What Comes After the Exit

By Felix Serrano

I used to imagine what it would feel like to sell the company we built from scratch.

I figured there’d be a toast, a few victory laps, a silent inbox. Maybe a tropical drink with an umbrella in it.

And then… it happened.

Activus Connect—our vision, our team, our blood-sweat-and-tears—was acquired by Tech Mahindra. The deal closed. The confetti flew. And just like that, a chapter ended.

But what no one tells you is this:

After the exit comes the echo.

The Echo

You go from a calendar triple-booked with investor calls and ops reviews… to no calls at all.

From chasing quarterly growth… to chasing your kids around the yard.

From having every minute spoken for… to suddenly having to speak for yourself.

I’ve spent the last several months on sabbatical. Not a vacation. A real pause. The kind that invites you—maybe even forces you—to sit still long enough to hear your own thoughts again.

And when the noise fades, reflection rushes in.

What I’ve Learned in the Quiet

Not All Leaders Are Built the Same

What I’ve come to appreciate more than ever is how different the paths are that shape us. I’ve spent time in the corporate machine—leading multi-million dollar portfolios, managing global teams, learning the politics of scale. And I’ve also been the founder in the trenches—self-funded, wearing six hats, learning as I go.

Both worlds teach. One teaches you discipline, systems, and how to move giants. The other teaches you scrappiness, trust-your-gut moments, and how to build when there’s nothing but vision.

The real gift is having walked in both sets of shoes—and understanding what it takes to lead from either place.

Culture Is More Than Posters and Perks

I’ve always believed that people come first. But building a fully remote company from scratch during one of the most uncertain moments in recent history proved it to me. Culture is what you fight for when no one’s watching. It’s what carries the team when everything else feels like it’s shifting.

It’s not something you hang on a wall. It’s something you earn every day.

Success Doesn’t Always Feel Like a Mic Drop

There’s a strange stillness that comes after you sell something you love. Yes, there’s pride. Relief. Gratitude. But there’s also something harder to name.

You say goodbye not just to the business, but to the way you built it—the rituals, the culture, the inside jokes, the team that felt like family. You know things will change, because they must. But it doesn’t make it any easier.

There’s a quiet kind of grief in letting go.

And yet—letting go is part of growth too.

So… What’s Next?

I don’t have a five-point plan, a launch date, or a keynote coming up.

What I do have is space.

For the first time in a long time, I have room to wonder—not out of obligation, but out of genuine curiosity.

After more than 20 years of leading, building, and learning, I’m asking bigger questions:

What does impact look like when it’s not tied to a title?

How do you bottle up years of experience, vision, and fire… and pour it into something new?

And if you’ve already built your dream once—what would you build next, now that you’re different too?

Maybe the next chapter isn’t about climbing higher.

Maybe it’s about creating something that matters even more.

I’m not in a hurry. I’m just listening. And thinking.

And quietly, patiently… dreaming again.