I need to ask something. Why hasn’t Brightpath grown faster over the past two years?”

Oliver didn’t appear offended.

“Partly because of the product limitations we’ve discussed. Partly because I didn’t invest enough in marketing. And partly because I stopped pushing as hard as I did during the first few years.”

“Why?”

“I was exhausted. I had a small team, a growing list of customer requests, and a product that needed more work than we could comfortably handle. Every time we gained customers, we also gained more support requests.”

“So growth started creating problems you couldn’t keep up with.”

“Exactly. I could have hired more people, but that would have meant spending money before I was confident the additional revenue would cover it.”

Damian nodded slowly.

It was a sensible explanation.

It also confirmed that the company needed more than a new owner. It needed a plan for growth that didn’t leave the team struggling to maintain the existing product.

“All right,” Damian said. “I think there’s something worth investigating here. But I can’t give you a responsible price until the remaining reviews are complete.”

Oliver looked disappointed for a moment, then nodded.

“I expected that answer.”

“Would you be willing to give me enough time to finish the review before considering a formal offer?”

“How much time?”

“Two weeks, assuming the documents arrive promptly.”

Oliver thought about it.

“I can give you two weeks. I can’t promise the other interested party will wait.”

“That’s fair.”

They shook hands before leaving.

Damian hadn’t made an offer.

He hadn’t committed any money.

But he had secured something useful: a little more time to decide whether Brightpath was worth pursuing.

When Damian returned home, he found a message from Maya.

Maya: Northstar has finally provided additional documentation relating to Meridian’s shareholder arrangements. The attorney is reviewing it now. Victor has also agreed to a follow-up meeting next week.

Damian opened the attached files.

There were several documents, including amendments to the original investment agreement and a schedule outlining Northstar’s approval rights.

He read through the first few pages before realizing that he was out of his depth.

The language was dense, full of clauses that referred to other clauses, with definitions that seemed designed to make a simple idea unnecessarily difficult to understand.

He stopped reading and sent the files to Maya.

Damian: Please make sure the attorney reviews all of these, including the amendments. I don’t want us relying on the original agreement if later documents changed the terms.

Maya: Already arranged.

He opened his notes on Meridian.

The situation remained complicated.

Michael’s asking price was $2.1 million, with him covering the legal transfer costs. The number had seemed more attractive when Damian first negotiated it down from $2.4 million.

Now, the legal uncertainty and modernization costs made it harder to judge.

If the rights could be clarified and the technical work was manageable, Meridian might still be worth acquiring.

If not, even a lower purchase price could be too high.

Damian added another line to his document.

No acquisition without a complete understanding of ownership, obligations, and post-purchase costs.

He saved it.

Then he checked his bank balance.

$5,099,924.32.

The number hadn’t changed.

He hadn’t made a qualifying purchase or received a new reward, and the System hadn’t issued any cashback.

That was fine.

For once, the money could stay where it was while he worked out what to do with it.

Later that evening, Damian met Ethan for dinner.

Ethan arrived carrying a small shopping bag and placed it beside his chair.

Damian looked at it.

“What did you buy?”

“Something important.”

“Is it food?”

“No.”

“Then it isn’t important.”

Ethan pulled out a new pair of headphones.

Damian raised an eyebrow.

“Those look expensive.”

“They were on sale.”

“How much?”

Ethan named the price.

Damian stared at him.

“You spent that much on headphones?”

“They have noise cancellation.”

“You live in a hostel. You need noise cancellation just to sleep.”

“Exactly. This is a practical purchase.”

Damian laughed.

“You’ve been waiting to justify that for days, haven’t you?”

“Maybe.”

They ordered dinner, and Ethan asked about the meeting with Oliver.

Damian explained that he still hadn’t received an asking price and that Oliver wanted to sell within a reasonable timeframe.

“So you’re interested,” Ethan said.

“Interested enough to keep investigating.”

“That’s not the same as wanting to buy it.”

“Correct.”

Ethan nodded approvingly.

“Look at you. Learning restraint.”

“Don’t make it weird.”

“I’m proud of you, fish brain.”

Damian threw a napkin at him.

Ethan caught it and laughed.

Then his expression became more serious.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Depends.”

“Are you enjoying all this?”

Damian frowned.

“Buying companies?”

“Trying to buy companies. Meeting lawyers, reviewing spreadsheets, talking to people twice your age who keep explaining things you don’t understand.”

Damian considered the question.

He hadn’t thought about it that way.

The process was tiring. Sometimes he felt like he was pretending to know more than he did, even when he tried to be honest about his limitations.

But he also liked learning how businesses worked. He liked asking questions, finding problems, and figuring out whether those problems could be solved.

“I think so,” he said. “I don’t enjoy every part of it, but I like understanding how things fit together.”

“Then that’s good.”

“Why?”

“Because if you hate the work, you’ll eventually hire someone else to do all of it. And if you don’t understand what they’re doing, you’ll have no idea whether they’re helping you or wasting your money.”

Damian stared at him.

Ethan shrugged.

“What?”

“That was annoyingly sensible.”

“I have my moments.”

They returned to their food.

Damian thought about what Ethan had said.

He couldn’t become an expert in everything. He would need lawyers, accountants, engineers, and people who understood operations far better than he did.

But he couldn’t simply hand over his money and hope they made good decisions.

He needed enough knowledge to ask the right questions, recognize bad advice, and understand the risks he was taking.

That was the real work.

Not signing a purchase agreement.

Not calling himself a businessman.

Learning how to own something without destroying it.

That night, Damian opened the System interface.

The familiar golden screen appeared in front of him.

[INVESTMENT EVALUATION IN PROGRESS.]

[NO NEW QUALIFYING TRANSACTIONS.]

[CURRENT BALANCE: $5,099,924.32.]

He dismissed it and opened his acquisition notes.

Meridian had a stronger customer base but carried unresolved legal and technical risks.

Brightpath was smaller and appeared easier to understand, but it needed investment, better processes, and a plan to retain customers as they grew.

Neither was ready for a final offer. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Damian closed both files.

He wasn’t going to force a decision just because he wanted to move forward.

Tomorrow, he would review the legal opinion with Maya, ask Daniel for a more detailed technical estimate, and continue the customer interviews.

Then he’d compare the numbers again.

If Brightpath proved worth the investment, he’d make an offer.

If Meridian’s legal issues could be resolved at a reasonable cost, he’d consider it.

And if both deals fell apart, he would still have his money.

He leaned back in his chair and smiled.

A few months ago, he would have thought having millions of dollars meant the hard part was over.

Now he understood that money only gave him more choices.

It didn’t guarantee that any of them were good.